This is the best day yet! Loved watching you cook, loved the bakery; all the great food and seeing Sara Kate

I think I'll cook some pasta as well!!

Maybe mac and cheese tonight, my daughter's favourite. Comfort food for a cold and windy day.

Not sure yet what I'll cook, but am headed to the Farmers' market today after work!

that was a really fun video! and the Strozzapretti with Pecorino, Prosciutto and Something Green looks delicious. i applaud you for being brave enough to prep and cook in front of a camera. well done.

Wow! I wish I could shop where you shop. That place looks marvelous!

I'm making mixed rice/mazegohan. Japanese rice cooked with mirin, sake, soy sauce, chicken, tofu puffs/abura-age, mushrooms, carrots and burdock/gobo.

Well, I will make it... on Saturday. It's Thursday, about 10:00 pm right now here in Tokyo. And tomorrow I'm having a guest for dinner, so I'm cooking a tried-and-true recipe.

I have learned the hard way the lesson of cooking something you already know for guests. :/ Gluey garlic mashed potatoes that were so bitter they were unedible? Check. Accidentally using cinnamon instead of all-purpose seasoning in a meat dish? Check. Trying to save some time by using thawed frozen-veggies instead of blanched, and ending up with a soggy mess? Check, check, check!

I'm not a bad cook. Promise!

@thorndale,

What I wouldn't give to have a Trader Joe's! You can get all kinds of stuff there you can't get at normal grocery stores, and for decent prices. I particularly wish I could have access to all the wonderful cheeses they offer.

Look at your store with new eyes, and you'll see you're really blessed. :)

my husband & i just started doing this a few weeks ago. we're having our kitchen/dining room remodeled and i figured if we're gonna spend all that money, might as well have an idea of what we'll need. so far we've made some great meals and come up with ideas for the remodel we never would have thought of without this!

I'm still at last week's task of collecting inspirational photos by tearing off pages from magazines collected the last 10+ years reducing them to 3 folders. One is for the eye-candy, one is for tutorials and instructions and the biggest one is the recipe-collection. I might finish this task today and then, then finally I'm going to celebrate it with cooking one recipe I've already put aside.

Not going to happen for me tonight. It's Project Runway Night *Finale* With The Ladies (our weekly girls night). I'll catch up this weekend.

I love cooking at home. We have book club at a friend's house tonight...but there's always time to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

My go to pasta recipe is similar. I make it at least once a week:
1. Set water to boil and when it does, add your chosen pasta -- for this I like penne or rigatoni.
2. Then, chop up one or two slices of good bacon into 1/4 inch slices (crosswise across the bacon, so you have lean and fat in every piece) and brown in a large skillet -- it's going to hold all the pasta ina few minutes -- giving it a stir as necessary.
3. Then add a whole clove of garlic thinly sliced to the bacon (and rendered fat) and let it turn golden and start to crisp up.
4. Then into the same pan add something green (often baby arugula or spinach, which is easy to lay hands on in those plastic tubs, already cleaned) and saute it until the water evaporates.
5. Add cooked pasta to the skillet with the greens, let it warm up and top with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese (not from the green can!) or thin slivers of cheese -- a nice textural change.
6. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and crunchy coarse salt.

Any mix of pork (pancetta, wild boar sausage, bacon, cubed prosciutto) + garlic + greens works. You can add already-cooked, cubed butternut squash, other cooked veggies (roasted cauliflower is especially good). A scratch of nutmeg or lemon zest or a splash of heavy cream, chopped fresh basil or parsley or a little sage... always red pepper flakes... you're good to go in the amount of time it takes to heat the water and cook the pasta -- usually less than 15 minutes.

To make this almost effort free on a week night, roast veggies separately or together on the weekend and keep in the fridge -- they can be eaten as a side dish all week and added to the pasta when you don't have the time or energy for something elaborate.

I am eating last night's muizuna/kale/arugula + butternut squash rigatoni for lunch right now...
pam h
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

Not to poop on anything, and I get that you are trying to do these quickly, but this is the third day in a row that's been mono (it's only coming out of my left speaker) and the audio is totally blown out.

