A New Year's Resolution 

By Gourmet May

Indian Time is pleased to announce a new column: “What the Fork!” Follow along with the stories and lessons of a North Country girl as she discovers new recipes and culinary talents. 

This year, like most, I am proud to say that I have started a New Year’s resolution. Unlike most, whose resolutions are to ‘save money’ and ‘lose weight’, I want to spend money and eat more. Let me explain… my resolution is to learn how to cook.

To be fair, being the youngest of four sibling I have never really needed to know how to fend for myself. There was always someone who was cooking and would just make a plate for me. When I went away to college, I did not need to learn to cook either because the dining hall was a best bet. When I returned home, I lived alone and eating at home was not any fun, so I just found food while out socializing.

Today, I find myself nightly sitting across from my beau asking each other the same question we will inevitably be asking for the rest of our lives – what do you want for dinner? Don’t get me wrong. I am an incredibly lucky girl, I hit the jackpot when it comes to life partners. I found a man with good looks and who likes to cook!

So, why do I want to kick a handsome man out of the kitchen? I don’t know either. Maybe it is because I feel like I owe it to him, to cook more evenings and make something more savory than blue box macaroni and cheese. Or maybe, I have something to prove to myself. To prove that I can cook, if I really wanted to.

There have been attempts at cooking in the past. Smoke alarms have gone off at least a few times in my apartments. Food has been served with half the plate cold and the other half hot. Dinner guests feigning delight while trying to chew through one of my creations. There are a lot of meals that I have ruined. Maybe that is why beau cooks most nights?

Whatever the reason, my learning to cook is going to be hilarious. Looking back on my many failed attempts I have to laugh at my lack of elementary cooking skills. Like this one night I was trying to cook shrimp fettucine alfredo and I thought that the world was going to end because I accidentally bought ‘cooked’ shrimp instead of ‘uncooked’ shrimp. If I knew what cooked meant I would know that certainly dinner was not ruined.

So, join me for my cooking adventures, lessons learned, and maybe a delicious meal or two.