All by Myself

I think that I sat down to blog about 3 times but got preoccupied with something else each time, so here I am... 5 days later.

I had every intention of returning to the classroom after Siege was born, when I was pregnant that is. I planned to take 12 weeks off and then get back to work, but after Siege was born and I held that tiny body in my arms, I just couldn't.

However, before I had a child, I remembered thinking that a stay-at-home mom gig wouldn't be too bad. I could do all the things I never had time for. Learn how to sew, go to the gym everyday, learn to cook, have dinner on the table each night, etc, etc. But for the first 6 months I was lucky if I could get a shower in each day. Now things are finally getting easier. Siege at 6 months is bliss.

So, I bought a sewing pattern (which I haven't had too much progress on yet), checked out the kids club at the gym (still haven't used it), and I even went to a cooking class.

I check out the groupons on my iphone each day. It's become my second favorite app, next to Facebook. Chris gets golf offers on there all the time, but I had never purchased one. A few weeks back they had a groupon for a cooking class. You could choose from a calendar of about 50 different kinds. I immediately solicited some friends to see if they'd want to try it out. No one wanted to. Just as I was ready to forget about it, I thought oh, I'll just get it and try it out. After all, it's on my "house wife" bucket list.

Last Thursday I remember thinking this could be the biggest waste of time and money. I probably shouldn't have done it. I was really wishing that a friend or two would have taken me up on the offer to join me. So I got in my car and moseyed on over to "Creative Cooking School" all by my lonesome.

As soon as I got there I knew it would be awesome. We all got our aprons on, sat at our food tables, and mingled while we waited for the class to start. I met some really cool people in that 3 hour class, and it made me think, doing things by yourself is kind of cool. It forced me to talk to other ladies, get out of my comfort zone, and I genuinely enjoyed myself.

The name of the class I took was "Budget Gourmet Meals for the Family." I was a little intimidated by the "Gourmet" part, because my bag of cooking tricks is pretty slim to none. I told the chefs when I got there, that I was a BEGINNER, in every sense of the word. The chefs told the class their motto,

"You don't cook, you don't eat."

I immediately volunteered for a job. We all cooked together. Some of us chopped, while others stirred and glazed. We made two main course dishes and a dessert...

- Lemon and Thyme Roasted Chicken with Whole Grain Mustard Spatzel and Glazed Carrots

- Shrimp Scampi with Sauteed Grape Tomatoes and Rice Pilaf

- Strawberries with Sabayon

The food was delicious of course, but what was even more fabulous was getting to hear the quick cooking tips from the Chefs. I learned the proper, easy way, to chop up an onion, chop garlic, chop carrots, what a pinch of salt actually is, how to cut up a whole chicken properly, how to juice a lemon, how to hold a knife the right way, and that adding butter makes everything more delicious. I completely forgot to take pictures of the food while I was their, so when I make the meals for Chris, I'll be sure to post my final product. I think I will start with the Shrimp Scampi and I am setting a goal to make it Friday! There, I've said it on the blog, therefore it shall be done.