On Not Cooking

The past few months, I haven’t cooked much. As in, barely at all. I can remember the last meal I properly cooked--an excellent cauliflower and bacon pasta, for dinner on Friday when we had friends over--and before that, I’m honestly not sure. I’ve baked bread every couple-few weeks, and I’ve looked at recipes plenty. I’ve read the serious food magazines that came in the mail, and the email newsletters scattered with luscious photos--every word. I’ve day-dreamed about cooking: standing in the kitchen with the sun streaming in, a little jazz playing, and piles of vegetables yielding under my knife.

But I haven’t actually put knife to vegetable, except to yield the carrot sticks that are the only vegetable Little Z, now 3, regularly eats. Oh, that’s right--a couple weeks ago I also baked Little Z two birthday cakes in one week, one for her school party and one for home. And I attempted to bake crumpets, but failed because I filled the molds too full. I will try these again, soon. I will.

Slow Cooker Shredded Pork Tacos with Slaw

My slow cooker fascination is, I believe, by now well documented. And the cabbage fixation is moving along well also, so that’s good. The truth of the matter is that I’m not actually obsessed with pork, but recently Nick very wisely took advantage of a two-for-one sale at the local Acme, and thus we had two pork roasts on our hands.