The other night my husband and I got into a discussion that didn't end with me feeling happy. It was about food and the cooking of it. I admit that I don't do a whole lot of stuff from scratch. I tend to buy prepackaged and boxed meals for the quickness and convenience. So for whatever reason that I can't even remember how it got to that it felt like he criticized my cooking skills because I use that convenience citing you couldn't really call it cooking it was basically just warming up.
And that of course upset me.
I can cook. I can cook and bake very well thankyouverymuch. I just don't do it all the time. And while I would like to say it's because I have no time I know that is not true. Usually I'm just lazy and don't want to go to the trouble of cooking something so complex unless there's a reason for it. Sometimes I feel guilty but a lot of times I don't simply because there is a reason there are convenient boxes like that. I may be a SAHM but that doesn't mean I want to half of my day cooking something for dinner.
However it upset me so much that I told him "Fine. I'll start making things from scratch all we have to buy is meat and spices and some sides and we'll see how well this works out in the long run". And while I do realize it is a good thing in the long run it is pride that caused me to say that. I felt like he was attacking my domestic skills and that is very annoying because I feel I do a lot better than most women in my position. So what if I don't always cook from scratch? So what if sometimes I make Hamburger Helper and some frozen veggies for dinner? What's the big deal?
Plus cooking from scratch is a little frustrating in this house because of what I "can't" cook; all the good recipes are cut in half b/c he doesn't eat seafood. He doesn't eat tomatoes, or onions either so I can't make stuff like that unless the taste is really hidden or I can substitute something. I realized this when I checked cookbooks out of the library the other day. While I am going to continue on in my new way of thinking, I do anticipate a lot of frustration and bickering b/c of what I can't make with his preference. Because eventually what will happen is I will make something with onions or tomatoes and just tell him to spit it out because it makes the food as a whole taste better.
If nothing else this should be interesting.
Dude, I grew up on HH and veggies. I liked it so much I over ate :) I cook something along those lines about once a week- even more so when I was out on my "own" for the first time. Emma got her veggies, protein etc., and Mommy got to rest after work. Tell Albert to go sit on a cactus.
ReplyDeleteEarly in our relationship we had discussions a LOT like this one. David is picky as well. He would say: "I'll eat whatever you put in front of me" and then make faces if he saw a tomato etc. We've gotten bad about eating out when we're both too tired to cook etc. Way too expensive and not healthy. Props for your new ambitions. But I bet you'll end up with a compromise.