cooking is fun!

never thought i'd say that i enjoyed cooking, but here we are. i'm feeling ever so pleased with myself: made chicken and potatoes, and fish with veggies. the best thing was that it was all very easy and straightforward! the chicken was by far the simplest: take chicken breasts, roll them in a little bit of oil mixed with garlic, dill, and lemon pepper (or whatever other spices you want), put it on foil and add a little more oil, wrap it up in the foil, and bake on 370 for 30 minutes or until it's white all the way through. then, unwrap the foil and bake for 4-5 minutes, turn the breasts over, and bake 4-5 minutes more, just to brown each side.

the potatoes were equally simple, if time consuming: take fingerling or baby potatoes, peel them (the most annoying part), then brown in a small pot or a deep pan with some oil, lots of garlic, and dill. yummy!

the fish was also pretty simple: take tillapia (or catfish, or sole, or any similar white fish), coat it with a thin layer of mayonnaise mixed with spices (garlic and lemon pepper is what i like) and put it on a deep, foil-covered sheet. add some oil, then put in thin onion rings or slices, carrots, broccoli, and canned diced tomatoes (i like the organic ones from trader joe's) with their juice. add a little water, maybe. cover with foil, stick in the oven at 370 for 20 minutes. take it out and check on it: if the veggies are pretty soft, uncover it and put it back in for 10-15 minutes. if they're still hard, cover it again for 10-15, then check again. voila!

so yes, the elaine cooking thing is odd, but i like it! if i make 2 dishes on sunday, i have lunch and dinner for the rest of the week, basically, with frozen stuff to supplement. it's great!

random outing

i've been invited to, of all things, a pig roast. heh. i'm bringing pita chips and hummus so that i have something to munch on. hopefully, i'll have fun socializing, since it's the only reason i'm going.

what a nice evening!

so, the pig roast turned out to be a lot of fun! i was invited by a friend of catachthonian's, who i've only spoken to on email and had never met before. of course, i was a bit apprehensive...had a minor freak out when i pulled up to the house and parked, due to the fact that i didn't know a single person there and didn't even know the hosts by sight! but then, i calmed down and walked in, and everyone was super nice! really friendly, very welcoming. the hosts were really great, as well, very warm and hospitable and went out of their way to introduce me to as many people as possible and chat with me and stuff. so it was really nice! i ate baked potato and dessert, but i'd had dinner before i came, so not eating the meat wasn't a problem. so yeah, it was fun and lovely, and nice to meet new people. someone said that i was brave for coming to an event where i didn't know anyone, and i thought, "no, just a bit desperate." heh. but it was good. hopefully, i'll get to hang out with them more, they were very nice people. thanks for introducing me, catachthonian!