Any way this can be fixed? You have like . . . half of the 20/20 cure left and watching these videos is getting harder every day.

We have our Halloween fundraiser tonight so no cooking for us tonight! But we do cook a few times a week so we just need to keep it up. I think I might switch today and tomorrow!

My husband is cooking while a friend and I build headboards.... surely this must count :)

@adventrising - I thought it was an intermittent problem with my headphones! Glad I didn't go buy new ones just yet!

I've noticed most of the vids are mono this week too. Everything else I'm playin in IE is in stereo.

max, easy tip... next time don't pour out all of the pasta water. use a few spoons of it to thicken the eggy cheese sauce.

Hmmm ... I just put the other headphone in and could hear Max just fine. Don't know how it works without headphones, though. Love the videos!!

So, Maxwell, you totally changed the course of my evening (and possibly my diet!!) this week — after the gym, I was planning to take my iphone to the apple store and then grab some takeout on the way home ... this, after eating sort of badly all week! Last night was stuffed crust pizza.

Instead, I decided to think about how I could do my assignment. And, figured out we had a new recipe all made up in the freezer — Smoky Beef Short Ribs that we put together at this meal assembly chain called Let's Dish. And, I have a couple veggies that I'll do in some new way :-) Also I'll make pumpkin bars to take to work! FUN!

Thanks for the nudge.

Funny you should mention Jamie Oliver, because I LOVE his recipes and I'm making one of his tonight, too! I've never made it before (and was supposed to be last night's dinner), but I'm sure it'll be delicious.

Parmesan chicken breasts w/ crispy posh ham lol

I'm making thin crust pizza tonight, with fresh herbs and mozzarella balls. Still have to freshen up my landing strip. It's soooo messy right now, with bags and shoes everywhere. It's like an Adidas store sneezed on the floor! I've added pics to the Flickr group.

You've inspired me to make some homemade chicken noodle soup! Great videos...they really keep me motivated!

I can't cook very well, so I use my kitchen space for crafting. The cooking thing consists of Micro wave anything or open a can. I plan on checking out Jamie Oliver to see if I can change my ways.

I want to know if you ride your scooter even in the winter? Love it!
(I make eggy pasta with bacon & parsley... mmmm.)

adventrising and others--yes, sounds been only coming out of one earphone all week too -- thought it might be my headphones!

I LOVE the energy of this video!

I cook fairly often, so I think I'll use this night to catch up on Monday--floor and surfaces of one room. It's been a very busy week of evenings.

That looks great. I made a pasta recipe from Jamie Oliver a couple of nights ago, it had chopped leeks, garlic and garbanzo beans with a light cream sauce. It was great.
The videos have been really enjoyable. Thanks for making it so accessible.

That was a cute video! My cooking so far today was brunch. [I will share for those who like to be inspired: Porridge (soaked overnight w/ whey) with honey, cream, and ground flaxseeds-the flax gives it a different taste, but if you don't like flax just skip it; Poached egg w/ s&p in a sandwich of homemade bread (wheat w/ basil, rosemary &garlic) w/ butter and homemade soft cheese (dill, garlic, s&p)-broiled then added poached egg; vanilla black tea w/ caramel macchiato creamer; perrier's pamplemousse rose (grapefruit); and if I wanted to add fruit that would be on the side but my apples/grapefruit were a disappointment from this last shopping time, or I could also have my homemade yogurt w/ honey and w/e other toppings.]

:) Till I start classes again in January I won't have this much time on the weekdays, but I enjoy cooking/baking, and now fermenting, etc. b/c it's a challenge that and it makes the hubby happy and the tummy happy!

Keep experimenting with cooking everyone! You'll be surprised what food actually tastes like fresh instead of in a box! :D

Okay, okay, I will make something worthwhile for dinner instead of copping out. Another reader said they were going to make chicken noodle soup: GREAT IDEA! This is going to be great.

Thanks for the wonderful videos!

@Amy Hadley - you bet he rides it in the winter. He rides it in snow, across bridges, and at one point, with a very pregnant me perched on the back.

I have no appliances with which to cook, so I'll counter all the eating out and copious caffeinated drinks by enjoying some plain water and a light dinner of fresh fruit I haven't bought in a while.

