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It was cooking week here at the Player house, which means I spent a good portion of each day loving my family by preparing dinners in advance. I wrote lists of ordered tasks, went shopping early on at Sam's, inventoried my pantries over and over, and then I put on my cute argyle socks and went to work.
I went through bags and bags of produce: celery, carrots, onions, garlic, zucchini, peppers, potatoes, swiss chard, parsley, and more. A friend came over to visit for a bit and chopped up at least half of it. I cooked two pounds of dry beans at a time. There were constantly beans soaking in 8 quart pots, rinsing in colanders, and waiting for the pressure cooker. I borrowed a friend's crockpots so that I could triple recipes and I discovered that my 15-liter pressure cooker can just barely triple my Fundalentil Soup and Vegetarian Chili recipes.
There was lots of chopping, dicing, and mincing and I have never been so grateful for the awesome knives we bought a couple years ago with Christmas money. I must have trimmed and minced one hundred garlic cloves, one pound when all was said and done.
In the end I had made nearly thirty dinners, mainly soups and stews that have beans or lentils. This monthly ritual now necessitates an extra freezer which I found on Craigslist this morning
My favorite thing of all was making two dozen quarts of vegetable stock. And now I know why "stockpots" are an essential element of a cook's kitchen. If I had one on hand I could have made all fifty quarts that I needed!
It wasn't long ago that I didn't really love to cook. I owe my change of heart to several cooking mentors (who taught me to that food is love), Cooking Light magazine, and to everyone who has provided me with kitchen equipment for every birthday and Christmas for many years now.
My children were frequently on their own, and I made them Ramen noodles so they were as happy as ever. A kept finding her way right into the action. Some of her statements in the kitchen this week include "See, I can cut through anything with this big knife," "I wish you would just let me do it," and "I can't wait until I get to run this house". She's not yet five years old.
I fell a little short this month. I have yet to make and freeze my grains (whole grain bread, muffins, and pancakes) but tomorrow should allow some time for that. I am already looking forward to figuring out next month's meal plan.
3 comments:
You, my sister, are amazing! I bet your kitchen smelled delicious. Can't wait to hear about next month! Love that A wants to run the house:)
We love that RS veg chili recipe with sweet potatoes . . . we make it every Halloween for M's Bday. You should post the rest of your recipes, I'd love to see them. And . . . . I think you can buy bulk chopped garlic in a jar. Did I see it at Costco? Savemart? I can't remember. Do you have a food processor for all this chopping? And, (last thing really) I have this yummy quinoa lentil soup recipe for just such these vegetarian lentil fests. I'll email it to you. Oh. Just one more question. Do your kids eat what you make? Mine look at me in dismay when I serve beans and lentils. The rule here is "You don't have to eat it, but you can't say mean things about it." So they keep their comments to themselves but look forlorn and my main dishes get very little attention.
You're amazing, Liz. I need to take some inspiration from this and do some once-a-month cooking again.
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