i like to cook but i am not "a cook." if i were "a cook" i would cut up celery like this: chopchopchop.
what i do instead is, i grab pretty much the first knife in the block and start cutting - not chopping. and i cut slow. like this: cut........cut........cut........
the reason i don't grab the big knife and chopchopchop is that i don't know how. i mean, i know how to grab a big knife (don't piss me off!) but i don't know how to cutfastlikethis: chopchopchop.
i have tried to chopchopchop but i just don't have the knack. what i "lack in knack" i make up for in (besides poetry).....appreciation.
i appreciate the fibers in the celery. sometimes, i cut slow enough to count each one. dinner might be late, but i live alone, so who cares.
i examine the garlic skin. hold it up to the light. i've found that the more you can see through the skin, the more garlicky the garlic is. bet you didn't know that, you chopchopchoppers.
peppers are fun to cut. especially the orange ones. maybe just because i like orange.
onions? well, sigh. onions are a pain in the ass, period. the best way to cut onions is to use a machine. that's just the plain, God's honest truth.
i realize that "real cooks" - the ones who chopchopchop and use all the right utensils and wear white coats - end up with way better meals than i do. but i am not aiming for 5 stars. or even 1.
what i'm aiming for is a good enough meal that i had the good enough common sense not to rush through before it even was a meal.
not to mention the pleasure of writing about it the next day.
:)