I might also try that TJ cinnamon cheese mentioned at the Kitch.

I'm postponing this assignment as it's been a crazy busy week, this is the first evening I've been home at 5:00pm and I still have to rush to parent/teacher conferences. This weekend, I promise. After all, I really do love to cook, and I'm inspired by your pasta recipe.

Another day of not being able to hear a darn thing! The sound is coming out in mono...so the voice is coming out of the left speaker (or headphone if you wear headphones)....I need to wear headphones due to hearing issues, but as I am half DEAF in my left ear, I can't hear what you are saying at all now that it is in mono. :(
My eyes work thank goodness; I can see that you are cooking...something I do almost every day actually. Eating out is only something we do on special occasions, and we get home delivered food about once a month, usually thai or chinese food.
I sure wish I had your markets near me, they look out of this world/fabulous!

This is my favorite video yet; you two are lovely. And that pasta sounded delicious! I cooked shepherd's pie. Nothing fancy, but not something I usually make because it's hard to compete with the one my mom makes. I've never cooked anything from Jamie Oliver, but you've piqued my curiousity!

I am really grateful for encouragement when it comes to cooking. I have been pretty lukewarm about it because it seems like the only things that turns out well for me are the easy, fattening bad stuff. When I try to cook healthy, it never comes out good. However, as of late, I have been going to youtube and watching other people fix food and I'm getting better. :) Thanks for this video, I love it!

you are inspiring.

@gumleaf

Have you been checking the comments after you post yours? Because Maxwell has already replied to you in another post. He said if you hear nothing, try another browser (since others seem to hear it and it works on Vimeo just fine).

If it's just that you can't hear his voice coming out of the left headphone, put your headphones on backwards. :) That way the left/voice side will be on your right ear.

Made pumpkin/chocolate brownies tonight, yum!

Delightful! Was that Union Square Farmer's Market? Ahh, how I love weekends in NYC. I'm feeling like a trip there again sooon! Can I borrow your scooter? ;-)

I cook at home almost every night so for today's assignment I decided to try a new recipe. I made Moqueca - a Brazilian fish stew in a rich coconut milk broth. It was delicious! I'll post recipe and pics on my blog this weekend. I also had time while cooking to make my coveted Veggie Scrap Stock - recipe here (near the bottom of the page): http://oneperweek.wordpress.com/recipes/amazing-soups/

Thanks for another fun day of curing, Maxwell!

I did it! I cooked last night — little help from my hubby :-) We had smoky garlic beef short ribs in the crockpot. OH MY!! DELISH!! Much, much better than the restaurant takeout I was thinking of originally. These were accompanied by sweet potatoes and braised garlicky purple cabbage. All so good!!

I also made pumpkin bars in cupcake form and brought them to work today :-)

So, yay for cooking. That was actually really great — and I'm excited to have leftovers for lunch!

I made a curry dish with fresh eggplant, squash, onions, garlic and tofu over a small cup of brown rice. It was great!

I have been trying to cook more this past 2 weeks. Mostly with great success....mostly

hi all! thanks for all the feedback about the videos! @adventrising, @lesova and @Kinky Gazpacho - so sorry about the audio levels. I am checking with an expert tomorrow to make sure it doesn't happen again, but could you let me know if you had the same problem with today's sound? Thank you!! - Rebecca (the one behind the camera!)

also @pixie and @gumleaf!! if you have a minute please let me know if what i did today (list of top 6 things) fixed the problem, or if you are still hearing it in mono!

thx!

RebeccaBea, thank you so much, don't know what you did, but it WORKED!! Yippee...can hear it all perfectly now. :)

like I said, I postponed this for a night, but tonight, I made pamh's recipe higher up this thread. sooo good! Thanks pamh, for the new recipe!

I live in a residence where the meals are supplied so I can't cook a meal. , When you miss the meal time you are on your own so I'll check out the neighborhood health food store and enjoy the organic salad bar today.

That must be the Brooklyn Greenmarket.

Going to cook some eggy pasta, and buy flowers today, a twofer...

