About

Third Date Cooking is geared to the 20-30 something crowd that orders take-out food nightly, is scared of a gas burner, and wants to jump past Mac n' Cheese and frozen pizzas.  Its also for guy who's freaking out because he just invited a girl over for dinner and has no idea what to do next.

What you'll find on this site:

• Cooking & dating tips ("observations") - Short blurbs on everything from making her your sous chef and growing an herb to not feeding her your carb-lade alfredo pasta with garlic bread
• Real (and tested) recipes to use in crunch time - Usually 10 ingredients or less.  Simple but tasty.  You won't find crazy French cooking, "julienning carrots," or recipes that require an encyclopedia
• Random, (98% true) stories from my cooking experiences with girls - That last 2% allows me to change names and timelines

My goal:

• Get people to cook, not by recipe, but through confidence and experience
• Become comfortable cooking for your significant other whether its the third date, the morning after, or day #721

Who Am I?
I've been attempting to cook most of my life - from chopping tomatoes and lettuce for taco night in the 6th grade to rolling spicy tuna sushi and inside-out shrimp tempura rolls now in my mid/late 20s.  I'm terrible at following recipes to a tee and always guestimate on cooking measurements.  As a result, I hardly ever bake and that's why banana nut bread or zucchini bread will win me over.

I like to cook spontaneously ("Chopped"-stye).  Take a protein, pick a flavor, rummage around in the refrigerator, and attempt to make a decent meal.

I try to cook fairly healthy.  Growing up, both parents were health-conscious and that has influenced my cooking.  I use mostly olive oil and very little butter. I focus on seafood more than any other protein and avoid dairy when I can.  I've tried being gluten-free for 7 months and will tag those recipes accordingly.

I live in Arlington, VA. I can be found aimlessly wandering around the DC Fish Market, stumbling early morning at the Courthouse food market, pondering the Animal Welfare System at Whole Foods, grabbing a good deal at Harris Teeter, and avoiding the sketchy Safeway in Rosslyn.

All pictures on the site are mine - usually with an iPhone (I'm not sure my date would like me taking out the DSLR).  I can be contacted at thirddatecooking at gmail or on Twitter.

You can also check out my Photography website here: www.lostexplorerphotography.com