Oh yes. It's been since mid-Jan that I haven't had a kitchen, and we have been living off of these staples from Costco:

1. frozen chimichangas (micro)
2. frozen eggrolls (micro)
3. Jack Daniels bbq chicken (micro)
4. Yakisoba noodles and frozen veggies, sometimes add chicken (frying pan)
5. Sweet and Salty granola bars

Not exactly yum, but edible. Horrible for the waistline.

But now that our double ovens are in, we had potatoes and salmon with microwaved corn last night and that was quite the treat to be eating real food again.

I wonder how long it will take to get back into the cooking habit.

Looks like I need to try the Jack Daniels bbq chicken! I think cooking must be like getting regular exercise. Once you get out of the habit it is hard to get back into it. Even though I enjoy both they take time so you have to arrange your schedule to do them. And there is something about that forgetfulness. I too am having a hard time remembering what to cook for a quick, easy and HEALTHY meal!

My cooking habit was never actually fully developed...... I'm getting a new oven, with gas burners and the option for convection, never used either. I'm paying close attention to this thread and hoping you'll all start exchanging some recipes I can use as ideas. I really want to make good use of the new range. I typically use the outdoor grill, even when I'm out there in a hat and gloves! I never installed a dishwasher in my old kitchen. That was enough to send me out to the grill. If anyone is interested in sharing some quick, easy and healthy recipes to refresh each other's memories, I'm paying attention!!!!!

plllog, your presentation could make anything look appetizing! Congratulations on a healthful meal on the fly. Those are always fun!

I am with rookie, I never developed my habit very well, but I always blamed it on the layout of my old kitchen... too many steps, and exhausting to cook the way I love, which is inventing as I go along.

Our vent hood was installed this week so we've been doing a few more things. Last night I made baked potatoes on which I rub olive oil and sea salt before baking, and put them directly on the rack. I also roasted asparagus fresh from the garden. We had a neighbor girl spending the night and she commented that she had never had potatoes with salt on them before. She also relished the asparagus. When she finished eating, she sighed and said, "I love your cooking." Very sweet, but I was laughing to myself.

She and her dad also ate over the night before because her mom is in the hospital. We had grilled hot dogs and pulled pork barbecue, a green salad, strawberries and chips. So that's the extent of my cooking that she loves. But I think she was happy just to be over at our house.

needsometips, one of my kids' favorite things is black bean soup. I usually use canned beans but add garlic powder, paprika, chili powder and cumin (don't know how much, I cook by taste and smell). No salt added, but the cans have it already.

Other than basic, easy stuff like that, I truly have forgotten all the family favorites but I'm ready to start fresh with a new chapter. (Monday... I get my counters and sinks and DW.)

plllog--it looks like your remembering!!

I haven't had a kitchen for almost 6 months. I've been thinking the same thing--will I remember how?

jsweenc - my counters come Monday too!!!

This made me laugh...I completely forgot how to cook, and clean! I went on cleaning strike part way through the remodel and I'm just now relearning to get into a regular routine.

A few weeks after all the appliances were in I was sitting around in my new kitchen thinking to myself, "What did I do with myself before I spent all of my time researching kitchen stuff?" Then I swear if you had been in the room you would have seen a lightbulb magically appear above me and I literally smacked myself on the forehead and said, "Duh, I used to cook!! That's why I wanted a new kitchen in the first place!"

Since then I've been cookin' up a storm :) It really did take that lightbulb moment to knock me back into it though, and I've now had lots of fun learning how to use gas, a convection oven and just seeing how the new layout works.

Enjoy! Sounds like you've had your lightbulb moment and I bet all sorts of delicious will be flowing out of your new space :)

Yeah, I remember it took awhile to get back into the swing. The first few times I cooked in the new kitchen I remember commenting on it to DH. I think it was compounded by the fact that we hadn't really moved back into the kitchen (hadn't put stuff in the cabs and drawers yet), so hunting down what I needed (utensils, pots, pans, dishes...) in addition to reading/following a recipe, and gathering my ingredients made for a new-to-cooking feeling.

As you know from a different thread plllog, I've lost my baking mojo, but I promise to work on that soon!

So funny and so true! We didn't cook for a a few weeks while our house was on the market and then another few weeks during our move. It did feel awkward getting back into the swing (though part of that was probably getting used to a new-to-me kitchen and grocery stores).

