In the kitchen

They say the best way into a man's heart is through his stomach. I didn't always agree with this, mainly because I'm a total walking disaster in the kitchen. Before I moved to Balikpapan, I could only cook instant noodles, scrambled eggs, and...that's it. I couldn't tell the difference of onion and garlic, and even I still can't tell which one is ginger, coriander, and all those other spices.

My mom, who is an excellent, excellent cook, used to say I'd be forced to learn after I got married. Which is why I never listened to her whenever she was about to teach me something in the kitchen. I thought, by the time I live alone, I would have no other option but to learn how to cook.

And it couldn't be more true. Here in Balikpapan, we have our lunch delivered from a house-to-house catering service. At first, I ordered two meals per day; one for lunch and another for dinner. However, after a few weeks, we felt that we could save some money if we make our own meals. So the arrangement changed; lunch is ordered, and dinner? Well, dinner is home-cooked meal, made by yours truly.

Bangun told me--no, instructed me--to create a menu. He bought a white board, put it on our living room, and actually pulled me to sit in front of it and think of a week's menu. I was of course reluctant, but deep down maybe my female instinct felt that I should be able to serve my husband the best foods.

So for the last two months, off I went to the kitchen, each day always accompanied by Bangun because I'm scared as hell of the erupting cooking oil from the pan (OK maybe not erupting, but those small splashes of Bimoli are mean!).The first ever meal I cooked was spaghetti, and it tasted like rubber with tomato sauce. I learned my mistakes and tried other recipes. Days after days, Bangun seems to enjoy the foods more. Me? Growing up eating my mom's foods, I haven't found anything extraordinarily satisfying from my own.

Fast forward to yesterday. I made beef teriyaki for dinner. Why was it so special? Because, ladies and gentlemen, June 6th was the first time my husband liked the food I cooked so much, he downed the last few drops of the teriyaki sauce right out of the serving plate. He kept saying how good it was, and that was enough to motivate me to find more recipes and try them.

Am I entitled to pat myself in the back or what?