Learning to cook...

Yesterday I had a lovely second date with a nuclear engineer for the navy. After hearing that he loved to cook, I wrangled him in to giving me a cooking lesson at my place while I was roped into giving him a lesson in wine. What ended up happening is that I sipped on an amazing petite syrah while drizzling olive oil on asparagus, and he "got used to the wine" while preparing parmesan risotto and seasoned pork chops. Neither of us really learned what we set out to learn during our date, but the combination of fabulous wine and a great meal made at least me a happy camper!

I did realize, however, that my food experiences could be a lot more exciting. I've got books sitting around that focus on healthy eating, simple recipes, and staying organic, and yet none of them have really been opened... and I think it's time. I mean, a girl can only eat Amy's organic dinners so many times before she goes a little cuckoo... no matter how yummy and perfectly portioned they may be.

There are a few barriers to this cooking-thing that I'm planning, though. First of all, I'm prone to wander off the beaten path when it comes to recipes, and not in a good way. (Using hot chocolate mix to make chocolate mousse... Why not??) Second, our kitchen in the condo is horribly equipped... It took me and Jason a good 10 minutes of rummaging before we found a baking sheet. Third, I don't have a car... so making the frequent trips necessary for ingredients means biking around Charleston. Fourth, and really most importantly, I'm lazy as all hell.

Anyone have any suggestions for me? There's got to be some way that I can start cooking something... right?

Love,
Katie

P.S. My Dad leaves for California today. When I asked when he'd be back, he said Sunday. When I asked if he'd be cabbing it to the airport, he said no. He was then incredibly surprised when I said, so... you're leaving me in Charleston for 5 days without a car? When I got back from yoga, and was a little less pissed... I found a car key sitting on the kitchen counter. Translation: I have to take a taxi to the airport to pick up his car... and pay for the taxi and parking with my $0.00 account balance... All so that I won't be stranded... AWESOME.