Saturday, November 3, 2007

don't believe Mike



When he tells you I'm messy.

That's me lying on the bed ... if you look closely you can see the outline of my body ... I sort of blend in. Just look at my wardrobe ... brown ... green ... blue ...

Sorry, I haven't been responding to comments all week ... or updating my blog. Having worked full-time all week ... the evenings left me EXHAUSTED. I haven't been able to prepare our evening meals with the well-thought-through care that I'm used to. The first night I came home and prepared dinner, Mike said the sweetest thing after I dumped a jar of sweet and sour on some chicken and frozen veg.

(Just after taking a bite) "I like it better when you prepare your meals."

For me, it was a very sweet complement about my cooking.*

*I really enjoy making my meals from scratch. It was good for me to know Mike appreciates the effort I've gone through to make nice healthy meals for us.

12 comments:

Laura said...

Ooh, very nice!

Unknown said...

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Sherrin said...

Hi Christine! I dropped by to see how you were going . . . it is hard to be working a lot when you've also got a lot of other things on.

It is great that you go to such effort with meals, but I think that it is also important to realise that when you're working full time you simply won't be able to devote the same effort to meal preparation! I'm sure you already know this, but it is amazing how many women really do try to "do it all" and feel guilty when they can't.

One of the main reasons I felt bad about having to do teaching prac full time is that I knew I wouldn't have the same time to devote to things like cooking. Homemade meals I've frozen have come in handy!

I look forward to hearing how your work is going.

Anonymous said...

*compliment :P

Bron said...

It's hard isn't it, cooking when you're exhausted. I was looking at the Nigella Express cookbook today in the bookshop in the hope of some inspiration... but it seems that often what people define as after work food, or fast food (to cook, that is) is really quite expensive. Sure, garlic prawns tossed with asparagus or whatever might be quick after work... but I'll have to work longer to afford to eat like that!

If you do come up with any genuinely quick, healthy and cheap recipes I'd love to hear about them (and I'd be happy to forward on some of the ones I've discovered through necessity this year)

Hey, another solution is what my friends Bek and Weber do. They've just had a baby (in August) and Bek is still studying full time to finish off this year (yes - they even bring the baby to classes, feed her at college etc!!!!) I am astounded that they're managing so well, so I asked if there were any shortcuts. Bek said that one thing they do is make a couple of very large meals on the weekend and then spend the rest of the week eating the leftovers (or freezing them and swapping around) It can be a bit uninteresting, but it's better than tears and takeaway :)

Laura said...

Bron, one of my friends does a thing like that -- she and a few girlfriends have "cooking Saturday" once a month. They make massive portions of several different meals, split them into family-size portions, and take them home to freeze. I can attest to its being a success -- in fact, anytime you're making something that will freeze well (soup, etc.), it's just as easy to make a huge batch as it is to make enough for one or two meals -- easier sometimes! I've done that with a yummy minestrone and a very simple lentil soup. Also, my crock pot has saved my exhausted self more than once, providing I have forethought enough to fix something in the morning!

Cooked rice freezes remarkably well, and cooked pasta keeps for a week, so you make those on the weekend, then you can come home and throw something together to go with it -- stir fried veg, a little frittata with leftover pasta, or whatever, and not have to wait a half hour while the rice cooks.

Or you can go the truly easy way and make poached eggs on toast and eat it with a salad. Ten minutes from start to finish and couldn't be cheaper...

Jeremy & Kristin Perrine said...

Crock pots are a lifesaver! And freezers. It is possible to cook yummy healthy meals and not be dead tired at the end of the day. Laura Roberts is the queen of ideas on that! :)

Jeremy & Kristin Perrine said...

Crock pots are a lifesaver! And freezers. It is possible to cook yummy healthy meals and not be dead tired at the end of the day. Laura Roberts is the queen of ideas on that! :)

Laura said...

Thanks Kristin! I do love to cook -- and it's nice to share ideas with people, since I really don't have a lot of opportunities to implement them myself, being single! :) Lord willing one day I'll be able to serve my family by taking my own advice!!

Bron said...

Thanks Laura :) I'll have to give the eggs on toast with salad a go sometime (although, I think I'd go scrambled - I'm not big on poached eggs unless they're drowned in hollandaise... and I guess that kind of defeats the 'healthy' bit!)

Laura said...

I do definitely encourage the poached eggs, just because soft egg yolks + butter on the toast + crunchy toast = delicious!!

Alison said...

Making your own pizzas doesn't take too long - use lebanese bread for the base, spread with tomato paste and cheese then add whatever toppings you like (I go for proscuitto, boconcini and rocket, or ham, pineapple and tomato)then whack it in the oven for 15 mins.

Microwave meals are a lifesaver (although somewhat dull).