The pasta looks fresh and yummy. Plus fresh flowers and pretty plates makes everything festive.

jsweenc, that's exactly how I bake my potatoes! Toss in a ziploc with olive oil and sea salt. My kiddos love it too.

I can't believe after seeing the pictures of what you have made, plllog that you have forgotten much! Looked great to me. I have always been more into baking than cooking meals, but I am trying to change that some and using the new kitchen for inspiration. It was definitely harder the first few weeks, when not everything was unpacked, pantry not fully stocked with staples, etc. DH is also adjusting to new layout, new features and everything else. He wasn't as involved in planning (someone had to remain sane) so a lot of my carefully planned additions are surprises to him. Also adjusting to the new controls on the range has taken some recalibration on my part. But I made dinner for friends last night and it felt great. Of course I launched into a cake recipe before realizing it used a 10" tube pan, which I don't own. But thanks to this site, I realized there is a whole group of helpful cooking experts just "next door" on the other forum, and they helped me with adjusting for a pan I did have.

Looking for recipes? check out the cooking and recipe exchange forums on GW!

ooooh we love black bean soup. OK, I admit it, I am a sucker for any soup that's not store bought. I call canned soup salt gravy.

But the recipe off off allrecipes.com called vegan black bean soup is a staple I keep in ziplocs in the freezer at all points and times when we actually have a kitchen. It makes for great, easy lunches. Oh boy do I miss that.

I actually broke down and bought some lentil salt gravy at Costco a couple days ago. And I am actually eating it too!

I think I'll have a kitchen in another two months. Haven't cooked anything since Oct. My problem is that now I see all these great recipes I want to try, and been saving them. The question is when the kitchen is finally done will I actually remember how or even want to cook!

MadamG2U

Most people are answering your first question, but to your second I also have to say yes! Many late afternoons have found DH walking in from work finding me at the computer and having to root around in the freezer for something that can be MWed. Can't begin to calculate how many frozen pizzas the kids have had, and amazed that they will still eat them. I'll have them begging for a break from homemade meals before too long! (TKO is to blame for the above, not the fact that I don't have a functional kitchen.)

Yes to both questions. We moved into this house about 18 months ago, the kitchen was a disaster. I was very uncomfortable using it. Our reno started last November, should finish completely within the next month. I haven't cooked a great meal literally since I was in my last house 18 months ago! Since moving back into the house post reno, it has taken me time to sort out the kitchen and to actually remember how to cook. We are still eating far too many grocery store prepared meals for my liking.

That said, the kitchen is virtually done and I'm planning on great things to come. But I'm not a great chef, and I hope to be inspired by people like you plllog! I think I'm going to try the home-made bread on Elizpiz's blog this week, with one of my favourite soups - West African Peanut Soup. Seems like a good place to start with my new kitchen. I hope to graduate to a proper dinner party with multiple courses within the month.

LOL! Sochi, I think part of my problem is that having started with a couple of full on dinner parties, I'm lost when it comes to just plain ol' dinner. Like, oh, right, I could chop an onion. :)

I finally gave up on getting the big oven clean today and ran the self-clean cycle. That's lovely. I seem to remember how to bake and probably will do that tomorrow or Monday. Meantime, I have to figure out some actual food to cook too...

Thanks, Countrygal, and Pickle!

Jsweenc, thanks for the kind words. Maybe it's time to make some homemade frozen pizzas? Or just frozen shells that you can top fresh. I'm thinking about making something this week to make burritos out of to put in the freezer. And I need to make a big pot of spaghetti sauce, but I should wait until the old freezer gets moved to the garage. Maybe I should try my new rotisserie?

JRueter, I've been saving some recipes from the cooking forum to look at, but I so rarely use recipes! With the spaghetti, I wouldn't have thought anything of it if I'd chopped the veg first, but I honestly didn't even think of it!! That I had perfectly good vegetables to put in it or anything. I was just going to throw the bottle sauce on it and call bagged baby lettuce and the little heirloom tomatoes a salad. I'm still laughing at myself today!!

ROTFL!!! Needs, I love it! Salt gravy!! That's so descriptive!

