So, I've written before about how I miss cooking. I think it's karma coming back to bite me. I didn't always appreciate it ...
At one point, when the girls were young, it was a weekend and I was feeling down. My ex and I weren't getting along ... he wasn't working ... and I was tired. I cooked dinner every week night ... and twice each day on the weekend. I remember standing at the sink ... doing something mindless like peeling potatoes or shredding cheese ... and thinking, "This isn't fair."
Well ... the universe laughed and said, "You're tired of cooking? Okay ... we'll take care of that!" and for the last twenty months, I've had little to no reason to cook. Oh, I have cooked ... but how much fun is it to make a crock pot full of Italian beef for one person? How much Italian beef can one person eat?
I've made a crock pot full of homemade chili ... another of pulled pork. I've made pans of tater tot casserole and pots of spaghetti. Homemade taco pizza and rotisserie chicken. I'm not selfish ... I make a point of sharing. I've given a dozen containers of mock pizza to Mom ... and Tupperware containers full of cookies and cake to work. But the bottom line is that, for me, it's depressing as hell to cook for one person.
But ... the answer to my dilemma might be right in front of me. Stoney lets me play in his kitchen!! He has a very nice kitchen ... and I'm pretty sure he has everything a cook would ever need. I haven't made a lot ... steak fried rice and chicken wings and tacos. Nothing remotely impressive. But he plays along and lets me chop and stir and cook ... and it makes me happy.
I do feel a little guilty. I think about Thanksgivings past ... how each year I'd bake a ginormous turkey ... and make mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes ... and stuffing and gravy ... and corn and green been casserole ... and pies and rolls. Cooking was a two-day event. College one used to gush about Thanksgiving dinners ... and one of my best memories of back then is my ex-father-in-law eating until he looked nine months pregnant and had to unbutton his pants.
Heck ... after pulling off a meal like that? I feel bad just making us tacos. But to be fair ... tacos are so good ...
Where to go to, why don't you go
Where fashion sits?
Puttin' on the Ritz
Puttin' on the Ritz
Different types who wear a day
Coat pants with stripes and cutaway
Coat perfect fits
Puttin' on the Ritz
Puttin' on the Ritz
Taco - Puttin on the Ritz
Man, I love cooking for myself. I love leftovers. I love not worrying if someone really likes what I made or is just being nice.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was seeing someone, I also loved cooking for her and with her. We were a good team in the kitchen. And after a loooooong day of teaching (we were both teachers; classroom partners in fact), cooking something with or for her was almost as rejuvenating as a nap.
But that's not the story anymore. Now I make huge crockpots full of many of the dishes you name, and while there's a horrible side-effect (I throw away too much food), I still look forward to my own cooking. :)
I've had a frozen turkey sitting in my freezer for coming up on a year now, and I think part of the reason I haven't cooked it yet is because I know it will come nowhere near as tasty as your turkeys always are!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are SO sweet! Now go make the turkey!! I bet you'll change your mind and think it's even tastier than mine ... because you're making it in YOUR home! :)
ReplyDeleteScrivener ... I'm jealous. I wish I enjoyed cooking just for me. It's just a ... burden. Cooking for (or with) someone is SO much more fun ... even if you're just making a sandwich or hotdogs or something simple.
ReplyDeleteI think part of the problem is that I think I equate cooking to showing love? My Mom made delicious dinners and I equate that to her taking good care of my Dad and me. Therefore, I like making dinners and showing my love?
Plus ... the end result is such a let down. So let's say you make this great dinner ... a seasoned ribeye on the grill ... sauteed mushrooms with garlic and Parmesan ... sweet baby peas ... cheesy, gooey au gratin potatoes. You plate it up ... it looks beautiful! All that work ... and then what? You eat it. How anti-climatic is that?!
Yes ... I have food issues. LOL :)