With
my wife’s day booked with taking care of our baby and a myriad of other things,
the usual routine when I get home after work is to spend time with our son and
to get dinner ready. It is sometimes a difficult decision as to what to do
first… should I hold my son for a little bit or get dinner in the oven and hold
him afterward or do I hold him before and after? I am a sucker for my son so it
is usually the third option.
Thankfully,
I am able to throw something decent together pretty fast. This is largely because
I paid attention (although it may not have seemed like it at the time) to my
mom when I was growing up watching her pull together dinner when she got home
from work. While I am not nearly as good as she is, I do my best to get things
done quickly and everyone fed at a reasonable time. Given my work schedule,
reasonable is any time before 8:00 pm.
My
wife is still baffled at times by how fast I am able to get things done (not on
chicken strip nights but other evenings) but it is something that I have become
used to over the years. It all comes down to the simple fact of knowing what
things go together and using as few ingredients and steps as possible. I know
how to follow a recipe and still do on occasion, but that takes longer and
during the work week I don’t have the extra time. This is also why I don’t
bake.
At
the same time, I guess that you could say that I do have a few ‘recipes’ as
there are combinations that I use regularly using the measuring technique of
shake, dump, sprinkle, and cover. So far, nothing has been really bad. Some
meals are more unique than others but they have at least been edible. It is all
about knowing what flavors go together and it works for me just don’t ask me
for exact measurements.
It is
a routine and a way of doing things that continues to work for us. Sure there
are nights when I pick something up but knowing what ingredients work well
together gives us the option. Maybe if I enjoyed cooking I would spend those
few extra minutes but at this point I doubt it as the more time I spend in the
kitchen, the more time I am away from my smiling baby boy. So I am just going
to continue throwing things together.
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