I'm the kind of person who NEEDS to cook and bake. I don't know what I'll do when the kitchen is being renovated! Some of you are many months into a renovation... just wondering why is it taking so long?

donka said it best
A few weeks after all the appliances were in I was sitting around in my new kitchen thinking to myself, "What did I do with myself before I spent all of my time researching kitchen stuff?" Then I swear if you had been in the room you would have seen a lightbulb magically appear above me and I literally smacked myself on the forehead and said, "Duh, I used to cook!! That's why I wanted a new kitchen in the first place!"

The step before cooking.......going to the grocery store. I didn't buy anything to cook that first time! Forgot how to do that! I still don't have the cupboards stocked like I used to. But it's coming.

I'm trying not to spend so much time researching the upcoming bathroom redo. I could be cooking! I did make Rhodes frozen bread today! The new kitchen does make it easier to cook and bake. I can't believe how much easier! Just a small matter of cabinets, rearranging, lots of counter space, and moving the refrig. And the clean up goes on and on. I am almost done reclaiming the garage and then on to the basement. Probably just in time for the bathroom stuff to take the place of kitchen stuff.

But I didn't want to get started with a roux while my pasta was almost cooked,

Um. Roux? What is this roux you speak of? As an Italian, I wonder, what does to mato sauce have to do with roux?

ROTFL!! Marcolo, the roux would be for a marsala pepper sauce which is based on besciamella. You notice it was mentioned as an alternative to tomato, my tomato supplies (barring the jar sauce) being iffy.

Donka, I think the lightbulb is just kind of flickering right now. I think, like Pinch_me, I need to go grocery shopping. :) But I have to figure out what to cook first... (Sigh)

Now that we're getting close, somebody asked what I was going to cook as first meal in new kitchen. For a second, I drew a complete blank.

As in Cook? I can cook? Use more than one pot? Have oven?

I'm thinking breakfast. Dh has been pancake deprived. Heated china plates. Cantaloupe and strawberries. Real juice. Maybe I'd have a soft boiled egg!

Haha...you guys are hilarious :) Do we need to start a support group, "Cooking for Post-Reno'ers: A 3 Step Program"?

Step 1: Admit you have a problem.

Step 2: Remember something you used to enjoy cooking and go buy ingredients for said dish.

Step 3: Cook it.

;)

I know, I know, it's definitely not that easy to kick the 'temporary kitchen' cooking habits!

plllog, somehow you and frozen pizza just don't seem to go together. : ) Not with all your talk about a roux and other italian and french words. But I think the frozen shells and homemade freezer burritos sound great!

I also meant to comment on the salt gravy. Great description, but will certainly make me hesitate to open any more cans of black beans. Time to get the big stock pot out and soak.

A dear friend recommended a book some of you might have read. I haven't gotten to it yet but she told me the premise and I look forward to trying it to a smaller degree. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, about eating only locally grown foods for a year, except for things like coffee and Dr. Pepper. (OK, the DP would be my own exception.) This kind of focus might be a good way to get back into good habits. With summer coming on, farmers markets and gardens should help as well.

Back in the 80's I was a phone installer & found a cushy gig pre-wiring new construction & remodels for telephones & key systems. (Remember when phones needed WIRES?!) The installation would be done when framing, rough electrical, & plumbing were in, but of course, before drywall.

Every house I entered had old pizza boxes, empty cans, & a filthy coffee pot & paper cups piled high on a stained piece of plywood. At some point, EVERYONE living through a remodel just gives up on trying to keep it clean! It's inevitable. Your energy is focused (& NEEDS to be) on other things & you have to become immune to some of the chaos.

Oh boy, & here I go, about to start with my own...

JSweenc, don't be off put by the words! They're just words. It's white sauce. No big thing.

And there are some pizzas in my freezer. They're organic/natural/localish whole wheat flatbread pizzas, but they come from the store. They're great for convenience food, and I can't duplicate them with home cooking. That doesn't mean I won't try at some point. :) Right now, having come out the other side, I can't look at another piece of pizza.

I need to bake bread, but right now I'm reveling in La Brea Bakery whole grain bread. It was too crumbly to deal with during the remodel. It's my favorite bread of all. "Made with whole wheat and organic wheat flour, this loaf has a combination of organic flax seeds, amaranth, quinoa and six grains." I may eventually try to make something like it, but I know that the first twenty are going to be somewhere between brick and DG, and it's so easy to buy it at the store. And it is such good quality...

The buy local idea is interesting, but since "local" here is within a hundred miles, and because of economies of scale, the produce brought in from Central and South America often has a lower carbon footprint. And with the very best produce available right there in the local market, it's really hard forcing oneself to go to the iffy farmers' markets.

