ok, banana hands, we get it already!!

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a good cook. I even had several "mission statements" that I typed and deleted before coming to this conclusion. in the end, I decided that only one thing mattered. HUNGER. Not in the "fill my belly" sort of way. I'm talking about the feeling that you want to make the most out of every meal you prepare; the way that you get excited when certain foods go on sale, the way that you pine for the first ripe tomato or the way that food can take you back to a memory from your childhood. It's powerful stuff, peeps! Enthusiasm, in the end, will make you the best cook that you can be. Good ingredients help, but your best tools in the kitchen are passion/practice/perseverance. If you can remember the three p's. you'll be on your way to getting some super sweet skills.

ok, now that I'm done cheesing out on everyone...FOOD:

Started off the week by making some chicken mole quesadillas. I used this mole recipe, substituting chicken broth for beef broth, and also threw in a handful of raisins. poured it all into a dutch oven and added a chicken that I had cut up. Set the heat to low, and braised it for about 3 hours. I then shredded the chicken and added it back to the sauce. when you are ready to make the quesadillas, just add some meat (use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat as you don't want it super saucey. you can always add some sauce on the side for dips), a little cheese, some cliantro, maybe some jalps, and you are golden, baby. Pretty good stuff.

Also made some lentils in the style of dahl (curried and mashed up). Served them with some roasted pineapple sausages that I picked up from supes. fantastic. the sweet pineapple went well with the curry. Wifeshow was skeptical, but only until the lentils tangoed on her tastybuds. which brings me to the topic of roasting. At work, I have to roast everything if I don't want a sandwich for lunch. And yes, I'm super tired of sandwiches. I roast everything. eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, bacon, sausages, you name it. I have found, in these high heat adventures, that roasted sausage is pretty awesome. it get's nice and plump and the outsides get super crispy. I highly recommends.

the last dish is pretty funny. I mixed the two previous meals (minus the sausages, and the tortillas) and we had sort of a taco salad with lentils in the place of refried beans. It was actually super tasty.

Other newsies: So, I've been a little reticent to say anything about this, but I suppose it's ok now...Wifeshow and i are moving! we bought a house a while ago and here in a couple of weeks will start the big schlep across town. The kitchen is going to need some love, and I will surely document that process as I am going to be cooking on a hot-plate for a while. Thank goodness for crockpots, eh? anyway, lots to do today. oh yeah, almost forgot, wait until you see pics of the stove/oven that is in there right now...you wouldn't believe me if I told you...

DISH recommends:

ipod touch. Bought one of these for amy last week and she loves it. you can access the internet from it, and do all sorts of cool stuff. refurbished for 175 clams on apple.com