Simply..cook....

19/8/2017

Thank you to Lotta who suggested, when I was moaning about seven more days of rain, that I needed a fun seven day challenge!

I decided to batch cook each rainy day.

This is a big move for me. I don't really like cooking though I love good food. You may know the story of Barry expressing an interest in cooking, and me teaching him all I knew and leaving him to it. (I knew quite a lot and could cook pretty well, I had just got tired of it I think.) Barry became a skilled and adventurous cook and gradually took over all the food shopping and cooking. Win Win! We both loved it!

It's hard to cook when your heart is broken.

And this is a lot of cook books for someone who hardly ever cooks....

12 Comments

Mary

20/8/2017 02:25:10 am

I feel exactly the same way as you do about cooking. I am good at it, but I just don't care about it (but my pile of cookbooks is probably as tall as yours). Passionately dislike grocery shopping. Like you, a number of years ago I gave my husband some easy cookbooks, a little guidance and he took over the cooking and shopping. He worked at home and I commuted a long distance, so it made sense. Plus, I told him he either learned to cook or there would be no evening meal :). Now, he has a new job and he is commuting. He gets home later than I do, so guess who is making the evening meal again. Really, can't we just have toast and tea?

Freda

20/8/2017 02:11:06 pm

Beans on toast is quite nourishing (occasionally).

Lotta link

20/8/2017 02:39:38 am

Batch cooking - brilliant idea! Rainy days are perfect for that because there's very little else calling you and the kitchen feels warm and cosy as things are cooking away. And there will be so many future moments when you'll be really glad you've done it. I'm a reluctant cook too but I can enjoy it when I get into it. I hope some of Barry's enthusiasm joins you in the kitchen Freda. x

Freda

20/8/2017 02:12:46 pm

You make it sound like a treat and I will work on making it feel that way! We are so lucky to have lovely food to cook after all.

cathy

20/8/2017 03:08:20 am

J also does the shopping and cooking. But isn't it fun to simply read cookbooks for pleasure? All those possibilities! When I see a new cookbook, the first thing I look for is what they offer with apricots....breads? cookies? scones? Maybe that's why J does the cooking, I'm much more interested in sweets.

Freda

20/8/2017 02:14:13 pm

Some of them are indeed fun to read and even poetic!

cath

20/8/2017 04:04:25 am

Did it tumble? The stack I mean, it looks precarious..

I liked to cook when I was still a vegetarian. The diet I have now requires cooking two hot meals a day and is - and that is an understatement- rather predictable so much of the fun has gone. That's why on Sunday mornings I look at the week's menu and try to find new recipes or slight alterations fitting into my diet to try. On Tuesday mornings I batch cook. Strangely enough I do like that, it somehow holds a caring quality and it is a time to practice (slow) mindfulness.

I second Lotta's wish for you.

Freda

20/8/2017 02:16:14 pm

No, it didn't tumble! If I think of batch cooking as caring rather than chore I am sure to enjoy it more.

Lucille link

20/8/2017 04:59:14 am

Like my mother before me, at about the same age, I have begun to find the relentlessness of meal planning, shopping and cooking quite a bore (whilst of course remembering to maintain gratitude for the easy availability of good food).
I find I turn to the books that offer seasonally arranged recipes or even better, Nigel's diaries where if inspiration fails, I can just do what he did in any given week!
Of course it depends who is around to cook for. Next weekend promises to be a big rolling family get together so I will pull myself out of the doldrums for that.
Do let us know how you get on.

Freda

20/8/2017 02:18:23 pm

It can seem relentless Lucille though as you say we should be so grateful! Enjoy your family get together - food plays such an important part of that.

Cristiana

20/8/2017 08:24:06 am

That is a big pile! I wonder how can you choose?
I find cooking loving ones their favorite meal is a perfect way to celebrate the person. I do that with my family, even for those that are no longer physically with me, it is a way to feel closer to them, I find

Freda

20/8/2017 02:21:31 pm

I am enjoying thinking about how to choose. The first time I made myself a 'proper' meal alone I sat down to it and burst into tears and couldn't eat it! I've not cooked any of Barry's favourites - yet...

Simply..cook....

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