ROTFL!! Donka, you're so right! Those steps will do it. But there was no cooking at all going on during the construction. I couldn't even make a salad. I really have to remember to cook rather than looking in the fridge expecting there to be something ready in there. ;)

I will never quit liking frozen pizza! Never! (Red Baron, I love you!)

I need to remind everyone that I was only out of my kitchen a short month. February. My electric stove was accessable 99% of the time. But everything else was on either side of the kitchen. Run from the frig in the computer room through the icky kitchen to the table, micro, toaster oven, etc. in the breezeway. Dishes got washed in the bathroom sink (back through the icky kitchen) and then immediately boxed and moved.....but not put away. Not only didn't I know where anything was, I didn't even know where to look. The paper plates just didn't cut it. I don't envy any of you going through a total displacement.

Actually No, and No

While we did have pizza and takeout as well as going out, one of us cooked about half of our meals per week. How? Crockpot, microwave, food processor and toaster oven! There are lots of recipes online and crockpot cookbooks with great recipes in them. Even tho, we have a functional but not done yet kitchen, I am still using our crockpot every so often.

Did it take longer to make meals using those appliances? Oh yes, but it was worth it to us healthwise and waist-wise! I encourage all of you are remodeling now, to take some time to set up a way to cook some healthy meals once in awhile. You and your family will feel so much better in the long run. We even had one of our subs tell me as I was preparing a crockpot meal that WE were eating better than his family was.

While it was a pain to do dishes, I dislike using paper plates and only used them when we were both tired and hungry.

My DH were just talking about this last night. I LOVE to cook and just two weeks in, I'm in withdrawl, so I guess I'm on the "early" end of this problem. I was thinking that my family would be glad to have home cooked meals back, and my DH was hoping that they wouldn't get used to the high fat, expensive, bland "fast food" that I have been feeding them lately!!

Pllog, that plate looks yummy.

Cj

Oh, but plllog, those are words used by someone who is accustomed to cooking for ... what did you say... 50-100 people at a time! I've never done that, never plan to. I can do white sauce though.

I guess the main premise of the book (remembering bits and pieces of what she told me) was that buying local means buying and eating foods in season. We have always bought apples, bananas, grapes, etc. throughout the year and not given it much thought. Why are your farmers' markets iffy? Maybe mine are too and I don't know enough to notice. : /

pinch, I am definitely tired of my 2000 sf kitchen and my 5'x3'x2'deep sink (the bathtub), plus things getting put "away" in a different place every time. No complaints, I am thankful to have a new kitchen.

earthpal, good for you for finding a way to continue with good healthful meals throughout your reno. We were about 50/50, but some nights I just couldn't pull it together. Hopefully your encouragement will help others to do the same as you.

cj47, you really might have to worry about all that fat in the fast food diet! Recent studies suggest that fat may be addictive. Even worse, not only do you crave it once you are used to it, but you increasingly need more and more of it to feel satisfied. Life is just not fair!

LOL!!! JSweenc, you're doubling me!! It's 25-50. That's easy because one chooses to do what can be done large scale, and one buys groceries to purpose. No béchamel for them!! Daily cooking (1-4 people) needs creativity and variety, and that's what I'm finding I'm lacking.

EarthPal, I would never have done this this way if I'd known it would be 10 months before I'd have a kitchen sink. All I had was a powder room, and nowhere to prep anything. It was supposed to be a warm weather adventure of sandwiches and bought salads, with some filled in take out from Whole Foods. There was no way to prep food, and nowhere to cook indoors other than a microwave. The crockpot was packed, and I couldn't even deal with the smell of toast in the non-kitchen house, let alone anything on a hot plate. And I had no heat so no desire to figure out how to cook in the Fall and Winter.

What you've said is very important!!! It's much better to go into the remodel with figuring out how to cook, rather than how to survive without cooking because you never know what's going to happen.

Cj, thanks, it was yummy!! And even vituous. :)

I think my problem this week has been long term sleep deprivation. I've been forcing myself to rest and sleep as much as I can and I think I'm finally beginning to catch up. I didn't realize how fried I really was! I seem to have ricotta and a turkey carcass. The latter will be stock, but I need some roots and can't seem to pull myself together enough to go to the store before it rains. I don't know what to do with the former. I only have three eggs or I'd make a soufflé (JS, that's a fluffy egg pie. :-P )

Oh, thanks, plllog! : D I have made one of those, of the chocolate variety.

