And so it begins...

I've never done this blogging thing before but have sort of wanted to. I just never had any idea of what I wanted to write about! Then I had an epiphany. 

The kids were at school, hubby at work so I had the TV to myself for a change. Surfing through the channel I found a girly, chick-flick movie. It was called “Julie and Julia”. It was about a young woman who was at a crossroads with her life. She had aspirations of being a writer but was stuck at an entry level, dead end job. She was however, a pretty decent cook. So, being a fan of Julia Child, she decided to cook every dish in Julia’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in one year, at the same time, blogging her progress.

In between these scenes, the movie showed us little vignettes of Julia’s life, starting with her beginner classes at Cordon Bleu through the publishing of her book. There were so many things I had never known about her! All in all, a pretty great movie. Not one my hubby would watch, but I enjoyed it all the same.

Anywho, it inspired me.

As most of you who know me, I am NOT a cook. I can bake well enough, but anything that resembles a meal usually resembles the trash when I make it. I laugh at those recipes that say “Total time: one hour” because I always wonder which hour they’re talking about! 

I can bake fairly well. I rock at yeast breads. Cookies and other desserts are never a problem and I've created and decorated some pretty incredible birthday cakes. Cooking however, is another story. I've tried to make lasagna at least three times. The dog wouldn't even eat it so I've been forbidden to ever try it again.

But I digress…I decided that I would like to learn to cook. I want to find a cook-book (or cook-books), search out some recipes online, suggestions by friends-anything, and teach myself. I’m going to try a different recipe every day if I can, desserts don’t count (except as a bonus). I figure this will do a couple of things.

1. I’ll learn to cook.
2. We’ll eat healthier (in theory).
3. We’ll have to plan our meals therefore saving money at the grocery store.
4. We’ll eat together at the table more often.
5. It could be fun!!

Also, like the Julie in the movie, I’m going to blog it. I’ll put down what I cooked, how difficult it was, if we and/or the kids liked it, all that good stuff. If I can figure it out, I'll even post pictures. At times, I may even write about some of the chaotic things that seem to happen at our house on a daily basis. Comments and suggestions will be most welcome! Wish me luck!


P.S. The name "Ratatouille" was a suggestion from my daughter based on the Disney movie of the same name. In her infinite wisdom, she thought that if a rat could learn to cook, so could Mom!