2007 was the year I started to cook

It dawned on me last night that 2007 was the year I started to cook.  On the cusp of my 40's, I bought a new cookbook, got inspired and realized not only was it fun to cook, but that it was also good for my kids.

What did I do before I cooked?  well, before I had the kids, I would go to the restaurant for food, or I would nuke weight watchers frozen dinners.  I had my favorites (WW pepperoni pizzas, lasagna),  and Leone would guiltily eat them too.  Now that I think about it, I spent A LOT of money on frozen foods.

Then Chiara started to get older and tired of eating fusilli from the restaurant every night.  Mario moved out of baby foods and demanded food that he could feed himself.  Most importantly, I started working 60% and now not only had the time to do more cooking, but the financial incentive.  We used to eat out for lunch on Saturday and Sunday and dinner on Sunday at River Kwai.  At this point, we are down to one meal out per week, if that.  Bad for the local economy, but better for our pocketbooks.  It's also a heck of a lot of fun to eat as a family, not to mention less stressful, as noisy and/or difficult children can be more easily contained.

Now Leone comes home at night and eats the fritatta I've left for him in the fridge or the asian chicken burgers I made for the kids that night.

The other part of the cooking equation was the new cookbook I bought.  Prior to 2007, I had pretty much only used a weight watchers pasta cookbook.  I was bored with it.  On Jasmine Payne's recommendation, I bought the Cooking Light cookbook and was totally inspired.  I have made 20+ recipes out of it and haven't even scratched the surface.  I've made popovers, pancakes, fritattas, italian meatloaf, cookies and the list could go on and on.

Now my kids can play kitchen and can whisk and measure items just like mommy does!  I just bought a cupcake cookbook (as cupcakes will play a large role in the lives of my kids over the next few years) and am planning on buying a muffin cookbook and a quick-bread cookbook.  Together with all my new cooking tools (food processor, george foreman grill) I am planning on 2008 bringing more cooking and eating adventures.