cook at home more often

Just got out of a 2-year relationship, during which I ate lots of lovely food. I stopped cooking, as my ex did more of it, but I kept baking.

Now, 3+ weeks after the breakup, I have started cooking more/making more of my own lunches. It feels good, and keeps my mind more at ease.

Woo hoo! Look at me! I’m little Layney Homemaker! (Okay, enough fake derision to cover up the fact that I am not secure enough in my masculinity to accept the fact that I like cooking and knitting.)

Anyhoo… I’ve been cooking a lot this week and I haven’t gone out to lunch yet. I’m almost worried about eating all the food… because there are about 6 pounds of vegetables in my fridge. I have complete food security.

Here’s what I’ve made so far:

• 2 loaves of white sandwich bread
• 2 batches of ginger snaps (about 4 dozen)
• crockpot leg of lamb
• pork loin

Here’s what I have left:

• muchos vegetablos y 2 pounds de stew meat
  I’m gonna make beef stew out of this

• yogurt and mango juice (for mango lassis for breakfast)
• one 18” by 12” by 4” ice cube of chicken stock, chicken breasts and egg noodles for chicken noodle soup

• 6 pounds of legumes.
• pistachio pudding mix
• tuna
• a bunch of other crap

Anyhoo, I’m gonna get really fat for cheap. That’s the point of this entry.

Man, it feels great to be (sort of) self-sufficient.

Man, I wish I was the MacGuyver of food.

And thank you Jen for the fajitas!

This goal fits me really well, for several reasons -

1. I’d like to spend as little money as possible. But, I don’t. Part of this is because I eat out a lot – mostly lunches. Cooking more at home helps me to not blow $8 – $12 a day on lunches.

2. It’s challenging: I like cooking, but I kind of suck at it. I like making master plans, but I suck at it. It would be cool if I could see a week of meals from start to finish, from finding the recipe to grocery shopping based on the recipe, to actually cooking the food.

3. It fits my values: Even though it is smug hippie bullshit, I like to cook for myself – have the enjoyment of knowing that it was my hands that made a dish, that I know what went in it. That I can host a party in my own place without having to resort to outside help. That I can incorporate the “ethical food” movement (which is kind of super smug) into this if I so choose – I can buy locally, yada yada.

Anyhoo. THat’s kind of my goal.

ps. Hey Jen! Let’s cook lunch together more. Not this weekend, since I’m being a hermit, but in the future.