Adventure of a One-Armed Cook

I've never been much of a cook. Don't get me wrong...I can whip up a mean box of mac 'n cheese, but I have little concept of what goes well with what. If I don't have an ingredient, there's no way I'm going to come up with an acceptable substitute on my own. I once tried to substitute ranch dressing for milk. That was a disaster that I'll never live down. My one saving grace is that I'm good at assembling things and I know how to follow directions. In fact, I love following directions. I like going from step to step and seeing a product come together. As such, recipes are right up my alley. Why I waited this far into my life to take an actual interest in recipes and learning to cook anything more complicated than grilled chicken, I don't know. In fact, I couldn't have picked a worse time. You see, I had a baby three months ago, so the amount of time I can reliably devote to anything has shrunk significantly. For me, having a baby in tow doesn't mean I have no time for anything, it just means that I have to be prepared to drop what I'm doing at a moment's notice if the baby wakes up or requires attention for some pressing matter like wanting to be held of having spit out her pacifier. So why, in the midst of this I've decided to start cooking, an activity where timing is everything and a few minutes can mean the difference between rice that's perfectly cooked and a starchy mess, I don't know. But that's exactly what I'm doing, and that's exactly what this blog is about. It's about learning to cook while my attention is split between a boiling pot and a crying baby. So join me in my journey as I discover how to make delicious meals with simple ingredients, in limited time, and often with only one hand to spare.