Kitchen Duty

I wish I had a more altruistic reason for cooking. I hear stories of people who find great joy in creating a beautiful and delicious mean for their family because simply having others enjoy the food brings them joy.

I tend to feel jaded about the hours I spend preparing and cleaning up, only to have people appear in the kitchen, wolf it down and then get on with their day without much notice about how long it takes.

Then again, when I have gone through times where I push back against the labor of meal preparation, I notice the lack of connection in our family. When those times come, I regroup and get back to spending more time in the kitchen.

I have a friend who is an amazing baker. She says that she bakes because she loves to eat. I should remember it. There are many great things that come from the hours in the kitchen....one being that I get to eat great food!

We have made some seriously great food lately:

I made this creamy potato soup. It is to die for!! It is really filling and so delicious.

 Allen made macaroni in bacon bowls! When we were first married, macaroni and cheese was something we specialized in. I find I need to have less of that stuff these days....but I sure love it! This was an amazing dinner.

 Frank doesn't get why he can't have some too!

Get down, Frank!

Allen made this amazing salad. It had tuna steak, tons of different vegetables, nuts and crispy somethings that made every bite a delicious experience. He said he's been working on it in his mind (and sampling it at Joey's trying to figure out what makes it so good) for about a year now. Good food definitely takes time!

Okay. I didn't make this one....we went for dinner and spent way too much money at Shoe and Canoe, a restaurant in a hotel downtown. They had a beet salad that was ah-mazing!! It was inspiring. Who would think to put hummus with beets?! It was delicious.