Compound

I’m not a cook. My idea of a nice dinner is salad and some cooked chicken breast I picked up from Wildberries. It’s not that I’m a bad cook, I just haven’t taken the time to learn.

Since Briana moved in next door, I’ve been exposed to so many wonderful homecooked meals. I’ve assisted in many of them and feel like I’m getting the hang of it. The artist in me thinks of all the different combinations of flavors and colors.

Saturday night, we hosted our first real dinner party together as neighbors in celebration of Jeanne’s birthday. It was so much fun. We made butternut squash macaroni and cheese, a fresh green leaf and spinach salad and pork roast with an apple gravy-like sauce on the side.

I was especially proud of the pork roast – I spent an obnoxious amount of time trimming fat off of it. My idea of cooking the roast right was to just “throw it in the oven and see what happens.” Briana is always a bit more methodical than me and was thinking of all the options. We found that there is no “right” way to go about cooking and that both of our techniques actually complimented each other. When she was taking too long to decide, I would make a decision OR if I was being too hasty, she would stop me to think things through.

I also whipped up a box cake that turned out beautiful. I stole a few flowers (thanks, Mal!) from a vase and poked them on top. Waaaalaaa! I like having time to cook. It’s something I’m going to actively keep participating in. Briana is a good teacher.