Kitchen Magic
Some people hate to cook. Some, like my mother, seem indifferent, and some people, including myself, love to cook. I even enjoy cooking festive holiday meals for family and friends. My mother usually wants to go out to eat on holidays, so now she comes to our home, and is very complimentary about my efforts in the kitchen.
I began learning to cook when I was 16. My mother was anxious about my being in the kitchen because of my congenital different abilities (cerebral palsy and vision impairment), because I might be burned or cut as I tried to learn to cook. I told her it was inevitable that I would indeed get burned and cut, but I would have to learn to deal with those things as everyone does. I also mentioned I thought it was not a wise idea to not learn to cook because I would need to feed myself and my family one day, and it was just another facet of my independence. She relented, and taught me to cook family style foods.
I also learned by watching my grandparents in the kitchen. I have always found cooking to be a creative outlet, and I greatly enjoy collecting and trying new recipes and creating my own, and I do use family recipes as well. I began teaching both my children to cook when they were about five years old and were able to be safe in the kitchen with supervision. Now, I am beginning to teach my grandchildren to cook, and I love watching their faces as they enjoy “their own” foods.
There are times when I do not feel well, but we still need to eat. I figured out a way to handle meals when I was pregnant with my daughter that I still use today. There were times during that first pregnancy when I was almost too tired to stand, and there were times when simply cracking an egg would make me ill. On the other hand, there were days when I felt I could take on the world before lunch and have energy to spare. I learned to use those times to good advantage to prepare for the “I don’t feel like cooking” times.
I used TV dinner trays (the foil ones, since microwave ovens had not yet been invented), and washed them carefully. Then, on days when I felt really well, I would cook entire meals, including extra portions. I included meats, fish, poultry, vegetables (fresh or frozen, to keep sodium intake down), pasta that was cooked not quite al dente, and casserole type meals. I put the extra portions into the trays, covered them tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil, and put them in the freezer. I tried to keep at least two to three weeks worth of lunches and dinners in the freezer for myself and my husband, and I could simply heat them in the oven for 30 minutes and eat. I found I could eat much easier if I did not have to cook when I felt ill. This strategy also kept our food budget down, because we were not eating out in restaurants.
I use the same strategy today, except I use heavy duty plastic containers with tight fitting seals that can go into the microwave. Sometimes I use a “once a month” cooking approach, but I usually just prepare extra portions as I go along.
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