Joy Of Cooking

Now that I no longer work nights, and I am now making conscious choices, I am now rediscovering the Joy Of Cooking. 

While we had a wonderful holiday and it is lovely enjoying a night out at a restaurant and I also enjoy thai or vegetarian pizza takeaway, I definitely love home-cooked meals.  Home-cooked meals taste different - you can definitely taste the infusion of love.

I ventured to get groceries - it was packed at the shops - surprisingly, I happily, peacefully wandered around the store, collecting the ingredients for my recipe.  I always love testing and tasting a new recipe.  When I am not trying to rush through the store, I enjoy the process of shopping - especially love wandering around, selecting fruit and vegetables.  I was also rapt to find Appletiser - a sparkling 100% apple juice that I had tasted when we were on holidays.  Love Appletiser - it is healthy for when you feel like a fizzy drink - perfect for me.

One of my Goals is to cook more, try new recipes, increase my repertoire of Vegetarian recipes and make meals that can be shared in community (6-8).  So I come home, car full of groceries, impressed that I spent $72 and can create 5 recipes - a tofu stir-fry, pumpkin, leek and zucchini risotto, chickpea and couscous salad, a pasta dish and tonight's recipe of Moroccan Stew (vegetables and chickpeas).

I start with brown rice in the rice cooker - once this is organised - it is time to prepare all of the vegetables.  It is great to have the television turned off - one of my Norah Jones' cd plays in the background (which is relaxing and creates the right vibe) and I get busy chopping up onion, eggplant, pumpkin, sweet potato, tomatos.  I loved the opportunity to be in my own space in our kitchen - chopping, measuring spices, blending, stirring.

And best of all I loved the opportunity to serve the meal and Spread The Yellow by enjoying dinner with my Man.  I do really enjoy spending the time to create a meal to be enjoyed with someone special.  And it tasted delicious!! 

I will definitely make this dish again... plus we have leftovers that we have now frozen to make it easier during the week.  I am also feeling happy that the fridge and cupboards are full of fresh food and ingredients so that I can create more home-cooked meals this week.

It is good to be getting more organised at home.  This has been an adjustment, moving in together, combining all our kitchen wares - and now I can truly embrace the Joy Of Cooking.

Plus I love that I am setting Goals for myself and moving towards them - and that I am celebrating and honouring the small steps, the positive changes, the Wins along the way...