The first time my husband came to my house for dinner, he left thinking I didn't know how to cook...
Neither of us can remember the exact details, but somehow, I was stuck finishing up a job that took way longer than I had anticipated, so he ended up doing all of the meal prep...
Being the artist that he is, my husband is also fond of certain visual appeal when it comes to serving meals. He is a fan of pure white plates, colorful vegetables, and -like a typical man- LOTS of meat!
After reminding me for years about "that time he thought I had no idea how to cook", he looked at me one day and said, "You know, you actually are a really good cook!"
Maybe you can see why I might have once felt like one of those poor souls on "Worst Cooks in America"...
As I look at our kitchen habits, though, I realize we are wildly different in our strengths... He will almost always create something with significant visual appeal...
Whatever I cook will just... taste good.
I feel as if I have come a long way in the kitchen. Initially, my strengths were all in the baking department, and I wouldn't dream of deviating from a recipe for fear of irreparable ruin!
At least, now, I can adjust flavoring and figure out comparable replacements for things I don't like in a recipe...
My husband and I also have vastly different tastes in food, which makes cooking for each other a pain in the ass ...challenging...
He's all about the heat. The spicier, the better! He wants to sweat when he eats.
I prefer a more comfortable dining experience - one that doesn't involve sweating. And I find many "normal" flavors a tad spicy for my liking...
My husband makes enchiladas, and he always makes 2 different pans - which he has dubbed "the man pan" and "the bland pan"... Guess which one I eat...
Well. While I might not have the presentation bit down, I'm getting really good at the "tastes good" part. And I only do it once a week!
Now, my husband didn't immediately buy into this...
It started with making our fresh-produce-vegetable-soup and freezing it. That meant we had fresh produce until it was gone!!
I hate shopping for produce every other day when it's winter.....
Then, I kept trying to fit in riding and dinner in the same evening, and that meant dinner was happening right before bed... THAT is certainly less than ideal.....
So, I started cooking big enough dinners to not have to cook again for a few days...
But some weeks get out of control.
So, I started planning a week at a time. I would cook over the weekend and package my entire week's worth of food! You know what I discovered?
I had a whole lot more time during the week!
BONUS: my vegetables weren't wilting before I could use them!!
Well. While I might not have the presentation bit down, I'm getting really good at the "tastes good" part. And I only do it once a week!
Now, my husband didn't immediately buy into this...
It started with making our fresh-produce-vegetable-soup and freezing it. That meant we had fresh produce until it was gone!!
I hate shopping for produce every other day when it's winter.....
Then, I kept trying to fit in riding and dinner in the same evening, and that meant dinner was happening right before bed... THAT is certainly less than ideal.....
So, I started cooking big enough dinners to not have to cook again for a few days...
But some weeks get out of control.
So, I started planning a week at a time. I would cook over the weekend and package my entire week's worth of food! You know what I discovered?
I had a whole lot more time during the week!
BONUS: my vegetables weren't wilting before I could use them!!
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