Thanks for this little reminder that cooking should be pleasurable. It can become a chore, especially if one cooks what seems like industrial-sized quantities every day! I'm going to make roast guinea fowl (with lots of garlic, lemon and tarragon), with purple sprouting broccoli.

I cook almost everything I eat from scratch. It really doesn't take that much time to make interesting meals and it can be fun to experiment. Since I live alone, I usually make enough for 4 servings which gives me two lunches and two suppers. It's really not that difficult to learn to cook, either. Too many people who say they can't cook try to start off by making something elaborate and complicated instead of starting simple. :D Start simple and move up from there :D

Honestly I won't be cooking from scratch tonight - Thursday is laundry night - but I will be reheating soup I made on Sunday

Other meals we've had this week - that are simple and tasty include:
-http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mustard-Chicken-Stew-355877

and

Pasta with Pesto and (pre-cooked and frozen) Shrimp
Boil pasta, heat de-frosted shrimp through (we sauteed them lightly in butter). When pasta is cooked, drain and add pesto, mix thorougly. Top with shrimp. EAT.

This is getting freaky.

I ordered several spices and blends online, and have been experimenting. Tonight I am using a brand new (to me) spice blend in my marinade, and I am plan to make roasted vegetables with rosemary and EVOO, using three different types potatoes, again a first for me.

And still, no one (me) has finished the paint touch up in the bathroom. SIGH.

Tonight I'll make Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, and Goat Cheese. I'm trying to have an "eat down" of my pantry and fridge, so it works perfectly!

And of course, I'm delighted to mess up my kitchen now that its all clean. :/

I'll cook something new, ok, even if I hate cooking and if I have to cook at least a meal everyday and if I made a delicious tiramisù yestarday (and there is some left in the fridge). BUT even if I'm from Rome (where the carbonara is from), I hate eating raw eggs. Is it ok if I try some other new recipe for tomorrow, instead?

I tried a butternut, pine nut and pasta recipe from the Kitchen website yesterday (quite good), and tonight is a Jamie Oliver recipe for rabbit (hare ?) with tomatoes and olive, a special home version I'm experimenting.

I tried cooking with my 18-months old son. While I'm quite sure I messed up his mind saying "rabbit" about a meat that has no ear, we enjoyed it a lot. It takes much, much more time to cook, but I love how we can both taste everything (I transform the recipes to make them baby-friendly).

Pasta is one of my go-to meals and I make my own red sauce. It lasts a long time and I jazz it up with various cheseses at the end. It was breakfast this morning. Having over 500 cookbooks, I usually combine more than one recipe to make my own version. I start with a basic way and just keep adding to make it look good to taste and to the eye.

It's cold and rainy here today so meatloaf is on the menu. I mix half minced lamb and half beef, sometimes other meat combos. Onions, chopped roast red peppers, egg, cumin, sumac, garlic and cinnamon. With that I'm serving roast yellow squash olive oil and pecorino cheese.

When building our house we took the most time in designing the kitchen. I cook most meals from scratch, make my own bread, render my own fats. Having a highly functional kitchen that's also esthetically pleasing is important to me. Because my boyfriend built the house I got custom things built in, got the lay-out that I wanted, features that I wanted. During the designing process I looked through a lot of magazines, books and websites and though the photos were often beautiful, the kitchens appeared to be barely functional. And I agree whole-heartedly that cooking is important to warm a house.

We made rissotto last night for the new recipe night, it was actually the second time we made it, and it still needs improvement, but it was WONDERFUL.

The landing strip is hopeless however. I feel like with out layout there is no logical place for one in our house!!

I made pasta w/ caramelized onions, portobello mushrooms,and goat cheese last night. I had forgotten a friend was coming over for dinner, so it worked out perfectly. I also (finally) bought flowers, so the night ended up being like a dinner party.

Rainarana - Your kitchen sounds awesome! Do you have pics?

My husband is a gifted cook and I rarely cook. I adapted and prepared a risotto recipe in :40-:60. It has a nice texture, and parmesan makes it taste good. I completed half the AT Cure, yeah!

I cook all the time for me and my friend/roommate. Though I really need to find some new recipes, but it's always a problem with my sweet tooth. I go looking for recipes and come out with 32 recipes for dessert and 3 actual meals. :D