Funk.

I've lost my cooking mojo, and it's getting to be a serious problem.  As classes started last month, I knew that I would be a lot busier and would have to plan quick meals most nights.  Not a big deal, I've made plenty of good food that doesn't take long to prepare.  But soon after, I lost the desire to cook anything new.  I've decided that it's because everything else in my life is new (job, city, friends, life) and I needed something to stay consistent.  So I ate things like roasted chicken and lasagna for a few weeks because they were comforting and familiar.  No big deal, I figured my desire to experiment would come back.  And to some degree it has.  But now every time I try a new recipe, it's virtually inedible (sometimes due to a kitchen disaster and other times it just tastes bad).  Like tonight I thought I would make a sweet potato, wild rice, and fresh fig stuffing.  I had two big sweet potatoes that I threw in the oven to bake.  A few minutes later I was convinced by the smell of things that my apartment was burning down, but couldn't see any smoke or flames (and don't worry, the mouse that has made a home in my cabinet wasn't in there).  Once the potatoes were tender, I realized that one had a tumor-like substance all the way through it (perhaps responsible for the smell??).  So, I only had half of the amount of sweet potato that I needed.  I'm not sure if that was the problem or if it was a bad recipe, but I took one bite and immediately put it away (somehow I've deluded myself into thinking that it will magically be better tomorrow).  So I'll probably revert back to the old comfort foods for a while (most of which are somewhere on this blog already).  That also means that you won't be hearing much from me for a while.

I'm hoping that once I move, I'll be so excited to spend time in my new kitchen that I'll get out of my funk.  Yep, that's right, I'm moving again.  Assuming there are no disasters with the inspection or appraisal (*fingers crossed*), I will own my very first house in the next couple of months.  Oh yeah, add "buying a house" to the list of new things in my life.

The good news is that everything else in my life is going very well (hey, I can't have everything, right?).  And truth be told, I would rather enjoy my job than be a great cook.  Part of the reason I created this blog was to escape from a less than pleasant situation, and it's nice not to have to do that anymore.  But stay tuned, because I'll be back one day soon, and I'll probably have better photos because I'll have lots of natural light in the new kitchen :).