Salut!

For our first one and a half years of college, we lived—lived seems generous, let’s say survived—in a dorm building that (considering the lack of air conditioning, no elevator, water that is either freezing cold or scalding hot, and heaters that make noises that could only possibly be attributed to tiny leprechaun men trying to escape) must have been built in the 17^th century. I think it pretty much goes without saying that we had absolutely no access to a kitchen. We were stuck living off diner “food” and dreaming of a day when we might again have a full size fridge and freezer, a microwave that we don’t have to put on shoes to get to, and—dare we even mention it?—a STOVE.

The two of us bonded over the horrendous food, sharing horror stories of the diner and dreams of what we could have made. There were times in class when we would look over at each other diligently typing on laptop keys to realize that not only were neither of us paying attention (we had become pros at the “engaged face”) but that we were also both on food blogs (a high record of 64 tabs open at one time). All wishful thinking, of course, considering we had no access to a car to go to the grocery nor a kitchen to cook in. We would go to the bookstore for textbooks and come back with four cookbooks that we couldn’t use. It was a never ending torture chamber of over-cooked pasta, mystery meat, and endless salads (one of the few truly edible things)

Well, that day we dreamed of has finally come. We are now happily situated in an on campus apartment with four bedrooms, two baths, a common room, and a tiny—but to our eyes absolutely perfect—kitchen. Oh the kitchen. The semi-white fridge covered in word and letter magnets, the limited cupboard space, the three feet of counter space, the dishwasher that when turned on sounds like an 18wheeler drowning in a swamp, and the aforementioned feisty electric burners with an oven that is perpetually too hot are all beautifully illuminated by an orb of fluorescent light and its never-ending “buzzzzzzz.” And yet, despite its faults, this assembly of tile and “wood” and stainless steel is a symphony to our souls. Okay, maybe that was a little bit dramatic, but let’s just say that the dream of cooking has been brought back into our lives by what may seem to the naked eye as just a regular, old college kitchen.

This blog will be the written log of our successes and struggles in our mission to bring the gourmet back into our lives. We have stocked our tiny cupboards with hand-me-downs of pots, pans, knives, baking equipment, and anything else we could get our hands on. Our current most prized possessions were Christmas gifts. A beautiful Black & Decker toaster oven (never again will we merely wish the cheese on our sandwich could be melted), a shiny Hamilton Beach coffee maker with a self timer (yay no more instant + hot tap water!), and a Kitchen Aid tilt head stand mixer (welcome back buttercream!). Our goal is to log everything here. From our culinary adventures with actual ingredients and recipes (yes, recipes will be included) to the days that we were too busy with school to bother to cook let alone go to the grocery (yes, this includes the day that we break open the emergency frozen burritos stashed at the back of our freezer or the days that the closest we can get to the stove is to boil water for CupNoodles). We will write it all.

So here’s to never-ending (budget willing) culinary escapades leaving diner “food” in our wake.

Cheers,

Le Champignon et Le Chou