An Okay Cook in the Making

Here in the United States, eating has become something that we have to do in order to survive, rather than something we do to enjoy. We don't want to spend hours cooking meals to savor with family and friends. What we want is a meal which is done very quickly, so that we can eat it just as quickly - we want a meal which will make our families full. Growing up here in America, I've fallen into that trap with my own cooking. This is by no means my mom's fault though. As I was growing, we always had good meals that were eaten around a table, and were enjoyable. After I moved out, I found that I didn't care so much about cooking good food - as long as it was fast and tasted alright, I was okay with it.

Then I went Germany. In Germany, you cook many more things from scratch than we do here. Not only do they cook more from scratch, but the meals were also more enjoyable as well. A lot of this had to do with the fact that my fiance can cook wonderfully, but as a whole, the culture is one that enjoys a well cooked meal. I found myself time after time sitting and really savoring well cooked food - something I hadn't done much in the States for a very long time.

Now that I'm back in the States, a goal that Fabian and I both have is to improve my cooking skills. Because we might as well face the truth that my cooking skills stink. So before I left he bought me a cooking handbook, which describes how to do a lot of basic tasks. One of the items I have made with this book is homemade pizza. Not only did I make the dough from scratch, but I also made my own sauce (well, the tomatoes were from a can, but it was close), and cut my own cheese and vegetables to go on top. The end result was a delicious, not too horribly unhealthy meal which I was able to actually savor and enjoy!

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