I've been cooking. As part of my New Year's Resolution, I vowed to do "more" of the things that are good for me-- running, lifting weights, knitting, making art, eating in more-- both to eat healthier and to save money.

I've never been much of a cook, even though both of my grandmothers excelled at it. I remember Grammy, every weekend, putting out a huge spread from appetizers to desserts. She made a Lithuanian potato dish that I was particularly fond of, and her lemon pie defies adequate praise.

My mom, on the other hand, specializes in Kraft macaroni and cheese and Hamburger Helper. After I got married and moved to Chicago, I figured, "why bother learning?" We live in Little Italy. And every place delivers.

Oddly enough, though, restaurant food gets boring. So it was with a spirit of adventure that I bought a few cookbooks and supplies I've never heard of and went to task. I'm pretty proud of some of the things I've made this week-- beer glazed slow cooked pot roast with onions and mushrooms, served with oven baked red potatoes with olive oil and rosemary. Mediterranean chicken served over whole wheat noodles with chopped spinach. Cranberry-almond quinoa breakfast cookies. Next up is pork with pecan sweet potatoes.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm going to burn my pizza menu from D'Agostino's. Not hardly! Or that I'm going to do this every day. But, still... for now I'm having fun with it. I might even buy an apron!