Someone's In the Kitchen with Dinah

I miss cooking. Well, to be more truthful, I miss cooking with Jamie. I love cooking, and we used to have a good time preparing meals together. When we had guests, or sometimes just when we cooked for ourselves, we experimented with new recipes, ingredients, and menus. As in many aspects of our life together, he is simply unafraid to try anything. If he decides he wants to make sushi, we do it. If he wants to make fussy cookies, we give it a try. King cake? No problem. Gnocchi? Why not. When I am the chief cook and menu planner, I often turn my nose up at recipes that contain unfamiliar ingredients or techniques. I have yet to touch fennel. Jamie and I had a nice rhythm in the kitchen too. I think cooking is a lot like dancing; there are few people I can work with in the kitchen. That partnerships demands a degree of subconscious communication and the willingness to lead or follow, as needed. These days, we cook to get a job done. Jamie puts together meals during the week because he usually beats me home. I try to do all the cooking on the weekends, both to offset his efforts and because I do actually enjoy it. I'm trying to branch out again and experiment a little more; it's trickier with a three year old at the table who doesn't like anything unfamiliar or mixed together. It's a lot more work to find the recipes, and it's risky to chance a dinner meltdown with Duncan. Nevertheless, it's one step toward inviting the people we used to be (before Duncan was born) to the table.

On that note, here's my kitchen queue. These are the things I've been dying to make but haven't had time to lately.

1. King Cake - Yes, I know Mardi Gras was months ago. I've craved the King Cake since then.
2. Brownies - I'll even make them whole wheat for extra nutritional punch.
3. Granola bars for Duncan - He's almost out. I still can't buy any that aren't manufactured on a line with peanuts.
4. Apple sauce - I simply cannot eat the stuff out of a jar any more. I don't know if Duncan cares, but I do.
5. Bread - I'll settle for the machine.
6. Cupcakes - It's been a while.
7. Texas Chocolate Cake - It keeps coming up as a favorite at Cooking Light. It comes with chocolate frosting.
8. Good Ol' Chocolate Chip Cookies - Just because.
9. A Fruit Pie - Do you know I have still not conquered a traditional pie crust? It's time.
10. Muffins - Any kind, any where. Duncan likes them, and they're a good school snack for him.
11. Scones - Again, I've never made them from scratch. It's time to start somewhere.
12. Cream Puffs - Yes, I know it's insane. But here's the thing. I used to make them when I was in high school. I was unafraid of the puff pastry. I still want to be that girl.
13. Carrot Cake - It's a vegetable!
14. Banana Bread - It's a fruit! It's easy to pretend it's healthy.
15. Shortbread - It's ambrosia. Enough said.

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah. Someone's in the kitchen, I know...