I must be sleep deprived too. When you said you had a ricotta and turkey carcass, I thought it was some vivid picture of how your body feels being sleep deprived. Very poetic, I thought! LOL!

Oh, re the farmers' markets and seasonal produce, in So. Cal., even the seasonal produce isn't all that seasonal. Not like in the North. And seasonal eating makes more sense where you need heavy, dense food that'll carry you through a long, cold Winter day, and for Summers you want light, yield of the Earth kinds of things. Here, we have salad year round. Cold is less than 65°. It can be chilly and damp in the height of Summer, when a stew is very comforting, and warm and bright in Winter, when a cold supper is all anyone wants. We do have seasons, but it's very moderate. We have year round ice cream, too.

The farmers' markets are iffy because there's a big variation in quality. My grocery store always has top quality produce. The farmers have whatever their crops yielded. It's fun going to the farmers' market and seeing the interesting things they might have, but the grocery store has those too.

What I think this means is that I'm produce-blessed.

Oh! I should get a kibocha! The sun's coming out, so maybe I'll go to the store after all...

I've conquered! ;)

So you all have inspired me (and sleep helped), and I made it to the store and back without getting rained on, though they were out of parsnips and celery root (forcing me to be creative).

And I got some potstickers and sesame seaweed salad for dinner because it's still really yucky out and I think I'd rather cook tomorrow. :) And there's no way I'm making either of those myself.

Doraville, that is some pretty scary information. We've planned on bagged salads, frozen, microwavable foods, and filling in with grilling and the pressure cooker when we're a little more stable. Right now, we're at a point where things are different every night after the crew leaves, and it will continue to change through next week. After that, maybe I can catch my breath and figure out something better. The clean up is the big bear for me--I hate doing dishes in dishpans using the bathtub! I'm gonna have to get over it, though.

Cj

YAY!!! I'm so proud of you, grasshopper ;) What are you going to make with all those lovely ingredients? It looks delicious already!

The chorus to Aerosmith's "She's back in the saddle again..." just popped into my head...hehe.

I actually did try to cook halfway decent meals in the electric fry pan, but it didn't remain viable for 2 big reasons:

- the dishes that resulted and no DW
- lack of decent cooking area. Every table we owned was loaded down with tools in the kitchen (and I use that term loosely as nothing about it resembled a kitchen at the time). So I used the entryway hall floor as the cooking area. My daughter came a centimeter away from burning her ankle on the electric frying pan one day cause it's not an appliance she's seen much of let alone having to watch for burn hazards at floor level!

Ah....Thursday....I will have my kitchen back on Thursday. It won't be close to pretty yet, but that's when the granite and the rest of my appliances are going in.

I was really starting to get into the swing of cooking again - or at least my relatively simple version, but finding that baseball is throwing a wrench in my plans with practices and games and "everyone" is going to the local burger/sandwich joint after. plllog - where in SoCal are you? I am in San Diego and feel much the same about some of the farmers markets - sometimes they are amazing and sometimes *eh* and I can usually get some really great produce at the supermarket. I was thinking maybe I wasn't picky enough to appreciate the markets. Plus around here it seems more the social expectation - grab Starbucks on your way to the farmers market then take the kids to soccer on the weekends.

ROTFL!!! Donka, all I can say is "Giddayup".

I need to clean out the fridge, so I'm going to make soup base for the freezer with the turkey carcass, leeks, rutabega and carrots.

I got some lasagna noodles, so I'm going to slice up some yellow squash that needs using, and the fennel bulbs I just got, and whatever peppers I have, and oven roast them, to layer with the ricotta. I have a little tzimmis left which I think I'll puree into the ricotta. I got some shallots, too.

And I got some lamb shanks to braise with baby carrots and pearl onions and leftover sweetish red wine. And a chicken. It's a really big chicken. They tried to tell me it was a fryer, but it's 4.5 lbs.!! I think I'll roast it with the heels of my multigrain bread if it's not gone moldy, and an orange. I can try out the probe because I have no idea (other than the butcher's recommendation) how long to cook this big a not turkey.

