confidence comes from doing

my chicken soup is as good as my mama's.

i didn't know that until yesterday when i attempted to make her chicken soup. it's really more like a stew cause the broth has a thicker consistency, but i call it soup anyway. and i've seen her make it countless times. and even though i've been on my own for some time, and i've been cooking ever since i've been on my own, i've never tried to make her chicken soup. now let me explain my mama's cooking ain't nothing to play with - this is no small matter we are talking about here. everybody feels this way about their own mother's cooking. but i am especially proud, because i know other people like my mom's cooking, too. at holidays, she gets requests from the family-at-large for certain dishes. and my friends rave over mymamagreens. and mymamapies. my goal in life in cooking is two-fold: to be as good as my mama at the stuff i grew up eating, and to incorporate more foods into my menu, like the stuff she never made, for example, burritos.

i never brag about my cooking. because my mama has thirty years of pleasing my dad under her belt. i've got, like, six. cooking mostly for myself. so needless to say, my confidence level really isn't all that big.

night before last, i thought it would be a good idea to cook a big pot of something. that way, i could spend less time cooking and spend more time adjusting to this new schedule i made for myself (part of my new october's resolution to stop procrastinating). i had a lot of chicken in the freezer, so i figured i'd try the soup. so after work yesterday, i went shopping for a few ingredients, came home and called my mama (who lives several states away) for pointers, and then, nervousness aside, i started my soup. i was hoping it wouldn't turn out bad, cause i was cooking a lot, and i would have hated to have to eat a big pot of nasty soup. i took my time, listened to my mama's advice, and it turned out to taste really, really good! so i called her to tell her, and i explained how i made it, and she had to inform me that i made too much soup for the amount of chicken i used. wet blanketing my joy. humph. y'all know she just did that to put me in my place, right? that's alright, bless her heart, cause she was right, and if it wasn't for her talking to me every night of my childhood while she cooked (giving me cooking lessons i didn't even know i was sitting in on), i would either be malnourished or broke all the time.

but i'm still coming for that number one spot...

also, my plan to pull procrastination out by the root is in full effect. the soup thing gave me cooking confidence. so i sat down, and created a plan. and that act alone is giving me confidence in my ability to achieve the goal, now that i can see it in black and white on paper.