Are You Ready To Fall In Love With Cooking Again?
Or Maybe For The First Time
When was the last time you got really excited about cooking a meal? Let’s face it, right now eating out is crazy expensive, and sometimes it’s just a bummer to cook. It can be timely, exhausting, frustrating. And for many people, they just need the abridged version because they’re so busy with life.
The frustrating thing is that you watch cooking shows and so many chefs make it seem harder than it actually has to be. I mean, is it really that hard or are they making it seem more complicated so that they can fill an hour time slot or sell more books?
Cooking doesn't have to be that hard!
My Mom was an insanely good cook. Even though she’s been gone for almost 20 years, if you were to ask any of her friends, they would tell you that she should have opened a restaurant. She had some special magic when it came to cooking. But here’s what her friends don’t know… she used a ton of shortcuts.
Every year my parents had a big Christmas party. My Mom loved entertaining and she would cook everything for the party. And while that sounds super exhausting, she cheated… a lot.
She had a strategy for her parties. Mostly appetizers and small bites would be served. She used store-bought puff pastry for her small bites. She always had a huge green salad, a pasta salad of some sort and I would make the desserts. Those 3 things that needed to be made the day of the party, didn’t take up a lot of time. And since I was on dessert duty, she really had just the salad and the pasta salad to assemble.
The rest of the food she made ahead time and put it in the freezer. She would bake or par-bake all items before the party.
And Viola! The most delicious party you’ve ever been to!
From those Christmas parties I learned from my Mom that having a clear strategy for the event, and taking the most simple path, will result in success.
The same strategy will work for us in creating amazing (and healthy) meals at home every night.
How to set yourself up for success in the kitchen (and make cooking a lot more enjoyable).
- Scratch made is best, but sometimes we just don’t have time for that… and that’s ok.
- Make items ahead of time to cut down on time spent in front of the oven. For example, one night I was making butternut squash soup. I roasted all the veggies on a baking sheet in the oven. By the time they were done I was exhausted and just wanted to sit down. I waited until the sheet pan cooled and put the entire baking tray in the fridge. I finished the soup the next night.
- Cut your veggies when you get them home from the grocery store.
- Plan out your recipes for the week (yes, I know this is boring)
- Don’t get distracted by fancy or obscure ingredients that you won’t use. Focus on the basics – the things you love and will eat every day.
- Cooking is magic. Pour some love into your cooking. It will feel good and the food will taste just a little bit more delicious.
- And most importantly…
Cooking is more fun with friends!
If you want to fall in love with cooking again, you should check out our cooking club, which launches in August.
Each month you’ll receive 4 new recipes and have access to a live (over zoom) cooking class where we’re going to make an amazing dish together.
Let’s cook something amazing!
