Here's to home cooked!

by makeupfoodppl

I love to cook and I love it when people I love, eat the food I have made. It’s my way of saying ‘I like you’ or ‘You are special to me.’ Plus, I love how the same basic ingredients can be combined and treated in different ways to get a zillion different out comes. Cooking is how I unleash my creativity and above all, it relaxes me.

I am really passionate about cooking at home, as you probably have gathered by now. However, whenever I have found myself going on and on about how awesome it is to feed your family a good home cooked meal or baking your own goodies (being the kitchen geek I am), I have usually received responses like this:

“Well it’s easy for you to say, you actually like to do it.”

“You don’t have a day job.”

“You don’t have kids.”

“You don’t have a life!”

“What point are you trying to make?”

“You just have a natural talent, I am so untalented. sniff sniff!”

The last one especially pisses me off, when there is an undertone of fakeness in the compliment combined with ‘poor me’, ‘I am such a victim’ in there, which I find really annoying.

Bottom line, If you aren’t disabled, paralyzed neck down, in a coma or living under Nazi/Taliban rule, you are NOT a victim. So, stop feeling sorry for yourself and trying to make others feel sorry for you. (My trainer said that to me once, when I was being a wimp in her class. It made me want to cry. But I knew she was right. )

There are things we like to do and things we don’t like to do. I hate exercise and do have equally annoying excuses that I use to justify my couch potato lifestyle. But I know that I would be better off if I did it. I hate cleaning, but I do it. Sometimes, the thought of going in the kitchen fills me with more dread than getting a blood test. (An obvious exaggeration to get the point across. Nothing fills me with more dread than a blood test. But you get my drift.)

Yes, there are days when I hate to cook and the idea of ordering in or going out seems easy and awesome. And I do! There are days when I am tired, feel angry and have had a fight, feel sick or just plain lazy and don’t cook. Or do end up cooking, even though I would rather be sleeping or going outside and counting cracks on the side walk and chasing butterflies.

Finding the time, enthusiasm and energy to do anything is easier, when you don’t have kids or a job. And it takes discipline and planning to get certain things done in real everyday life, especially things we don’t like. And ofcourse, thinking intelligently or getting helpful tips makes the amount of effort required go down tremendously. So that is something I hope to achieve with my food blogs….to share my learnings.

I have cooked while being employed. I do cook now that I have a kid. And I do have a life! (Or would like to believe that I do. ) It doesn’t make me better or worse than anyone else. It does however, save me money and reduces the chances of my arteries getting clogged. And all modesty aside and put truthfully and very plainly, I don’t have a natural talent. I have an inclination and yes, I am a good cook because I do it often. And like with any other acquired skill, the more you cook, the better you get at it.

Home cooked food doesn’t have to be boring or a gargantuan effort. It isn’t necessary to lay a huge spread every single time and do everything from scratch. The key, like with anything else, is to keep it sustainable and simple. Anyone can do it. It’s good for your family and it’s good for you. So do it!