all by myself

My husband went away for a a few days and I was obviously left home alone.

It was interesting living alone for a while.

When I was living with my brother, him and my sister in law will often go on business trips and holidays, so it was not uncommon for me to be left alone, but with their helper, I wasn't really by myself except on Sundays when the helper took her day off.

So in this true living alone experience, what did I discover?

Some of these I already knew, but knowing and experiencing are quite often, not the same.

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1. You end up with a refrigerator filled with too-little-for-one-meal portions of random food.
2. Having the tv on during mealtime doesn't feel intrusive.
3. Yoga practice at home seems more enticing than in the studio.
4. Watching American Ninja Warrior is not as much fun.
5. Dishes don't wash themselves (gasp).

COOKING monster

I am getting consumed gathering, trying and tweaking recipes for when my fiance and I start living together after our wedding.

The idea that I can control all the dishes at home is empowering for me.  Really.  


That idea had always made me smile a little bit.  Even a lot.

To be fair, in our current household we all "chip in" suggestions when listing out what our menu would be for the week.  And we do take into consideration each person's preference or dietary needs.

When I was still living with my parents, I could always "request" for certain dishes to be cooked.

So it isn't really that I felt powerless to influence food in the past.

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To be honest I am getting the 'mad scientist' feeling right now.  This moment.  Just thinking about it.

It's near!

(Evil laugh)

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What are the things I want to cook?

A LOT.

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I think what really excites me about this is that I can make a my own curriculum taking into consideration skills I want to learn and improve on while churning out food our consumption :)

My fiance pretty much eats everything.  I love how he is expressive about general things including his appreciation of my cooking.  He also makes 'requests'.

I sometimes tweak things so that he would like it more.  There are other times where we have the same main and different sides.

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I'm keeping this feeling from my mom--for now.  And only because I don't want her to stress herself documenting all her recipes in time for our wedding. 

child's play

I had finally secured a 9-inch round shallow pyrex and I can't wait to put it to good use.

I really don't know where to begin.  Part of me wants to make shepherd's pie so that I can use my giant icing decorator my sister got me for the mashed potato on top.  But if I'm being truthful to myself, I really imagined a rich pie sitting on the dish.  Something caramel, sticky and sweet, maybe with nuts.

I am looking forward to cooking more this year.  After we get married, I have more opportunities to experiment :)

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I'm quite curious how life truly changes after marriage.  I was chatting with a good friend who recently got married and she says that she loves married life and that it still feels like playing house.  I love how she said that, playing house. 

I remember how when I was young and we played lutu-lutuan or pretend cooking, placing flower petals and leaves into miniscule pots--a master chef in a child's mind.  Sometimes I still feel that way when I'm cooking.  I can't help but smile when that certain feeling takes hold of me.  I can't say it is dead on nostalgic, but I would say that that child in me makes me a happier adult.

Playing house.  That is one point for the team that I'm rooting for.  The team that believes.

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Happy New Year! :)