here in my head

So, me? I am no Julia Child. I’m not even a Julie Powell. I have never been much for cooking. Except now I have my dream kitchen (I didn’t even know I had a dream kitchen to have, having given kitchens very little thought, until we found this house, with this kitchen that is exactly everything I could want in a kitchen. Except, it lacks a broom cupboard…) and I’m also trying to take more responsibility for my health, and also I really want to make sure that the food I’m eating is gluten-free (which is easier to do when you cook for yourself). I also just finished reading Julie & Julia and I may or may not have been inspired somewhat by that (although, I will certainly not be attempting my own journey through Julia’s cookbook – killing lobsters and scraping out bone marrow are not high on my ‘must do someday’ list.) And so (short story long) I’m attempting to learn how to cook…

I also am doing a strength training course half way across the city, which means that most Mondays and Wednesdays I’m not home until at least 8 p.m. Mike usually cooks on these nights (and, let’s be honest, most other nights…) but tonight he was out with his friends and thus I came home to a empty and dinner-less house. Normally, that would mean calling a restaurant that does both gluten-free and delivery, but, like I said, I’m trying to learn how to cook. So instead, I decided I would try my best Julia Child/Juile Powell impersonation and make my own dinner. A simple shrimp in garlic butter white wine reduction over sautéed spinach.

Which would have been fine, but I crushed a little too much garlic, and I didn’t listen to Julia when she said I should use both butter AND olive oil in the pan (really? Both? The woman has no fear of fats, does she?) and we lack dried parsley. And then I might have ground a little more fresh pepper than was necessary. (I thought there was no such thing as too much pepper. I stand corrected.) And then maybe, maybe added a bit too much wine (to the glass I was sipping or to the pan, or both)…

This is why I tend to turn to the telephone to order in when I’m left to my own devices. But I’ll keep trying. I need to live up to this dream kitchen of mine, you know…