Convenience cooking is something that has left my home.
It has been replaced with combing ingredients at will; slaving over a hot stove night after night for a healthy and nutritious supper.
Meal prep times have gone from 3 minutes (the strenuous act of removing the plastic from the frozen dinner and microwaving the remains) to an hour – at least. There is slicing, and dicing; simmering and broiling.
It is exhausting.
It doesn’t help that I have no love for my kitchen. It's the only room in my house now that I haven’t touched in terms of renovating (with the exception of the overhead lighting, which I must admit I did do a pretty stellar job on!) It is small, and everything about it old and dirty; no matter how many times I clean it.
I do not love my kitchen, and I do not relish spending time in it.
But, in the name of healthy eating for baby making; I have been exiling myself to the kitchen night after night for the last 5 weeks.
And, I’m getting better at it.
Sometimes.
Last night, I set about the task of making potato soup (I found a gluten free/dairy free recipe online, and was dying to try it). My hope was to make a big enough batch that I could freeze the leftovers and have ready-made meals for at least a few nights.
The problem I ran into was; my lack of kitchen prowess.
First of all, I don’t even own a cutting board. Or measuring spoons for that matter. Both of these items are things I once owned (in another life), and both were part of the boxes upon boxes of items I left in San Diego in my attempt to start completely over.
Stupid stupid hippy ideals.
I’ve now been here 2 years, and have just never gotten around to buying these things. The first 9 months I was in Alaska, I lived with a friend who had all the cooking utensils anyone could ever need, so that wasn’t an issue. Then, my first 9 months in my own house, I had roommates who also came equipped with cook-ware.
It’s only been in the last 6 months that I have gone without, and it hasn’t really mattered until the last 5 weeks – because I wasn’t cooking.
Last night (as I cut everything on a glass plate and looked up online how many milliliters were in a tablespoon [since I do own a measuring cup]); I realized that this situation needs to change.
And soon.
Still, despite the extra hurdles of not being adequately prepared; I thought I was doing pretty well. I had chopped and diced the potatoes and leaks and garlic and mushrooms (my own addition – I do love mushrooms!) and was feeling quite culinary as I combined all the ingredients into the pot.
Until I realized (15 minutes later) that I had never turned the heat on. I had “cooked” the mushrooms, leeks, and garlic in oil without heat prior to adding in the potatoes, chicken stock, and coconut milk – I'd been stirring the entire concoction for 15 minutes; again, without heat.
Seriously.
I wound up turning the heat up and hoping it wouldn’t turn out too badly. I let it simmer an extra 15 minutes above what the recipe called for, and I kept the heat up a bit higher as well.
Of course, the leeks never really did cook – and were as a result quite raw – but other than that, it wasn’t too bad. A valiant first attempt I suppose. I still froze 4 servings for another time.
But – I feel like a dummy. A dummy who doesn’t really have the patience to be trapped in her tiny and ill equipped kitchen. A dummy who really would prefer a room not quite so suffocating if she has to labor there night after night.
A dummy who couldn’t be bothered to remember to turn on the heat.
I could use a chef.
One who cooks my healthy and pretentious meals for me; with far more perfection and ease than I can muster.
A chef who is as committed as I am to using fresh and organic ingredients, but who actually knows how to make that happen without either constant repetition and boredom, or over the top frustration and mishaps.
Preferably; a chef with green eyes who stands at about 6’ tall and likes it when I smack his bottom and call him sugar lips.
Yep. I could use a chef.
ADSPACE
