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I'm so very behind on reading all of your blogs and commenting. I feel itchy because I feel I'm missing many things ... like hanging out with you all in your cupboards. Lately, life has been full of grading students' papers and having bad dreams about my students grading me {last night, I got a D+ from one of them}; listening to a heartbroken friend in a pitch-dark backyard, trying to convince her it will get better because it has to; needing, myself, to emote {with tears} rather often; and wondering {and worrying about} how another friend will cope, following her double mastectomy two days ago. There is a lot going on in these first couple days of sunshine after all that rain.I just bought Molly Wizenberg's book yesterday, because I need to slow the heck down. I need to cook and bake for the people I care about and allow myself to nurture them, because sometimes, that's all there's left to do when things are crumbly and gaping. I've never been much of a cook. I use my microwave more than I'd like to admit. I eat when I have time, and don't when I don't. These are things I'd like to change, especially now that I'm in a period of transition in my life and could probably implement some {better} habits.
Do you have any tips? Words of wisdom? How did you develop a relationship with the kitchen?
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First off let me just say what an incredible blessing you must be to those people in your life. Sounds like you're doing just fine. And just the fact that you are seeking to be better makes you better.
ReplyDeleteMy advice for the kitchen... Well, I have a love/hate relationship with cooking. I love to try new recipes if they turn out great. I hate it when they don't and I don't much care for cleaning up afterwards. My most successful recipes come from the ones that I've gotten from others, tried and true so to speak. Before I had kids my girlfriends and I would get together for a homecooked meal at one of our homes once a month. We got to try out new recipes on each other and possibly bring home new ones to our hubbies. And it was an easy crowd, so the stress of it turning out right was gone.
Thinking of you and sending good thoughts your way. Have a good weekend!
Erin: Thank you so much -- for your generous words and advice. I rarely make the time and space to cook for myself, but I think a monthly commitment with friends might be a low-pressure way to start. Thank you again.
ReplyDeleteA cyber hug for you. Also let me know how that book is.
ReplyDeleteAmy: Thank you very much. And yup, sure will :)
ReplyDeleteI love to cook and bake! I don't like to eat as much as I like to cook all though I do love to eat the cookies and cupcakes I bake.
ReplyDeleteI usually spend my Sunday afternoons experimenting in the kitchen. I make lots of things to put in the freezer that I can make when I'm to lazy to cook later in the week.
I used to always make the same 5 things for dinner but that started to get old so I started searching the internet for recipes. I always look at a few different sources and combine the parts I like best to make a dish. I try them out on family members with the promise of buying them pizza if it's awful. So far I haven't bought any pizza. (I did come close one night with some incredibly spicy chicken that was almost uneatable).
Food Network is one of my favorite websites but you will find plenty on google too.
Kittylou: Thank you for the tips!! I want to become someone who allows herself to spend a Sunday in the kitchen {and likes it}. I always think of meals as quick things my body depends on, and that's it. But, now, I want to start having fun with cooking and baking. I'll scope out Food Network. Thanks, lady! xo
ReplyDeleteHi Helen! Sorry I've been so off lately, somehow your url wasn't in my reader! Shame on me...
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of in the same boat as you are. And especially during the semester. Meals are something quick that I have to get over with so I can do everything else. It doesn't help that I don't have a kitchen table yet. Along with my local goal, I want to start cooking and baking and, yes, enjoying it! I agree with Kittylou with the Food Network. Their recipes are often really good. I've gotten mostly baking recipes, but a few meal ones, and they've all been good. Also, I think I'll start with really simple ones, nothing that you have to sautee then broil then plunge in cold water and do the hustle with. Those recipes are scary!
I'll do Sundays with you :) I need a commitment like that, too, in order to actually do it.
I hope the crazy things in your life are resolved soon and you can have time to develop your kitchen relationship.
hi, thanks for the comment, cant believe i havnt visited you before, so thanks. life throws all sorts of things at us, most often things we dont think we can cope with, but we stumble through anyway. i love the idea of making something from a few ingredients i have at hand, its magical in a way. so just cook the things you love to eat, and the things the people you love love to eat. cook simple things (always the most rewarding), and add your own touches to make them your own.
ReplyDeleteI was always the girl who forgot to eat when I was in college too. It just took up to much time and I didn't have time for food. Pizza and bagels were easy and that's what I lived on for 4 years. But now that I have the free time I've discovered cooking and it's fun! It takes time so don't give up. I didn't cook to much until about a year and a half after school so you have some time.
ReplyDeleteNow that I have a garden it's even more fun to use all the fresh veggies in new recipes and very convenient
Brittany: Thanks so much for your comment. No worries about the reader issues {though I *did* miss you}. I'll definitely do Sundays {she says, as she makes Ramen ...}, and it'd be fun to know that one of my blogger friends is doing it, too! I'm laughing re: doing the hustle with various ingredients in order to prepare for a meal.
ReplyDeleteMarie: Glad to have you over here, visiting the cupboard! Thank you for your comment and your perspective. With the cooking, I think I will start simple and then change little aspects as I go, to customize my dishes. I'm getting excited about this ... :)
Kittylou: I remember how often you'd forget to eat. Then you'd get dizzy, right? I can't wait to garden, as well -- herbs, especially!!
Cooking can be therapeutic (and it sounds like you could use a bit of kitchen therapy with everything you're dealing with!).
ReplyDeleteI think the first thing is to make your kitchen a safe place, if that doesn't sound too strange. Be nice to yourself. Cook/bake when you want to and don't beat yourself up if you go for a whole week just eating cereal because you don't feel like lighting the stove. Set aside some time for the kitchen and don't get frazzled if something doesn't turn out.
Rachel: Thank you. Yes, I've often found chopping vegetables to be so therapeutic ... I just don't do it often enough! You're right about making the kitchen a good energy, safe place -- a welcoming spot, a space where I enjoy creating. I appreciate your tips, my friend.
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