Thursday, January 26, 2012

Confessions of a Less than Amazing Cook


Confessions:

*I'm not the greatest cook.

*I rarely make things from scratch {except cookies}

*I am terrified of burning myself on the oven

*When putting anything in a pot of boiling water I have to lower it in slowly with a spoon for fear of the water splashing on me

*I measure everything exactly according to any recipe...no eye-balling for me, or something will go wrong (sorry Rachael Ray, I know you'd be ashamed of me but I just can't risk it)

*I really do want to improve my cooking skills and have more variety in my meals

I've talked in the past about how I'd probably take my trash out more often if it was filling up a cute trash can... and now I'm thinking maybe I'd be more inspired to cook if my recipes were written out on these letterpressed recipe cards...do you think so? Or am I just lying to myself to justify buying them.



My problem with cooking right now is mainly just the time it takes. I'm in college and don't have a lot of free time...so normally when I get home I just want to make something fast and fool proof. I can't risk the time and stress it would take to attempt something substantial. So that's where the pasta boxes come in with a spinach salad on the side. Or the soup that I simply pour into a pot and heat. Or the cans of chili. With the Trader Joe's pre-made cornbread that you literally just wrap in foil and put in the oven for a bit. Anyone else relating to this???

 My sister Kylee is like the master chef in our family. She makes the most delicious meals FROM SCRATCH. Thinkin' about hiring her to come over and cook for me every night since we live so close.


This little recipe box and letterpressed recipe cards are from One Canoe Two, an awesome Etsy shop I found today. Go check it out if you love letterpress and stationery as much as I do!


How are you guys with cooking? 

Star chefs like my sister...or do you make simple things like me? Any tips or easy recipes that you love?

*UPDATE* Just to make sure that this is the longest blog post of my life, I forgot to mention that I was awarded the Liebster Blog Award by four lovely bloggers, Christina from Marriage from Scratch, Jen from Harrison Home Blog, Laura from Top This Top That, and Me, Ed, and Pea.

Thank you ladies, love all of your blogs! Go check them out, I read both every day!


This award is given to a blogger with less than 200 followers and is a fantastic way to promote and encourage new friendships within the blogging community.  Christina and Jen were so sweet to pass this on to me, and now I get the opportunity to pass it along to five other bloggers!  

This is how it works:

1. Post the award on your blog.
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave
 you the award by linking back to them.
3. Reveal your 5 picks for the award and let them know.
4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people in the blogosphere... other bloggers.
5. Finally, the best rule of all, have fun and spread the love!

Here's my picks...I'm always inspired by these blogs and love reading their posts!


Thanks guys!

14 comments:

Krys72599 said...

The closest I've ever been to being a chef, or even a semi-decent cook, is my maiden name: Cook.
I hate to cook for the two of us. So I don't.
We leave before 7am and get home at 6:30pm. If I had to cook a real meal then, we'd be eating at 8:30 or 9! For a long time, it was Burger King or Costco ($3.73 for a hot dog combo + a slice of pizza - I can't cook a meal for that price!), or at best, a pot of pasta and either jarred gravy or my husband's frozen tomato sauce (HE'S the cook in our family!).
But last summer we had a HUGE vegetable garden and we got into the habit of roasting fresh veggies and eating them in a wrap so we really sort of got into the habit of eating more healthily and at home.
Now it's a Costco roasted chicken and a side or two. Or I spend a weekend making eggplant and freezing it so we can take it out for a quick homecooked meal, and of course, there's always pasta or an omelet...

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the mention!!

It's such a crazy coincidence, actually, I bought that amazing recipe box for my sister for Christmas this year! It's fantastic and she loved it! What a small world :)

Thanks again, love the blog!

Jenna // The Life of the Wife said...

That looks like such a cute recipe box! I think you should definitely buy it! I used to be a horrible cook too. I still hate it, but i do it..cause hey we need to eat right?! I'll bake you anything your heart desires though!!

And Thanks for the award!! You're the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jenna

Vintage Home said...

Anything that gets you motivated to do SOME cooking is Great! Very stylish receipe box!
Have a great year @ school...Fabulous!
Yeah to the west coast!

Diane Streicher @ Diane Again said...

Dear Court,

YES, buy the recipe box and fabulous cards. They may not make you a better cook, but they WILL make you a happier one. These things matter.

Being a good cook is a matter of attitude, not aptitude. Gotta shake off that fear and embrace the visual and creative joy of cooking! I will try my best to inspire you. :)

Altzo, thank you for the Liebster Award. I'm honored. And I'm looking forward to passing it on!

Piril Maria said...

Cute! =)

Followed the blog, hope you don’t mind. And who knows, maybe you’ll visit me someday too.

thebookness.com

Reba and Eldarose, sisters, friends and co-bloggers said...

Those recipe cards are great! I would get them if you think they'll encourage you to cook.

I got a Liebster Award from Jen, too. I thought I'd come by and check out your blog and it is lovely. Your pictures are very pretty. I'm jealous a bit. I wish mine would be prettier. I just haven't found the time yet to really study how to take pictures. That's on the to-do list for this year.

You're so lucky that you've found your passion in life. That is such a big blessing. Congrats. A lot of people never figure that out.

Glad I dropped by. We are following your blog now.

Sincerely,
Eldarose from http://RE-inventedstyle.blogspot.com

Amanda Thornton said...

what cute recipe cards! I should definitely nab some, as I find most of my recipes online and don't have a printer...so its always a pain in the butt so sift through all my old emails trying to find them all! And I can totally relate to your cooking situation! This years resolution was actually to start cooking meals, so its been a fun month of recipes! Here is the blog I use for recipes: 101cookbooks- wonderful recipes!
xo
Amanda

ali v. said...

I'm by no means an expert cook--I never have been. I wish I was! I also measure everything exactly and am afraid everything I make is bland haha. so glad I'm not alone! I really do love those letterpress recipe cards. sigh. Hope you have a great weekend! xoxo {av}

Marriage from Scratch said...

I'm in love with those recipe cards....

I tagged you in a questionnare. Here is the link :
http://marriagefromscratch.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-was-tagged.html

Happy Friday!

Jadyn @ Dutch.British.Love said...

Those recipe cards are so pretty! It matters to have something pretty to ease you into something that intimidates you!
I went for a few years measuring everything before I found the courage to start experimenting! Nothing wrong with that! :)

Thank you so much for the award! I'll be sure to pass it on! xoxo

Diane Streicher @ Diane Again said...

I blogged about you today...check it out!

http://dianeagain.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-dearest-beloved-blogs.html

Lauren said...

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I've loved looking through yours, but I just had to comment here because I'm reading a wonderful book right now by Kathleen Flinn called The Kitchen Counter Cooking School. It's all about teaching non-cookers to be brave in the kitchen. It's a little memoir with some great recipe basics for you too. Just a thought! And I love the recipe cards!

j said...

I used to totally be the same as you. I started slowly with a 5 ingredient cookbook {no cute pictures but you can copy the recipes you use a lot onto those cute recipe cards}. I think I was given the cookbook as a joke but it helped me a lot. Now I cook almost everything from scratch - although I consider making a salad cooking...

You might have better luck after you graduate though, I've been there and they don't leave much room for anything other than school work. Good luck!