I’ve mentioned before that my parents are just as big on cereal as I am. They eat a mix of brands every single morning with a banana and skim milk, so we’re never short on boxes of the stuff. My mom likes to add raw oats, nuts and dried fruit to her bowl, so recently she combined the three in a huge Tupperware for convenience.

Since being home, my hand has been in here several times a day. It’s kind of like a cross between muesli and granola, packed with good stuff: pumpkin and sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, mangoes and raisins, almonds and peanuts.

This morning for breakfast, I switched up the usual and poured myself a bowl of this stuff, topped with a small chunk of frozen summer berry bread and a huge spoonful of Blizzard Butter, which Courtney sent me a few months ago!

(Blizzard Butter actually beats PB&Co.’s White Chocolate Wonderful in the taste department, as much as it pains me to say that.)

I ate my breakfast al fresco. When I come home, being outside away from the taxis and craziness is always my favorite part.

Especially with two blond bombshells keeping me company.

Time to get this day started! Hitting the gym while it’s still uncrowded, and then this afternoon I’m helping my brother and sister-in-law move into their new house! Enjoy your Sunday

My mom has been collecting cookbooks since she and my dad got married nearly four decades ago.

She was a home economics major in college. Clearly, we have a lot of them.

When I was younger and she still cooked, I remember sitting at the counter and looking at the pretty pictures in them, wanting to learn how to make those dishes just because they looked so good. Unsurprisingly, I’d usually skip over the meal parts and go straight to dessert.

Now, though, I’m rediscovering those cookbooks in their entirety. Even if you don’t know what you’re doing, just paging through the beautiful photos and carefully created foods is inspiring.

I still might not be completely comfortable with many cooking techniques, but just knowing what they are makes them seem a lot less daunting. Yesterday, for instance, we covered braising, pressure cooking, stir-frying and pureeing. We made mashed potatoes, carrots, squash and onions in the pressure cooker, apple-carrot puree, braised leeks, endive and fennel and a stir-fry with tofu, mushrooms and snow peas.

We’re moving pretty quickly and there’s a lot to remember, but I love it. I feel like I’m learning so much every day, and while I still don’t know exactly what I want to do when I’m done with this program, I know I’m in the right place

Do you enjoy cooking? What’s your favorite aspect of it- the prep, the process, the finished product?