Adventuresome Cooking...

I'll preface quickly with the fact that I'm not a "foodie", a "gourmet", or any other fancy name for loving cooking and wishing I could do it all day. In fact, when it comes to cooking, I'm often staring at my full fridge thinking I can't make anything. Baking on the other hand... Baking I always have the time, energy, and ingredients for.

But this summer, I decided I needed to change my mindset. Our family, at this point in life, eats 3 meals a day together. That's correct: breakfast, lunch, and dinner are had around our table, situated in the corner of our kitchen, everyday. Our son is 2, so we don't have sports or lesson schedules to compete with. We have a hot breakfast (except Sundays when we eat cereal), normally a small lunch of sandwich/raw veggie/fruit, and then a hot dinner that mommy tries not to start making past 4:30pm so it can be ready by 5:30 or 6pm. That's our life at the moment. So instead of grumbling, this summer I took action.

We spent the summer away from home at an internship, and I came with my Betty Crocker cookbook in tow. The one that I received 5 years ago from my sister at our wedding and now has pages glued together from use. But really, only in the baking sections. I came determined. This summer, I spent each week planning meals. Looking for things I've never tried or made before. I'll admit, the resident 2 year old missed the tried and true things (which we still enjoyed occasionally). But my goal was to open up my repertoire of cooking from a few pages containing mainly simple Italian, slightly Asian, and American dishes to Moroccan, Italy that we've never had before, French, etc. Things that would take thinking to do when we were at the grocery store, and a little more prep. I'm not talking about spending the day in the kitchen (cause what mom, or non-chef can do that?). I'm just talking about spending a bit more time consciously thinking about dinner. That was my goal.

Since coming back home, I'm less afraid of random vegetables I see on sale that I've never cooked before. I understand what meats work better with what meal. I better comprehend how to mix and match multiple Nationalities into one meal. I became adventuresome. And in the midst of this, I've come to appreciate cooking more, feel more comfortable doing it, and I even think Judah likes all of mommy's "dishshush" dinners. Who knew American 2 year olds could like spicy food (he has a special place in his heart for all things curried)?

So I invite you to share your adventuresome side! What are your recent discoveries that are now a family favorite (like butternut squash has become for our family)?