Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The Kraft Kitchen Experiment

I just saw the movie "Julie and Julia" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135503/) and liked it. Long have I wished I were able to cook well like some of my friends and family, to say nothing of cooking as well as Julia Child. Alas, this is not the case with me....yet.

I was inspired enough by the movie to start checking out easy recipes on the Kraft Kitchens site: http://www.kraftcanada.com/ They have some really good ones that are pretty simple to make, and best of all, they have a section called "Healthy Living" with recipes that are a little bit better for you perhaps, as well as some handy tools and diabetic information.

Unlike Julie Powell from the movie, I'm not enough of a dedicated writer or a passionate cook to blog my year of cooking all of the recipes in Julia Child's first book. In fact, I cringe at the idea, particularly knowing that some of those recipes involve seafood about which I am somewhat phobic. Instead, I thought I'd try my hand at a few recipes and blog about each attempt, primarily to amuse myself (and others?), but also to learn from my culinary mistakes.

I think the catalyst that finally made me pick a recipe, find the time, and shop for groceries was today. I ordered Chinese food for dinner on Saturday night. By last night, the only things left were 4 little containers of peanut sauce (any takers? please???), some dried out white rice that came with the order unasked for, and the chicken pad thai that wouldn't die. It's not that I didn't eat the food after Saturday, it's that I'm trying to cut back on my portion sizes a bit, and therefore the large quantity of pad thai has lasted for 5 days.

Yes, that's right. Today was Day 5 of chicken pad thai and dried out rice. Delicious, I know! That was lunch but before I could reach that pinnacle of culinary excellence, I had to cross the mid-morning snack. Normally on work days, it consists of yogurt (sometimes with pumpkin seeds in it-raw, unsalted, from the Bulk Barn) and an apple or other piece of fruit. At about 6 this morning, I went a little crazy from fatigue and decided to dig some honey Teddy Grahams out of the back of my cupboard to have with my yogurt and apple. Truth be told, the same thing every day (I am a creature of habit) can be boring and I was tired of staring at the half-eaten bag of Teddy Grahams.

Bad idea. I should so not make any major decisions before 10am, especially since I get up at 5:30am, 5 days a week. The Teddy Grahams smelled a little "funny" but I didn't think much of it until I tossed a few in my mouth at 9am and started chewing. Oh gawd! I've never tasted paint (that I can remember) but as close as I can assume, that is was those evil little blonde bear cookies tasted like. Gagging and choking, I spat most of them out but a few made it down the hatch. Even the yogurt chasers didn't completely expunge the horrid aftertaste. When will I ever learn??

Teddy Grahams from hell, Day 5 of pad thai, friends giving me suspicious looks when I happen to keep coming over at meal times....maybe I should start this cooking-for-myself thing a little more seriously, and fast.

Oh, the irony. I just got an email from irewards (Chapters loyalty program) asking me if I like cooking because I could win a gift card or something. Should I lie and say yes?

2 comments:

  1. Welcome to the world of cooking! I use Kraft kitchens a lot, especially the healthy living section. Try the Smarter Fettucini alfredo recipe, it's very good :)I think I made it once for you.
    My room mate has the same disregard for expiry dates you do. I'm constantly grossed out and I often throw things away when she's not looking!
    Looking forward to your many cooking adventures! Happy Cooking!
    S

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  2. You did make that delicious Fettucini for me, then I found the recipe myself and asked you if you'd ever heard of it, completely forgetting about how awesome it was when you made it for me.
    Stay out of my fridge when you visit! I promise not to give you K52.9 again.

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