Adventures in...Cooking?!

I tend to lack confidence in "practical" areas, I've noticed...things such as sewing (HOPELESS), driving (terrifying, though I am working on it), and cooking. Even if I'm technically capable of grasping what's going on, I tend to assume that I don't or won't get it, so I become self-conscious and anxious. Plus there's that whole lack of coordination problem.

When it comes to cooking, though, I've definitely made strides in recent years (even though Kevin does most of our cooking right now), and there has been ample evidence that I can be pretty good at it! In this case, the lack of confidence comes more from the fact that I just haven't spent enough time getting comfortable in the kitchen. (And part of that is because kitchens get messy, and I'm lazy. But I digress.)

I do get brave and try new recipes occasionally, and last night was one of those times. I decided to try this recipe (first found on Pinterest, for those who know what that is). It did indeed prove to be "pretty easy," though actually, I think that the steps could be simplified even further. The hardest part, in fact, was probably tracking down the ingredients. Who knew that dried coconut is so difficult to find? For some reason, I assumed this was a baking staple, but I didn't find any until the fourth store I tried. Not our neighborhood grocery store, not Trader Joe's (you mean TJ's doesn't have EVERYTHING?!?), not the "global market" that happened to be next door...not till Whole Foods did I find the stuff. What the heck? At least it was cheap.

The recipe also calls for shallot. I knew that was some kind of onion; what I didn't know was that it's (at least locally) a pricy type of onion. Substituted regular white onion (it calls for a tiny amount anyway), and it was more than fine.

This picture isn't very good, but it gives you an idea of the result:


The verdict: pretty tasty! Also nice and filling. The color comes from turmeric (which we actually already had among our spices because another recipe I/we make regularly is chicken tikka masala), but this is not a spicy dish; it isn't like a curry. It has a nice, mild flavor overall.

So, I expect to cook this again, though I might tweak a few steps of the preparation; and there's got to be an easier way to find dried coconut.

Slowly but surely, I'm building up my confidence and my repertoire! :-)