I hate cooking. Now that I have the flexible job when it comes to time and locale, I have to defer to Richard’s job. That means, I have to do the cooking. I hate cooking.

Here’s an example of how much I hate cooking: on the nights that Richard is not around for me to cook for, I will go to bed hungry rather than make a grilled cheese or reheat leftovers or microwave a potato.

To add to the challenge of that thing I hate, I very rarely have access to a stove or oven because we are currently living out of hotels. So the only way I can generate heat or cook anything is the microwave, which is, generally speaking, the tool real cooks like least.

I could take the super easy road and buy TV dinners, aka food that was designed around the microwave. But they’re expensive and rarely made with ingredients that required more farmers than chemists.

So, my recipe is this: take one non-cook, add ingredients not usually cooked outside of a saute pan, combine in Tupperware using plastic spoons (because that’s all you have) and melt (the only thing that actually happens inside a microwave) in the microwave.

While not the most ideal conditions, my attempts at dinner preparation have not been complete failures.

I have cooked asparagus bruschetta with mozzarella cheese, asian-esque noodles with peppers and green beans, sorry little quesadillas, a rice/cheese/vegetable melt and cheesy quinoa with zucchini. I find that adding cheese improves everything.

I am not completely foreign to preparing food with limited ingredients, utensils and heat sources. But my experience comes from camping where you have a stove. I understand this heat source. I get how it will make ingredients behave.

Microwaves are different. Moisture is not evaporated. Heat is a product of agitated molecules. Things melt and burn. I am even more likely to burn popcorn in a microwave rather than on the stove top.

Unfortunately, after making only a handful of meals, my stash of recipes is already depleted. I am not good at taking what I have and creating a recipe. I need the recipe to tell me what I have and how to add it and when to be done.

A more creative Internet search might generate options, but other than that, I am stumped.

The thing is, when I was preparing to travel with Richard, I was almost excited about the opportunity to get better — or at least learn not to hate — cooking. Yeah, I’m losing touch with that excitement.

Stupid cooking.

Tonight I will attempt an enchilada casserole dish. The recipe does not call for cheese. I will add it anyway.