LET THE GAMES BEGIN

I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it feels to be cooking again. I love eating out. And this seems to be an especially good neighborhood to do so, but I need to cook, man. I need to be chopping, slicing and heating. It just makes me feel like a normal person. I didn't realize how much I needed to cook until we started this little two week dining out stint. I just felt gross and off. So when we got the kitchen properly prepared for creation last night, I was a very happy man.

It was mostly stuffy yesterday so I didn't want to get the kitchen all hot and bothered. And because it was the first cooking attempt in the new place, I figured I'd just ease into it. No heat or elaborate methods (like I even know how to do anything elaborate, sheesh). Just a little slicing and some quick assembly.

I want to say this also - we found a grocery that's acceptable. It's pretty much a small version of Gracefully. Only a little nicer and slightly more dedicated to quality. Or so it seems. Anyway, the place is called Pacific Green and they have all the wonderful organic stuff we need to keep this kitchen running the way it should.

So last night we opened the new kitchen with the very cliche caprese:
- tomato
- fresh mozzarella
- basil
- salt
- black pepper
- olive oil

After the salad, we did a duo of open faced sandwiches. One featured:
- baguette
- goat cheese
- anchovy
- basil
- red onion
- tomato

And the second was:
- baguette
- stone ground mustard
- red onion
- prosciutto
- black pepper

Our first meal in the new kitchen wasn't adventurous or elaborate, but it was quite delicious. I actually didn't expect it to be as good as it was. I'm not sure if it was due to it being the first meal or just that it was actually good, but these little open faced wonders really hit the spot.

The caprese was OK. Nothing special. The tomato wasn't that great. Everything else was solid. But everyone knows a tomato makes a caprese.

All in all, not a bad start. Much more to come, friends. I feel this kitchen is going to be very good to us.