Julie vs. the kitchen, Round 1. Fight!

One of my New Year's resolutions was to cook at home more. (Not like I cook a lot outside home, but you get what I mean -- make food at home instead of picking it up or eating elsewhere.) Twice a month was my goal. Not very lofty, but more than what I do now. And I mean actual meals, not just spaghetti and meatballs or veggie burgers or something. "Dishes", if you will.

I don't know how to make very many things. I've always felt a bit daunted by the act of cooking. It definitely doesn't come intuitively to me. I'm forever overcooking meat (undercooked meat=scary!), undercooking vegetables (impaaaatient), and clueless as to what spices should be used with what foods.

But, I figure I am of average intelligence, and people all over the place cook every day, so I should just suck it up and make some attempts. What's the worst that could happen -- omelets, marmalade, and blue soup? (Actually, that's fairly likely. I consider my culinary skills about on par with Bridget's.)

I've made a few forays into food preparation before -- chicken cheese casserole, white chili, falafel, green minestrone, chicken couscous, veggie lasagne -- all with varying results. The only thing I can make with any degree of tasty reliability is garlic cheese biscuits.

Tonight was my first stab at the edible arts in a long while. After perusing cookbooks for a good period of the day, alternately watching Josh beat The Legend of Zelda and get irritated by Rayman Raving Rabbids on the Wii, I finally selected a menu that seemed within my limited skill set.

Israeli Spiced Chicken with Two-Tomato Relish and Zucchini with Mint

Looks good, right? Here's the recipe. It actually turned out pretty well, and looked not too dissimilar from the picture. If I'd been thinking clearly, I'd have taken a picture of my own meal for comparison. But alas! Next time. (And there will be a next time!)

I cooked the chicken in a pan rather than on the grill. It was tasty, but a bit overdone, which is par for the course for me. I actually prefer dry chicken, but Josh (and most normal people) like it a bit moister. Maybe the grill would've been better for that. The spices were yummy, though -- hard to mess up.

The tomatoes were pretty plain, just a hint of lemon/olive-oil "dressing" (I use the term loosely here, since I don't like things that are generally thought of as dressing). I don't know that I'd make that again, since it wasn't quite Josh's preference, but it was fresh and easy.

The zucchini actually turned out the best in my opinion. I have a long history of trying to cook zucchini and failing to cook it sufficiently. I don't know why. Maybe every time I think, "It can't possibly take this long!" But this time I waited long enough, and it was done enough, and the mint was good, and it were actually quite yummy.

The verdict: not bad. I've been spoiled by my exposure to some really good cooks (my mom, who makes it look easy, and Josh's mom, who has it down to an art), so I've become accustomed to a high standard of culinary excellence. I don't think I'll get near that good, at least not for a number of years, but I'm aiming for a base level of competence.

Know any good recipes? ;)