OK, time for a home truth. I’m not friends with my kitchen this week. There, I said it! I feel disorganised, lacking in inspiration, and just plain uninspired. Last night’s family dinner was frankly ho-hum. Great cook, Masterchef or barely able to boil an egg, many of the parents I speak to feel the same at least some of the time.
I’ve decided to cleanse myself of my kitchen bugbears and look forward to becoming one with my favourite room in the house once more. Maybe you’re familiar with some of these?
- The phantom ingredient
You know you bought it, so why can’t you lay your hands on it? Don’t worry, you’ll find it next week when you’re looking for something else. - 5pm freezer zombie
You know it’s not going to end well if you find yourself staring blankly in to the freezer at 5pm with nil inspiration. - Out of date, you’re kidding right?
You base a whole delectable meal around a pivotal ingredient that you only discover is out of date by a week as you’re about to add it. - Supermarket brain freeze
You return from the supermarket with a car boot full of shopping, having forgotten the one ingredient you went there for. - The no-cook husband
I love my husband dearly and he’s a great “dish-pig”. He (usually) graciously cleans up after me after my frequent cooking frenzies when not a clean pot is left. BUT, my one gripe is that he doesn’t cook… EVER. He’s simply not interested. And before he protests, honey, throwing a steak on a BBQ doesn’t count when I’ve made the salad and everything else. Most of the time it doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but every now and then… Maybe I’ll enrol him in a cooking course sometime. On the upside, he loves my cooking and never complains. - The no plan catastrophe
The main reason this week’s dinners have been so disastrous is that I didn’t plan. Not a good start. I’ve got little in the fridge and my freeze-for-later options are dwindling. Time to whip out the recipe books and get inspired.
I love cooking, but even so there are times when I feel like I’ve lost my zen. On the upside I DO know how to get it back after a “breakfast dinner” of scrambled eggs on toast or two. A little bit of planning (and a bit of a vent) will help get me back “in the zone”. I hope it does for you too.
Eat happy!
Deb Blakley
Accredited Practising Dietitian & Director
