The Beginning of Something New

During high school, I started baking, because I really liked this girl that loves cooking and baking. I thought that by doing this I could approach her, but it didn’t turn out well in the end. However, after watching the movie Julie & Julia, I felt like cooking was something more than just doing it for the girl or boy you like; Cooking should be something that you do it for yourself and something that brings a change in life, no matter if it’s for a healthy life style, building relationships, and new experiences. So here I am, with a cookbook on my right and a spatula on my left, ready to have my first official cooking session.

I am new to cooking, and I have a long way to go, so I chose something simple to make for my first blog post from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. I decided to make parmesan chicken with roasted asparagus and brown lemon sauce. At first, I wanted to make Beef Bourguignon, but because I couldn't get wine and there are like a thousand steps in making Beef Bourguignon, I felt like it was too hard for a newbie like me. A lot of twists and turns came up in this cooking journey. The first one I met was when I was shopping for materials; every time when I want to choose something to buy there was this fight in my head between little Missy (my English teacher) and the picky Asian going against each other. My English teacher promotes healthy and organic eating life style, and organic foods are always much more expensive than the other ones on the shelf. However, when I see something over priced the stingy Asian comes out and whispers to me to go with the cheaper choice. Despite all the struggles I was going through, little Missy still stood out victorious, and it cost a great wound of 80 dollars to my wallet. After shopping, I can hear the stingy Asian shouting in my head“damn you, Missy! I will win next time.”

I always thought cooking and baking were pretty similar, and the hardest parts were always buying the ingredients. However, after today, I learned that I have never been so wrong in my life. Cooking is fucking hard! Women make cooking look like a piece of cake, but after my cooking session my respect for my mom and every women cooking in kitchen has just grown so much. My mom doesn't cook that much, but I am still going to call her tomorrow and say,“thank you, Mom, for every meal you cooked.”

Cooking requires exceptional multitasking skills. First, I had to dip the chicken in flour, battered egg yolk, and wrap it up with cheese and breadcrumbs. In the meantime, pre heat the pan and the oven. After I finished frying my two pieces of chicken, I put the seasoned asparagus into the oven and roasted it for 10 to 12 minutes, and then I had to put the other two pieces of chicken in the frying pan for 3 minutes. Later, I had to warm up the butter to make the brown sauce. I learned that cooking requires a lot of concentration and patience all the time, and yawning, blinking, or even taking deep breaths can ruin everything. I messed up after my last two pieces of chicken because I wasn't patient enough I flipped the chicken too many times, which made it under cooked. I had to fry it again, and this made the crispy coating of cheese and breadcrumbs burnt. The second twist I encountered, I had to remake my brown sauce, because the book instructed to use “lemon juice” but I used lemon extract instead. The sauce came out tasting like dog urine (for the reader's information, no, I have never tried dog urine before. I can only make a safe assumption that the foulness of this mixture could be compared to such excrement) there was no flavor but super sour and this oily taste. Ughhhh. I changed to lemon juice and everything turned out way better it was a bit sour, but after a couple seconds later a sweet after taste comes out.

Time goes by quickly when you're cooking, but when you are done you can finally sit down, relax and enjoy your meal. Alden and I tried the meal, both hoping that it won't cause any stomach problems after we eat it. I slowly took my first bite of chicken, and I can only say it was not bad for a first timer. Alden said it tasted like chicken bake from Costco. I felt like it was a compliment, even though I hoped he would say it was a masterpiece, but I can live with chicken bake for now. However, happy moments never last long, when you realize the mess you made in the kitchen. But a man has to do what a man has to do, so I picked my exhausted body up and started cleaning up the kitchen.

Cooking has been an unbelievable experience for me today I feel as if life has showed me something new. One of my best friends told me that college life is all about new experiences and challenges, like falling in love, expanding your hobbies, and meeting new people. Up until now I couldn't really relate myself to these words, but after today, I feel like I learned something new today, and I'm slowly changing myself by taking risks on doing new stuff. Lastly, to all of the guys out there who are reading this: Be grateful to people that care about you, especially your mom, wife or girlfriend. Every day she has her own problems to deal with, but she still puts the effort and time in to cook a hot meal on the table for us. I guess giving her a hug and say thank you wouldn't be too hard for us compared to all that she’s done for us. This is all for me today, Andrew signing out.