Taking my own name in vain.
18 January 2025
Despite outward appearances at times, I do quite like cooking. I probably should cook more often but often it’s down to convenience. After a long day at work or trying to fit something in when I have the kids, a microwave meal is the easiest way forward. I don’t have to prep anything, I don’t have to wash up after and, generally, they’re not too bad overall. That said, I do make a point of cooking something for all of us every Saturday with the three of us taking turns to choose what Saturday’s dinner should be. The meals put forward by Ten or Nine are often the same each time, so I often try to mix things up where I can; within reason.
At the start of last year, the first year on my own, I took advantage of some of the deals with companies like Marley Spoon and so on. They were pretty good, got some fun dishes to try and cook and, more often than not, I feel I did pretty well in getting them right or at least right enough that I found them tasty. I’d love to go back to them and I’m hoping with some budget changes I could probably achieve it. At least then, two or three nights a week, I’m eating something that’s been cooked and I can have a bit of an adventure doing so. I know that I don’t need to use these delivery things and that I absolutely could look up a receipe and cook, but it’s also easier for me to browse a menu and know that most of the ingredients will be sent to my door. I suppose at least I’m confident to do either.
One of my favourites to make is cottage pie. It’s so simple that it’s hard to get wrong, however, when you nail it, it’s like a big, warm hug. Today, Ten chose cottage pie for her pick as the option of takeaway wasn’t on the table, mostly because we’ve had takeaway the last two weeks for varying reasons. After getting the ingredients whilst Nine was swimming, I set to work this afternoon on making it and whilst I knew it was going to be tasty, I guess I wasn’t prepared for how awesome it was going to be. The only thing, I think, that could’ve improved it was some beef stock but that’s not an ingredient I’ve added yet as I’m honestly not too sure how much the kids would notice its addition; maybe next time. However, for today, this was about as good as it gets, so much so both girls wanted seconds and that, in my book, is a huge win!