Project Dine In

Hello, my little neglected corner of the blogosphere. I'm revisiting you to make an announcement: I, Jennifer Driver, will not be dining out for the entire month of February. This includes restaurants, coffee shops, fast food, and (sob) El Zarape. Inspired by Cathy at Not Eating Out in New York, my goal is to save money (approx. $100) and eat more healthfully by cooking my own meals. It will be tough; as I was discussing last night with my friend Sarah, most social gatherings take place over dinner or coffee. For some reason, we gravitate toward making food the center of our get-togethers, whether we are catching up with friends or celebrating a birthday. But dining out is expensive and not as intimate as preparing and eating a meal together, or taking a walk or visiting a museum. One of my goals in this project is to redefine the way my friends and I spend time together.

To make sure I don't go crazy cooking alone in my tiny apartment kitchen, I am enlisting my friends and boyfriend to support my cause. Sarah and I already have plans to cook dinner together, and Jon has offered to pay for ingredients if I will whip him up something meaty and fabulous from Julia Child's famous cookbook. I also have plans for a grand kitchen-stocking shopping spree this weekend; I've been drooling over SUPER cheap casseroles at Amazon, mini muffin tins at Target, and loaf pans & a grill pan at IKEA. Hopefully I will remember to take pictures, even though my food doesn't always come out pretty and my standard point-and-shoot camera wasn't made for taking blog-worthy pictures. I just love when blogs have pictures, it looks more interesting.

I'm kicking off my journey February 1st, after a "last supper" at the Waterfront Grill in Nat'l City with Joyce this Friday. Wish me luck!