yes, i have ventured into the wild and woolly world of being a full-time mum. i THOUGHT of it all in romantic terms before i started. i would be home, looking after a new baby (yes, i had one!), guiding my older child in his homework, sending them off to variosu activities... oh but the reality hit me on the nose!! i am now a mother, aka nanny-maid-doctor-pharmacist-nurse-teacher-tuition teacher-driver-cook.
ah... cook! i have now cooked in these last 5 months more than i have cooked in the last 10 years i've been married combined!!! there is simply no option but to cook. now, i don't especially enjoy cooking (you don't when you're not that good AND you've to clean up after) so you can imagine what kind of a chore this is. again, i had romantic thoughts of trying out new recipes... dishing out health in a bowl, turning out healthy lunchboxes and the lot. but the reality is i cook whatever that is quickest, most likely to be accepted and makes minimal mess in the car (we eat in the car a lot now!) and has some semblance of a healthy meal.
during all this, i've discovered a lot of things that worked and tasted nice, and healthy too. here are some of my discoveries: -
- a menu is good. it takes out the thinking part. i have one for lunch and one for bekal sekolah. i have a loose one for dinner. HOWEVER be warned... it gets boring sometimes. especially for the cook!!! hahaha
- cook a few portions at a time and freeze. i usually cook 2 or 3 portions and freeze them. for times when i'm just plain lazy...
- cook more rice than you need and bung the rest in the fridge. comes in handy for fried rice. we eat a lot of fried rice in the house. ha ha.
- peel lots of garlic, onion and maybe some ginger and put them unwashed in the fridge. when you want to cook, they're there. having to peel when you're in a hurry makes you all the more malas, trust me.
- in an attempt to inject more health into the family diet i've started to cook with brown stuff. but HOFKORS nobody else would want to eat brown rice, brown bread and brown whatever kan. so i mix. mix brown rice with white, brown-and-white bread sandwich and normal and wholemeal pasta mixed. they won't notice it and you can always say you want to have it 'colorful'. i've gradually increased the brown bits-it's easier now that everyone, including me, is used to the taste.
- frozen baby puree is a great addition to family meals. i just defrost some carrot or whatever and bung it into fried rice, spaghetti sauce, anything. the kids do not like veggies as a rule and what they can't see, they can't complain about. most of the time it just improves the taste a bit especially if it's sweet veggies so having a baby in the house does have it's advantages. hehehe.
- i bought this bottle of mild paprika for this recipe that i only tried once and the paprika has been sitting there for literally years. in an attempt to finally finish it, i mix it with everything and you know what? it makes things taste great!! i mix it with beef in my fried pasta, fried rice, pasta sauce, sardines... it's not hot at all, but it tastes good.
- ditto worcestershire sauce. it's been sitting around in my house even longer than the paprika!!! i put it even in SOUPS!!! nak habiskan punya pasal kan. tapi it makes it all taste that much better, i've bought an even BIGGER bottle.
let's hope i'm not much of a stranger after this. i've had so many (most are not that successful) adventures with food and i'm so wanting to share them!!
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