Tuesday, May 18, 2010

No Cooking or Cleaning for Me

It's amazing how quickly I've fallen into my old undomesticated habits. Now that I've got a job, I've been seriously slacking off around the house. There's a pile of dishes in the sink and while the laundry is folded, I haven't had time to put it away. I don't remember the last time I cooked dinner that didn't come from the frozen foods section.

When pressed for time when something's gotta give, it seems cooking and cleaning are the first things to go.

Somehow Avo manages to find time to go to the gym, work a full-time job, and cook -- even when he doesn't get home until 8 p.m.

Last night, I was prepared to have cereal for dinner, but he was determined to come up with something more nutritional and satisfying. Using the few ingredients we had in our fridge, he whipped up the best omelette I've had in my life (no kidding) -- eggs, ham, onions, and mushrooms never tasted so good. Or maybe I just appreciated the fact that I was eating a home-cooked meal for a change.

For the past week, I've had plans to cook chili. I have all the ingredients on hand, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I fear that unless I start cooking soon, I'll forget everything I've learned. I'd hate to come this far only to settle back into my old undomesticated life.

Sometimes I wonder if there are two types of people: those who cook because they love it and those who cook because they have no other choice. Maybe I'm just not hardwired to cook. What do you think?

13 comments:

Dara said...

I think there is a kind of muscle memory for cooking and cleaning. When you do it regularly, it comes easier. When you stop for a while -- vacation, illness, whatever -- it is so much harder to get back into the groove, both because it's been left undone for a while and there is more to do, but also just because you have to create the habit all over again. I know it takes Herculean effort for me to get back into cooking regularly after a break! Good luck easing back into it.

Julie said...

I know when I was working cooking became more of a chore for me than something I enjoyed. Now that I am back staying at home with our new baby I am getting back to enjoying it. When I worked I tried to utilize the crock pot much more and meal planning was more of a necessity than something to do to save money (which is what meal planning is now). Also I would try to do some short cuts. You mentioned chili. Well the ground beef you have to brown for it can be browned with onion and garlic in a huge quantity and broke down into smaller freezer bags. Then you can pull them out later for spaghetti, hash, chili or tacos and a major part of the work is done for you. Just dump stuff into the crock pot and off you go.

Kathy N. said...

I'm not sure you should be too worried about "backsliding". I think you've made significant progress over the last year and you should be really proud!

But it's important to see this as a life long project that will go through differ stages and phases. Also, it's important to think about what kind of relationship you want your daughters to have to food and cooking. It might be more important to make sure they love to cook than it is to gain much more mastery yourself! And then they can do the cooking for the family!

As for housecleaning, I have no suggestions. I need too much help in that area myself!

Melissa said...

For me I cook because I love it. Kitchen has been my 2nd comfort zone besides my bedroom

Megan said...

I would try to do some short cuts. You mentioned chili. Well the ground beef you have to brown for it can be browned with onion and garlic in a huge quantity and broke down into smaller freezer bags. thanx for the share.

Victoria said...

ee

Jane said...

I would try to do some short cuts. You mentioned chili. Well the ground beef you have to brown for it can be browned with onion and garlic in a huge quantity and broke down into smaller freezer bags, thanx.

Lynn said...

Well, cooking is a passion for me,you really need to put a heart to your work and its really important.

Katie said...

Well, cooking is a great passion for us girls..This is the place where I am comfortable to stay coz I always have time to cook for my family.

jillian said...

Great i love cooking that's my fashion and kitchen is my favorite place where i love to cook and experiment different kind of food that have a result delicious taste.

Christy said...

I tried to utilize the crock pot much more and meal planning was more of a necessity than something to do to save money (which is what meal planning is now). Also I would try to do some short cuts. You mentioned chili. thanx for sharing.

Brittany said...

This is the place where I am comfortable to stay coz I always have time to cook for my family.

Christine said...

Paula I know how you feel! I used to get overwhelmed with the state my house used to get into and like you said, cooking sometimes gets put on the backburner ;) I wanted a way to solve my problems so I did a lot of research and found an incredible amount of information. I decided to build a website around it all! Here's a good starting page you can check out. Organizing Clutter. Best of luck!