Wedded Cooking Bliss

Marriage has changed a lot of things in my life and one that both my parents would be proud of is that I have now started to cook! Yes, I have always been a foodie with a bottomless appetite but before I got married I was just so lazy to even lift a finger in the kitchen. I didn't want the greasy and oily feeling in my hands, didn't want to smell like ginisa, I was scared to hold a knife and basically I just had a million excuses not to. Oh and have I mentioned washing the dishes? Hashtag: Sosy problems. 

Want me to cook? Laters, baby...

This I believe, has been a source of worry for my old-fashioned mom and dad as we were planning the wedding. Baka daw ibalik ako sa kanila if my in-laws find out I couldn't cook, much less, magsaing ng bigas. They panicked and staged a series of 'RUSH' cooking lessons with me watching while the helper cooked and you all know what happened then. Knowing we can practically order food from anywhere, I wasn't too worried and I didn't take those lessons seriously. But of course, I wanted to be honest and let Andrew know upfront and as long as he was okay with it, it didn't bother me anymore :) We reached an understanding wherein he would be very happy if I would at least 'attempt' to cook twice a month. Meaning, if the meal turned out to be a disaster then it wouldn't be too much waste of time and money.

Pressure much?

After the wedding and my move-in to our place in Tayuman, my cooking instincts were suddenly switched on! I started out with the dishes that were earmarked in my 5-year old cookbook (which I suddenly had the time to try. Hello Maggi and Del Monte Kitchenomics!) and sometimes I just happen to pick up something in the grocery with a promising recipe on its label and patola ko na rin yun! I don't know what really caused this but it could be because of these reasons:

a) Ganon talaga pag misis na...sabay pamewang, wearing 'daster' :)

b) I'm really a cooking ninja, but have craftily disguised myself as an eating ninja for the past 28 years!! Our family cooking genes had just kicked in! mwahahahahahaha!!!

c) Somebody gifted us with cooking pots and a stove so we better make use of it (Thank you Auntie Nene & Auntie Babyt for the Belgique pots, my mother-in-law for soo many cooking pots and paraphernalias and Patrick Tiu & family for our stove!)

d) There are times I really miss home and one way to cure this semi depressing-lonely-confusing phase is to recreate home through the meals I love from home!

e) The sheer happiness of (although belatedly) learning a very important life skill; and making my hubby, mommy, daddy, bro & extended family happy (sana!) with the dishes I serve them

Anyway, I really did not expect much because I can't count on experience (hello, wala nga eh!hehe) for this particular skill - but then again, I could actually count on my sense of smell and my foodie imagination to know which dishes would taste best. Naks! Okay, I guess watching Wolfgang Puck through the years wasn't bad either..

Surprisingly, my husband thinks I'm doing pretty good! Of course the Kiddie Master Chefs are still waaaay better but this is already heavy stuff for me (pagbigyan!). Now I'm thinking, what if I have started this earlier...hmmm...I might be writing a cookbook now instead of this blog post! :p

My cooking conquests...SOON! (L-R: Italian Pasta with tri-color fusili, choco pancakes, oven-baked cheesy potatoes with bacon bits, baked chicken with brocolli and biscuits)

Anyway, I am still undergoing the learning process but we'll go through it together as I hope to share with you successful dishes, techniques and my experiences in this blog. Please don't expect them to be restaurant-level (kumbaga sa Candy Crush, nasa level 67 pa lang ako out of 200+; this is true so please send me lives and extra moves! hahaha!) or to be budget-friendly (I have low EQ when it comes to grocery shopping and sige na nga, adding up what I place in the grocery cart) or picture-perfect (I'm using my phone's camera and usually I'm rushing between chopping and sauteing and making sure I follow the recipe 100%)...but what I can promise you is this: they will be family-friendly, yummy and quite easy for newlyweds who may be just as clueless as me in the kitchen.

Conquering your fears, learning a new skill, being able to lovingly feed your family --> and see them reach out for seconds or more...one of the best feelings!

Stay posted and happy cooking! :)