Cooking Club weekend

Among other things, our life in Munich includes membership to a cooking club. What was a suggestion to have more girlie bonding between a few friends (all women I assure you) birthed the idea of a cooking club, modeled along the very male Basque tradition of Txoko. Since it basis was male bonding and the activity's membership only criteria was gender, in this case, the spouses muscled themselves into the club too. Somewhere along our friends figured that I could cut vegetables and the designer could cook and so extended an invitation for us to join them. I do admit, its one of the things that I look forward to. We do it approximately every 6-8 weeks. The menu is a suprise for all except the hosts and everything is bought in advance. Costs are added and then shared between all. It usually lasts 5-6 hours and we usually end up doing atleast a 3-4 course meal. The picture is the exploits from our last cooking adventure at our place this time. We made a fairly complicated chicken dish, carrot salad, stuffed Okra, chappatis and payasam. We admit we had a little pressure to cook something Indian but usually its a complete suprise to all who attend. The next session is in early January. We have been trying to bolster the flagging consumer by ratcheting up capital goods spending, some of which was quite silly to not to have done so far like buying a washing machine. I have ordered boatload of christmas presents for myself (I love spoiling myself). Most significant is the move to an Mac, never owned one and I have sparingly used. The line drawer uses it at work so in the name ensuring that I stay ahead in the domestic technological curve, I took the plunge. Secretly counting the days to laying my hands on it. She can stay ahead by learning how to get a washing machine to work. Off to the Cape again this sunday.