Now You're Cookin' with Gr..., uh, Nonstick Cookware

Thanks to my highly-skilled new flatmate and The Engine 2 Diet book I think I might have finally found the motivation to learn to cook a few things. I suppose it's a bit too early to tell. I'm so excited about the whole idea, at the moment. I know that limited free time, fatigue and old habits may get in the way as time goes on.

I have a new appreciation and understanding for the Julie/Julia Project, though. Cooking makes sense. It nourishes your soul and body. It's fun to do alone or with others. Need I say more?

Oh, but I will! French Toast proved to be a bit more difficult, especially with all the substitutions to the French Toast recipe we always used when I was growing up. (Instead of milk and eggs for the bread dip this recipe uses milk substitute, banana, vanilla and cinnamon.) I think the gluten-free bread I used was more dense and not quite as porous as some wheat breads I have used in the past. Maybe next time I can figure out a better way to let it sop up more of the dip. Fortunately, real maple syrup made up for a lot of mediocrity on this attempt.

Ooooh, I should have gotten pictures of last night's four-hour "Raise the Roof" lasagna project. I took a break and did a happy dance around the apartment when I figured out that the food processor chops raw cashews so much quicker and with less mess than I had managed with a knife and cutting board. I have leftovers! My version of this tasty dish includes onions, garlic, basil, pepper, rosemary, capsicum (green bell pepper), corn, mashed kumara (New Zealand yellow sweet potato), carrots, broccoli, cucumber, celery, mushrooms, tofu, spinach, roma tomatoes, chopped cashews and almonds (as a garnish), and the standard tomato sauce and lasagna sheets, of course.

I'll keep working on finding winning formulas for cutting back on eating out spending and lacto-ovo consumption.