Capable Cook Recovers Food Slump

Toast after Canary is finished with it-I'm not kidding

I have a friend, Bantam Hen, who doesn't plan a menu and NEVER makes the same meal twice.

Really. She subscribes to several food magazines and visiting one of her dinner parties is a trip for the tasetbuds (in more ways than one). I don't know which is more amazing, the fact that she does this or that her family of 7 goes along with it. She has said that this freedom to create keeps her cooking. That otherwise she would probably get bored and loose interest in the kitchen pretty quickly.

Back at my place, I am, yet again, I having a food slump. I'm not talking about Louisa May Alcott's cozy comfort food, the apple slump. Whose recipe can be found at the cleverly titled Paper & Salt. I am referring to the medical condition  where an able-bodied mother is no longer mentally capable of creating lovely meals for her family due to an increase in complaining and apparent decrease in appreciation.

It can be seriously detrimental to a family's well being--but I somehow develop it routinely. Since no prescription (or subscription) can pull me out of it I have a go-to plan, and it's not beans and rice for a week (I tried that once and it went over like a chicken with clipped wings). Insetead, I do this:

I get dressed up. I go to Zuppas cafe, and I read:

The Capable Cook's Credentials which are:

1. The Capable Cook plans meals ahead of time. Make sure I am planning out shopping list, menu, etc. just so I don't think about it more than I have to.
2. The Capable Cook serve meals on time. For us that's 7am, 11am, 6pm and no random snacking in between. More about that here.
3. The Capable Cook offers a variety of healthy options. One mother told me she always offered for dinner a main protein, salad, vegetable or fruit, and starch if not in the main dish. She encouraged her children to try everything and left it at that. That has worked better for me that requiring each bite of one dish. I was taught a parent's responsiblity is to provide the food; a child's is to eat it.
4. The Capable Cook remembers to include family members in the process. "Mmmm, this are good rolls--wonder who made these." (That's Mockingbird either fishing for compliments or experiencing amnesia)
5. After all that, the Capable Cook creates a mealtime atmosphere where food is not the focus. "Father Franklin thought that good talk around the supper table, sharing ideas and discussion, held the family together. The talk was usually so interesting they hardly ever noticed what the food was like."-- Poor Richard. (And candles so dim they can't see what they are eating helps too.) More about that here.

The Cooks Credentials are those things which entitle a Family Cook to confidence, competence, and authority. One of the best things I've learned about motherhood is that whining is inevitable. It is simply the result of vocal individuals expressing their right to an opinion with a very limited vocabulary, the poor dears. But, if I'm doing these 5 steps, then it's not something I need to feel responsible for. I just patiently move on to the next course, "Brussel sprouts, anyone?"

But to motivate myself further, I might also go watch Martha Stewart, visit the library for cookbooks, or go shopping for new candles with smaller wicks.

Cure for the Common Lunch

I got really tired of sitting down to Math (30 min) after luncheon and hearing "I'm hungry."
Really tired.

I decided packing a lunch like 'regular' kids might help.
So this year I bought 5 insulated lunch bags, and made sure we had enough little Tupperware containers for sandwiches, a fruit/vegetable, and dip/yogurt/pudding stuff. I know this is what most people do--it had just never occured to me before since my children are home and can sit down to a nice hot homecooked meal-right?

 

I also took 2 hours and made 7 reusable snack bags from scraps with Bowery Bird. (That Summer Sewing Group is already paying me back!)  I used a tutorial from Cotton Bottom Mama. My friend, White-tailed Kite has an Etsy shop and sells these and other fabric bags--with much better craftsmanship, I assure you.

Snacks keep surprisingly fresh in the double-lined cotton bags, are environmentally friendly of course, and easy to wash after turning inside-out. The kids love having their own bag of the day.

I knew we would zip through snacks if I let them, so I started filling 20 snack bags a week. Variety is the spice of life, so I actually set aside some for the future, after I measure out the serving sizes from a bulk bag of things like:

• sesame seed cheddar cheese sticks
• yogurt covered and regular pretzels
• granola bars
• peanut butter cracker sandwiches
• caramel popcorn and peanuts
• fruit leather
• plain and chocolate covered nuts & raisins
• homemade granola bars

I keep all the baggies in a big bowl to choose one from daily when they make their lunches--so the shift to all cloth is gradual till I make more.

Every morning after breakfast I have out a sandwich station, snack bowl station, and fruit & vegetable station. They have to let me check their lunchbags to make sure there isn't a fruit leather and 5 tangarines in there (true story). It is their responsibility to fill their lunch bags enough to last till 3pm when they can have a home-baked snack from under the cake dish. They can't open their bags till 11 o'clock when we have lunch, but can eat as little or much as they want after that point. Oh-and vegetables have to be eaten & bags emptied cand put on the counter before they can have that cake-dish snack. .

Lunch is sooo much more relaxing now, as is the rest of the day in regards to food stuffs. Saved me a mess o' time & energy and also makes us ready for whatever the day brings.