Anyone can COOK!

My family and friends can attest to this - I don't cook. I never cook. The words Ayen and cooking cannot be together in a single sentence.
I have always been uninterested in cooking. I love good food and enjoy eating but to prepare the delectable masterpieces myself, "No, thank you!". I grew up in a family of great cooks - my mom and grandmothers - so it was surprising that I lack the skill and curiosity for it. I think cooking is very time and energy consuming when you can purchase delicious food for the same price of buying the ingredients. The closest thing I get to being in the kitchen is washing the dishes or when, ages ago, I was mom's little helper. I'm always annoyed when people question how I don't cook and how it would be when I get married, how will you feed your family, things like that. Well, my perspective has always been "I will not go to college, work hard to build my career and earn well just to end up cooking for someone else. If I want to cook, I will. For myself. Surely, my future spouse won't marry me based on a cooking show criteria, the same way I won't judge my future spouse if he doesn't sing as well as Jason Mraz. And I'll work so hard to afford a cook and to buy my favorite food, ok?". Hehehe. So yeah.

While making my bucket list for 2012, I included "Cook Something" just to try something new for myself. It was actually one of last things I worked on since, being me, it's unexciting. For encouragement, I listed down my favorite food, mostly from restaurants, so I will be motivated to try this new adventure. I asked for recipes and did my research, and for the months of August & September, I'm happy to announce that I, Ayen Santos, non-cook extraordinaire, finally gave cooking a try. For August, I prepared some of my lunch that I bring to the office. Stir fry cauliflower & broccoli and Ginisang Ampalaya. One weekend in Bulacan, I prepared breakfast for my folks - Tinapa Rice and Longganisang Bawang - which lolo and lola enjoyed. I made the same set for a Subic getaway with my cousins last weekend, they loved it too. In addition, I went to the supermarket, buy ingredients and cooked Korean Beef Bulgogi with side veggies weeks ago, I brought some for my officemates and friends and they were so surprised I did cook. Well, me too!

I am yet to fall in love with 'cooking' but I'm glad I surpassed another challenge.
I'm so proud of how much I've changed for the better because of this 2012 Project.
I did it for myself! Life is good!