So, THAT'S what a stove is for!

I'm so out of practice when it comes to cooking.  Apparently, more out of practice then I thought.

It started three years ago, when I was pregnant and "morning" sickness refused to stick to it's assigned time of day.  I couldn't even go into the kitchen for months, and Dylan took over all the cooking.  Then, baby.   I may have thrown together some pasta or something a few times in the next two years, but it was rare.  It's just been so much easier to either let someone else do the cooking - Dylan when he's home, my Mom when we live there during tour breaks, the Cirque chefs on site, restaurants where I can grab something that's already cooked and take it home to eat while I figure out something to feed to the picky toddler.  Anything that kept me out of the kitchen so the toddler doesn't try to reach for knives or stoves while I cook, anything that kept both hands available to keep the toddler entertained & fed & happy so I could eat a few bites of my own.  I just don't like cooking for myself.  It's always seemed like too much work.

But, I think that's finally over.  Mostly, because I can't find food labeled in English.  I can't be completely sure what I'm buying when it comes to prepared meals at delis, and I can't find restaurants with take-away that have menus in English.  I know there are some around.  And I know there's always the "point-and-pray" option, but that's just not working for me right now.  I just want to know what I'm eating... is that really too much to ask?

So, I cook.  It's really helpful that there's an actual grocery store, not just a convenience store, just outside and across the street from our apartment, making it easier to get groceries then prepared food.  And the kitchen is set up such that I can have complete control over the entire space without worrying about what Kaylee might be getting into while I cook.  I guess there are some benefits to tiny living spaces.

There is a catch, though.  The labels on everything in the grocery store are in Japanese (of course), and significantly fewer have English translations then they did in Taiwan.  I can still identify most things.  Did you ever think about how valuable a picture of a cow on a milk carton is?  Or, a picture of a sunflower or olive on a bottle of oil? So, I can get most of what I need with a little educated guessing.  But, when you haven't done the shopping for actual cooking in a long time, and the meat preparations in the butcher section of the grocery aren't what you're used to.... Well.... I ended up with pork and vegetable stew today instead of beef.

Tasted pretty good, anyway.  For future reference, though:
Beef = 牛肉
Pork = 豚肉
Chicken = チキン