Weekend cooking

We are fortunate that both D. and M. like to cook. However, after five days of trying to come up with something that everyone will eat, M. is often burned-out, unable to bring herself to go back into the kitchen.

That is when D. steps in. He sees weekend cooking as his chance to try something new, and to eat what he wants, without having to worry whether either or both TA and PE will eat it.

As a result, on weekends, we eat more meat--barbecue, grilled hamburgers, pot roast. And more ethnic food, beyond the usual standbys of pizza, spaghetti and tacos/tortillas filled with various things. We might have borscht, blini, or Mexican food that requires more than shredded cheese and a can of beans. His bread usually comes from the oven, not the bread machine. On Sunday mornings he often makes pancakes or waffles from scratch. He broadens our eating horizons and keeps us from being bored with food.

The only problem in all of this is our unspoken rule that, usually, whoever cooks doesn't have to clean.  D.'s dinners tend to make more mess and, unlike M., he usually doesn't clean up as he goes. Also, since he doesn't figure in the tastes of TA and PE, we often have to scrounge around at the last minute adapting what has been made or finding something else that they'll eat.

But the payoff is on Monday nights, when there are enough leftovers to feed everyone and few dishes to clean, as a result. (This is why our Monday listings usually list leftovers).

It is a lovely system, for the most part, and one that we would invite other families/couples to try.