School of Cooking.

I'm not even sure what happened last week. I disappeared for the week, thanks for noticing. First of all, the ice on my window shows that it was minus eight million degrees so I almost went into hibernation.  I suppose I was just tired. Unmotivated, perhaps. For the first time in my adult life I went to bed before 10pm. Just like that, I stood up, crawled in bed, closed my eyes and actually fell asleep. It must have been the return to BodyPump class that got me.

I'm going back for another class tomorrow so let's hope I don't fall asleep while driving home. This is a big week for me and I need to burn off some steam.





Back in Florida I used to teach middle school. When I moved to the frozen tundra the powers that be decided my teaching certificate didn't meet their standards. For the past year and a half I've been taking classes and now that I'm done I will spend the semester as a student teacher. I've spent the last few weeks getting lessons and experiments ready. Starting Wednesday I'll have just over 100 high school kiddos in my science classes. Big day, people. Big day. I already picked out which dress I'm going to wear.

I like to spend Sunday evenings getting my house, life and closet ready for the week. Call me crazy, but I like to start the week in a clean and organized manner. Fill the refrigerator, iron any necessary clothes, pick up around the house, and pack my lunch.

Since my time for eating lunch has been slashed to a few precious seconds while sitting over my computer I'm taking a new approach this week. Beef stew.

I have this wonderful friend. Her name is Dagni and she's technically my boss. Mentor is probably a better word. Although, friend is actually the most accurate description.





We used to have weekly wine dates in my tiny Florida kitchen. Among other things that she and I discussed, Dagni would constantly try to convince me that cooking was not only easy, but actually enjoyable. Remember, at this point I had just learned how to heat up black beans and had not yet mastered the art of baking a chicken breast or boiling a pot of pasta.

Dagni swore that the secret to cooking was learning to enjoy it. She explained that to do that you need a glass of wine, a few candles and some music.

So that's what I do now. It's how I made my beef stew tonight. And it's how I made banana bread this afternoon. It even makes washing the dishes a little nicer.

Hi. My name is Kate and I subscribe to the Dagni School of Cooking now. I'm never looking back.

Happy Monday! Cook something delicious tonight.