I love eating. The way to my heart ( other than, of course, diamonds) is through my stomach. I love going out to eat, whether it be at a restaurant or a friend's house. I love the whole ritual of choice and surprise, of unusual and new flavours, of conversation, candles and crystal, of friendship, cosiness and comfort. Sadly, however, this eating experience is not one I enjoy terribly often.
I hate cooking. Not to say that I am a bad cook. In fact I would go as far as to say that I'm a pretty good cook. I make everything from scratch, choosing good ingredients and varied recipes. As a young mother I did the whole thing of freezing trays of organic sweet potato and I regularly made my own bread.
But, if I am to be completely honest? Nowadays I loathe the whole business of cooking. I hate having to cook for my family when I don't want to eat. I hate planning something and then finding that nobody is interested in eating it. The question that burns into my brain and fries my soul is "What's for dinnnneeeeeerrrr?" What is for dinner? Well, obviously something that one of you will hate, if not both of you, my darling boys!
One of my boys likes fish, the other doesn't. One likes curries, the other doesn't. One likes bacon, ham and pork, the other doesn't. This narrows down the range of dishes that they both will eat and it bores me to tears.
I find a recipe that I think everyone will enjoy and they eat it with no word of thanks or enjoyment. After a while it grinds you down.
Both my boys can cook. They often make their own lunches at the weekend. My eldest came first in a school cooking competition, making his own chicken pie from scratch at the age of 12. On Mother's Day I came home to find that my 17 year old had made a Victoria sponge for me, making butter cream and cleaning the kitchen after himself. Brilliant!
I am grateful for when they cook and I am lucky to have a husband who cooks too. But it still doesn't change the fact that I do the majority of the cooking. At the moment I have roast chicken in the oven with home made roast potatoes, cauliflower in a creamy cheesy sauce, more veg peeled and ready to steam. I will make my own gravy from the chicken juices and red wine... but its just bloody dull.
Do I sound very petulant and spoilt? I probably do. But this is my blog and if I want to have a good old moan about something petty, then I will. I suppose I'm lucky that any of them cook at all, ever. I suppose I'm lucky that I can afford nice food, that my mum taught me to bake and make sauces and follow recipes. I'm lucky in all sorts of ways, but right now, if I won the lottery I would never cook again
I hate cooking. Not to say that I am a bad cook. In fact I would go as far as to say that I'm a pretty good cook. I make everything from scratch, choosing good ingredients and varied recipes. As a young mother I did the whole thing of freezing trays of organic sweet potato and I regularly made my own bread.
But, if I am to be completely honest? Nowadays I loathe the whole business of cooking. I hate having to cook for my family when I don't want to eat. I hate planning something and then finding that nobody is interested in eating it. The question that burns into my brain and fries my soul is "What's for dinnnneeeeeerrrr?" What is for dinner? Well, obviously something that one of you will hate, if not both of you, my darling boys!
One of my boys likes fish, the other doesn't. One likes curries, the other doesn't. One likes bacon, ham and pork, the other doesn't. This narrows down the range of dishes that they both will eat and it bores me to tears.
I find a recipe that I think everyone will enjoy and they eat it with no word of thanks or enjoyment. After a while it grinds you down.
Both my boys can cook. They often make their own lunches at the weekend. My eldest came first in a school cooking competition, making his own chicken pie from scratch at the age of 12. On Mother's Day I came home to find that my 17 year old had made a Victoria sponge for me, making butter cream and cleaning the kitchen after himself. Brilliant!
I am grateful for when they cook and I am lucky to have a husband who cooks too. But it still doesn't change the fact that I do the majority of the cooking. At the moment I have roast chicken in the oven with home made roast potatoes, cauliflower in a creamy cheesy sauce, more veg peeled and ready to steam. I will make my own gravy from the chicken juices and red wine... but its just bloody dull.
Do I sound very petulant and spoilt? I probably do. But this is my blog and if I want to have a good old moan about something petty, then I will. I suppose I'm lucky that any of them cook at all, ever. I suppose I'm lucky that I can afford nice food, that my mum taught me to bake and make sauces and follow recipes. I'm lucky in all sorts of ways, but right now, if I won the lottery I would never cook again
5 comments:
no you don't sound spoilt, and I get it.
When you are the one who cooks day in day out, it does get tedious. I will use short cuts to help me, yet I still seem in the kitchen for hours on end sometimes. For Easter, I did an afternoon tea instead of a large meal as my MIL doesn't enjoy being faced with a lot of food on her plate any more (she's 90). The idea of being able to choose as much or as little as she likes suits her more and I love throwing together tea.
However, I was in the kitchen from 10 in the morning baking a Victoria sponge, and making the sandwiches, then setting everything up. I finally sat down after clearing it all up at 8 that night. I was in and out of the kitchen all day. Either making more tea, or putting a few extras in the oven to take through. Even something as simple as an afternoon tea is pretty much a whole days work in the kitchen. And a roast dinner is just the same. On Saturday I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen making mash and roast spuds, stuffing chicken breasts etc, all because I knew we were going out on Sunday and I wouldn't have to rush home and start from scratch.
I too am lucky. I'm an ok cook, and I am a full time housewife/mother, and I'm grateful for that.
Just sometimes it would be so nice to have staff!
x
This post is soooooo refreshing! I kind of love it that you hate to cook. I get bored by it often and, quite selfishly, only really get into when I'm cooking for myself. I like elaborate breakfasts that look like deconstructed omelettes and can't really be shared. Pretty fantastic that your boys have picked up the taken to cook. Good skill to have, especially if they like to share!
Hi Sadie and Lindsay!
Thanks for commenting and I'm sorry for the delay in publishing and answering!!
I feel for you Sadie, having to spend that amount of time in the kitchen over Easter. Your MIL is a lucky lady!I hope you get staff soon! And I'm glad you don't think I'm spoilt!
Lindsay it's so nice of you to say that you think my post is refreshing! I hate to moan, but this is one of the things that really bugs me! The cooking, that is. I like the sound of your breakfasts by the way!
Sarah xxx
I don't mind cooking, but I don't love it either. When my kids were all at home I ran into the same problem you describe...it made me nuts until I gave them two choices, Take It or Leave It! Now that I'm by myself I only cook if I want to. Great post!
Hi Eva
Thank you!! It seems to be a dilemma lots of mums face!
xx
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