“MOM, WHAT’S FOR DINNER?” THAT’S A PHRASE I HEAR QUITE OFTEN. AND IT’S A QUESTION I ASK MYSELF SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK.
I love good food. Girls’ nights out, meals with friends paired with a good bottle of wine. I’m not quite as fond of cooking or family-style restaurants. Luckily, I married a Frenchman, and he loves to cook.
Except that on weekdays, when it comes to everyday meals, cooking is my job. Since my French husband is in a different time zone… We’d rarely eat before 9 p.m.! With elementary-school-aged kids, that’s not an option. So that’s about 780 meals a year that fall on me… 3 meals 5 days a week, including lunchboxes and breakfast!
Sitting in front of my flyers and cookbooks, I try as best I can to plan my meals for the week. It’s a daunting task for me. I have no idea how much meat costs per pound or per kilo! And I mix up the cuts of meat. Although my mom must be discouraged reading this, I know I’m not alone.
Cooking is a must; whether you like it or not, there’s no getting around it. So you might as well discover new recipes while having fun.
With that in mind, I tried out “neighborhood cooking”… with two neighbors! I loved the experience. Let’s face it—chopping vegetables with three people… is a lot faster than doing it alone. Plus, the kids were as well-behaved as could be… my 8- and 11-year-old daughters were happy to look after my neighbor’s 5-year-old twins!
I also supported a new refugee family that moved into my neighborhood by buying meals from them. This woman cooks wonderful, healthy dishes that are different from what I usually make.
The slow cooker saves me so much time. I work from home, and it’s so much easier to prepare my lunch and pop it in the slow cooker. When the kids get home from school, in addition to the pleasant smell of the dish simmering away, we have time to play outside and tackle homework (which requires a little supervision… even if I’m silent, my presence seems to speed up the process!).
Lately, I’ve discovered the Thermomix. A luxury, I’ll grant you. But with my cooking skills (not!), this appliance is my only chance of pulling off a risotto or an Île flottante… and in 20 minutes flat, no more! This thing grinds, chops, mills, blends, cooks, and works miracles in my kitchen…and in my schedule. It’s replaced the blender, the food processor, the hand mixer, the stand mixer, the rice cooker, and all that jazz.
I’ll let you in on a secret… if I ever become very rich… I’ll treat myself to the luxury of a personal chef. I’d rather do the dishes than cook. Until then… I’ll keep serving more than 780 meals to my little family… and I’ll encourage my daughters to cook with me… even if the kitchen looks like a battlefield afterward. I tell myself that, in a way, I’m investing in my future. And most importantly, I’m doing them a favor… and I hope they’ll love cooking!
What about you—what are your cooking tips?