2024-08-12 - Back to the kitchen

It's Monday. I like to take new resolutions on Mondays. It's the new year of the week. Yes, that's dumb, but we use the incentive that we can to trick our brains, right? So today, I have decided to get back to something that I really enjoy doing, and that I have been putting off for a while. It could apply to going back to the gym, but I have decided for now that it's too complicated to have a regular workout schedule with a newborn.

The title probably gave it away, I want to cook a lot more regularly. I used to, but for the past two year it has been very occasional. Which also sucks because it's a skill that needs to be maintained. Not that one really forget how to cook an egg, but coming up with ideas, attempting to put whatever is in the fridge together, creating a sauce that matches the dish, etc., it requires some brain practice.

I do have quite valid excuses, though! I moved to another country and lived with my in-laws for a little while. So it wasn't my kitchen, and someone else was cooking. Also, even if the difference is not huge, I had to adapt to the missing grocery store items. Then we bought a house, and we had the grand idea to rip off the entire kitchen, to make it fit our needs. The "couple of months" project is now almost done, more than a year later. We finally have a somewhat usable kitchen.

Obviously, by cooking less and being a good support to my pregnant wife, I gained some weight. So today's the day. I'm getting back to the kitchen.

I'll attack this with two different angles:

1. The most practical: meal prep for my lunches. I don't need anything fancy there, only something with properly balanced nutrient that I can eat up quickly. Maybe have a couple of options in the freezer. Anything will be better that my current shitty sandwich anyway.

2. More creative (and more fun, obviously): family dinner. I already fix up things from time to time, but there is a lot of room for improvement:

• Take more time for it. That's kind of the point of this gemlog. I'm ready for it.
• Have fun with it. If I have enough time, I can make whatever I want, I have time for more adventurous recipes. That's really the best part about cooking. Feeling somewhat creative and trying new things.
• Plan better. Food in US grocery stores is ridiculously expensive. We mitigate that by buying things for cheaper in bigger quantity - and a second freezer - and having less variety. I need to be able to compose with what's available, instead of going out to buy whatever is in the recipe of the day.

And finally, it's a great occasion to open the cooking section of that capsule. Empty for now. Not for long.

=> /cooking

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