Tikkabik

I'm the principal cook in our house. Left to her own devices, Bonnie can cook and often does a good job, but she really doesn't like to do it, and she's not very comfortable cooking without a recipe. She's also easily distracted which can sometimes lead to disasters of the smoking, burnt kind. So for the most part, I'm in charge of dinners and I often make lunches on the weekends as well.

I've been cooking for a very long time. One of my first experiences was at 5 or 6 when I decided to make a cake using an instant cake kit that included everything, even the pan, without my mom's help. She was surprised, thrilled and more than a bit shocked that I turned on the oven myself and did this, without her supervision. But I was raised an only child by a single parent, so I've always figured that this was a defensive skill -- one must eat to survive, after all.

So I've often cooked throughout my life, and given Bonnie's general discomfort around the kitchen, it's always been more or less my domain unless she's baking something.

My repertoire is fairly varied. Over the course of a week I'll try to cook some pasta dishes, a stew or soup, some beef and chicken as well. Bonnie shies away from pork and seafood and the kids are all very finicky with a couple of them sensitive to certain spices and seasonings, so a lot of variety I'd prefer to work with is out, but within the scope of what we all like to eat I think I do a decent job. Broiled chicken in lemon pepper marinade one night; pan-fried steak smothered in mushroom sauce on a bed of rice the next; the occasional hearty beef stew or vegetable soup.

I don't know if it's just me, but I've noticed something over the years: My food never tastes as good as other people's. The kids and Bonnie don't complain, and I'll get compliments from them and from other friends and family who eat with us, so I don't think it's my cooking that's the problem, just my attitude. I'm one of those cooks who just doesn't like to eat his own dog food.