don't cook. I only eat. It's a problem.

Final Word Index By Craig Wilson

Lucky for me I live with someone who is a great cook. Other than my trademark meatloaf, with its two secret ingredients, A-1 sauce and Parmesan cheese, I have not made a meal in 27 years. A good run. I do the dishes. Seems only fair.

So I'm always intrigued people actually buy cookbooks. Not only do they buy them, they read them. I was on a flight the other day and the woman next to me was actually reading recipes. Recipes!

Lucky for such foodies, books extolling their culinary world arrive every month. This spring is no exception.

The good thing for the rest of us is that the wonderful world of wasabi has branched out. Food, and any kind of food, is now celebrated.

Guy Fieri Food: Cookin' It, Livin' It, Lovin' It, from the bigger-than-life Food Network's celebrity chef, is filled with dozens of "kick-ass" recipes, or so Fieri says.

Included: s'more pizza. Yes, s'more pizza. Seems it's the treat du jour this spring.

Sarah Huck and Jaimee Young were wise enough to put a photo of the old-fashioned campfire favorite on the cover of their new Campfire Cookery. They also were wise enough to include campfire cocktails recipes to wash the s'mores down.

Speaking of treats, how about Food Trucks?

This paperback by Heather Shouse is a fun romp — a guide to "the kitchens on wheels" that serve up meals on urban street corners.

I walk by a lobster-roll truck most days on my lunchtime stroll to the gym. The long line is testimony that these trucks offer up fare worth waiting for.

Not that I'm just a street-corner, lobster-roll kind of guy, some schlump who doesn't know truffles from tahini. No sirree. I know good food when I open it.

My good friends from college — the Chef Boyardee family — are out with an aptly titledDelicious Memories. Written by Anna Boiardi, the granddaughter of Mario Boiardi, the book is filled with fabulous-looking dishes that appear to not come out of a can. Odd, I know.

And then there's Harold Pearman's spring offering, A Cookbook for a Knucklehead: Bachelor, New Graduate, Beginner and Other Spoiled Brats.

I do not consider myself a spoiled brat, but this book works for me. Each recipe is accompanied by three photos: the ingredients, the saucepan in use, what the finished product should look like.

But the best tip is upfront. "Be careful and think at all times."

Perhaps that's why I just do the dishes.

Learning How To Cook Day 11

Soup again :-) soup is my favorite food!

I browned the meat and place the water in, I added 6 bay leafs this time, and when I did the potato's I left the skin on. and it was really good, the second time was taster then the first.

Learning How To Cook Day 10

Today in the kitchen I made Denice's world famous chili

1 pound of Hamburg in a sprayed warm pan and fry it.

Add Onions, Celery and Green Peppers diced

Add Beans

2 Kidney Beans

1 Pinto Bean

1 Can diced tomato's

Add Tomato Juice

1 Teaspoon Cumin

3 Teaspoon Chili Powder

3/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Let Simmer 4 Hours

adding more juice when need.

Singing while you make it. I was singing "I am going to live in the Garage" Ashton Kutcher signs in Open season. Then I would sing "Someone poisoned the water hole" Woody for Toy Story The theme to the Duke's of Hazard and some Johnny Cash.

Denice liked it! Me not so much!

Learning How to Cook Day 9

Friday, May 13, 2011

We have a lot of left over cookies and fudge from last night event. Last night for dinner I had dinner with friends Mary Helfmann and her daughter Teresa Helfmann (or T) our senators mother Kim Hune, My sister Denice and Former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land at Treasurer's in Owosso. If you ever get to Owosso stop by Treasurer's at 109 N. Washington St and have lunch or dinner they are the best in town, ask for Dave and Peggy.

So today is another HOT Day so for dinner my mother showed me how to make Scalloped Potato's

Peal and Cut Potato's ( Large cuts about 4 for a Small 6 for a large potato)

Peal Onions

and Cut up about five hot dogs

In a bowl place to scoops of flour and add as much milk as you do potato's

place in slow cooker and stir then had a half a stick of butter on top.

If you place a bag in the cooker do not cook on high the bag will melt cook on 225

after about 40 minutes stir for the first time, and continue to stir

takes about 2 and half hours it took mine about 3 hours

Learning How to Cook Day 8

Day 8, Wednesday, May 11, 2011 a very busy day.

The Wise Republican Women of Shiawassee County (WRWSC) decided to host Former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and Michigan Republican Party Ethnic Chair Linda Lee Tarver speaking event on "Women in Politics: How Women Are Shaping the Future of Politics" and I need to bake cookies for the event.

At 3 pm I started baking Pumpkin Cookies it is a family recipe that my mother got from her mother and so on. Around here it is my mothers world famous pumpkin cookies, thanks to my good friend Phyllis Lahmann I changed the recipes from two teaspoons of Cinnamon to one and half teaspoons of Cinnamon and one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and it was good!

Then I made my dinner at 6:30 pm when I finished making the pumpkin cookies, I made what we call Home Made Noodles, (Denice makes them the best) You take Chicken broth, I prefer Swanson's (Just looking at it you see a more yellow color using store branch looks a little more like water) I add egg noodles until they peek out from the broth. stirring, off and on. Then in a bowl add flour and water and mix together, should be a little runny. When the juice is nearly gone, add the flour and water and stir. Serve Hot!
I make this a couple of times a year, but this wast the first time I got the flour and water right!

After dinner I made Home made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Pre-heat the oven at 350
Combine (1 1/2 Cups of Flour, 1 teaspoon baking Soda, 1 teaspoon Salt) in a bowl and set aside
In a bowl mix together Sugar (1 Cup Sugar and 1 Cup Brown Sugar) with the Shorting (1 Cup Shorting) until cream
In another Bowl add Eggs (2 Eggs) and vanilla (1 teaspoon) mix well
Add egg and vanilla to the sugar and shorting and mix well, then add the Flour, baking soda and Salt mixer and mix well
Add Oats (3 Cups) and stir well
add Raisins (1 Cup) you can add more if you like

Using a tablespoon full of mixture roll into ball. Place the ball on a greased cookie sheet when the cookie sheet is full flatten them with a fork
Bake in a Pre Heated oven at 350 for 10-12 Minutes and makes about five dozen
cool before eating because raisins that are warm do not taste good.

Learning How To Cook Day 9

Today I made Sloppy Joe's Brown 1 lb. lean ground beef in a sprayed warm large skillet until no longer pink drain if needed Stir in one can of Mejier's Sloppy Joe Mix .Serve on hamburger bun or Bread I made mac and Cheese to go with it, using two different noodles (which is not a good Idea)