occasional and mediocre

Friends, this is the first post I wrote for this blog-in-gestation.  However, I was so new to blogging that... um... I didn't actually hit "post."  Just realized that it never went up, so for what it's worth, here it is:

I am a reluctant chef.  I lived in New York for nearly a decade, and during that entire time I cooked exactly one meal in my apartment, a fiery attempt at impressing a guy who never got over the smoke alarm and the hunky firefighters who showed up.  I did not own plates, just a handy pasta/cereal bowl and 45 coffee mugs.  It seemed easier and even cheaper to order in... every single night.   

Fast forward another decade, and I moved to Houston.  By this time, I had acquired plates, along with a husband and two kids.  I cooked at times.... because I had to.  Occasional and mediocre were the themes.  

I was the luckiest gal in Texas, because I stumbled into a great group of women right off the bat.  They all attended a "cooking club."  This was a giant red flag... (would they be any fun? Did they ever each Celeste Pizzas?  Did they drink?), but I decided that they seemed worth it.  And lo, they DID drink.  Plenty. 

With the help of the friends (and possibly also the alcohol), I eased my way into my underused kitchen.  With a lot of support - and a few more firefighter visits - I managed to cook some things.... and enjoy it.  No one is more shocked than I am (except for my husband).