JRueter, I'm in Gelsonsland, so it has to be an amazing farmer's market to be really tempting. And yes, some of them are more about the social thing than cooking! The worst is being at a dinner party where the hosts are name dropping the truck farmers like they're best friends rather than customers.

Needs, keep us posted!!! I'm keeping a good thought for Thursday!

plllg--I think you are right that forgetting about cooking during remodeling. This past weekend I finally got to move dishes/pans etc. into their new places in the new cabinets. It took forever because I had to wash every single item before putting them away...drywall dust made it inside my boxes!

So, Sunday night about 8pm I'm looking at a kitchen that is mostly back together thinking about dinner. What did we do? Go out for Italian. Very sad.

But I haven't done real grocery shopping in months. I'm not even sure I remember how to plan a week's worth of meals and shop accordingly. I'm so used to grab & go what we could microwave/toaster oven that day.

I need to get back in the habit of cooking instead of defaulting to eating out.

Thank goodness for Gelsons! I hadn't thought about it before, but their deli take-out will be a great choice for when I'm in the midst of sawdust & drywall! Thank you plllg!

Tomuch, check out Whole Foods and Trader Joe's too. Gelson's is richer and saltier. I do recommend Gelson's bbq turkey meatballs, and if you're really short of prep space like I was and dying for a homey treat, the tarragon egg salad. Plus, I could live on the sesame edamame salad. During most of my neverending remodel I couldn't face Gelson's. It was so sad going in there and seeing all the things I couldn't cook. :(

Eks, this conversation really helped and inspired me, and got me a good plan for the week. You can do it too! Going out for Italian sounds like a great thing to do when you're tired from unpacking. I had to wash and dry everything too (with no functioning DW), and I promise we didn't start cooking at that point. It was the local chain restaurant, because it was close and we were exhausted. Make a shopping list and go see what looks good at the store. Let us know how you're doing and what you're making.

I think starting with two holiday dinners helped break in my kitchen in a serious way. I didn't have time to worry about things, just opened the manuals, set the dials and went for it. We'll see how the current catch goes. :)

Plllog, since this is our second kitchen remodel (different house!) and second major project on this house, I knew how things could take a "bit" longer than we were told, so I was very prepared this time around.

I want to second Pllog's recommendation of Whole Foods and TJ's! Not only do they have good takeout items but they both have lots of items that are pre-cooked that can be easily heated up in a MW to help meal planning. Our favorite items are the Thai cilantro and brown rice packets. LIFESAVERS!! I used them to make salads more filling and of course, to go with whatever came out of the crockpot that night!

Eks... I am glad to hear that you took care of yourself and went out for dinner that night. Cooking in an unfamiliar environment while tired is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. And yes it does take awhile to get back into the swing of cooking again, tho I do have lots of fun watching the boiling water on my induction cooktop! :)

We're in the middle of the re-do. Not so bad, so far. I was smart to remember to do it while we could use the outdoor grill- here in upstate NY. (OK- I wasn't that smart, when it came time to make decisions, I took forever pushing the start from January to the end of March).

We've been grilling. I found out the wonderful things you can do on the gas grill with the homemade pizza dough from the grocery - rolls, grilled pizza, loaf of italian bread.The kids can make their own pizzas and it's easy and quick!

I make wraps with goat cheese, roasted red peppers, greens; hummus and taboule from the deli on a wrap or just a plate. Once a week we get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery and use that for a couple days. Gotta love that Uncle Ben's pouch of rice !

The kids have been eating more hot lunches at school. I was even able to cook the refrigerated ( fresh) pasta in the microwave. Not something I'd do on a regular basis, but I had some tomato sauce my mom made. It came out ok.

But, best of all, my husband is in charge of the grill ( man's work, you know) so he's actually doing alot more cooking than I am and learning the wonder of grilled veggies with olive oil.

Obviously, I'm a newby. See me in a month.

I played in my kitchen tonight ;-)
It was wonderful.
My oven isn't level.

EEEk! Pinch, I'm so sorry they didn't level your range. If it has the little screws at the bottom it's not that hard. Did you just play, or did you make something? What did you make? Huh? Huh?

Avaya, it sounds like you have things under control. The grilled everything sounds like an adventure that will pay off later when you'll think nothing of throwing a pizza on the grill when it's too hot to cook.

I made the soup base and it's in the freezer, and I made the lasagna. The basil had died, so there wasn't as much color as I would have liked (it's kind of pink), but it's yummy.