Someone's in the Kitchen

I've been cooking a lot lately. My husband even remarked how the cooking responsibility has seemed to shift over to me this summer. He, being a "gourmand" and well adept in the kitchen, would have no problem whipping up something scrumptious after we both got home from the gym. Now, that I've frozen my gym membership for the summer, since I prefer to do my exercising on an outdoor bike, I've been getting home before him.

It makes me feel like the notion of "wife" that I had when I was growing up. Apron-smocked, I'll have dinner just about on the table when he gets home from work, but not totally on the table so he can see all the preparation that went into making the meal. (It is a sick little thing, I know.)

But more so than feeling like a '50s wife, I gain great pleasure out of creating and knowing that I've successfully taken a mish-mosh of ingredients and turned them into something pleasantly plated and palatable.

Some recent winners include:

• Spicy blackened catfish (served with lemony spinach and a salad)
• Grilled steak with lemon and rosemary marinade (served with potato salad with celery and sweet onion)
• Chicken breasts stuffed with goat cheese and basil

And like my mom always said, "If you can read [a recipe], you can cook."