I don’t know about you, but I can eat loads
A question for you domestic gods and goddesses (who also work full-time jobs) out there:
How the fuck do you find the time?
I get up at 6am and am usually not home till well after 7pm. Then we need to make dinner, our packed lunches for the following day, wash the dishes, and I have a shower. I try to start heading to bed at 10pm on school nights. There is important television that needs to be watched (I’ve gotta get mindless gratification somehow). As a result, we end up eating out more than we planned. And I never get enough sleep.
I am completely aware of the OAMC method (Once A Month Cooking), but our freezer isn’t big enough to hold that amount of food (even if it’s Once A Week Cooking) — Neil and I get to use one shelf in our two-shelf freezer, as Neil’s sister loves her ready meals and ice lollies. Our shelf currently contains two pizzas (in case of emergency), paus, and a small pack of yong tau foo.
These may sound like absolutely imbecilic follow-up questions, but I feel the need to restate the fact that I have no natural talent nor interest in cooking. I only want to eat good food that isn’t likely to cause heart failure or high blood pressure in the immediate future and I get tired of eating the same food all the time.
How far can we go in prepping our dinners so all we need to do when we come home is bung them under the grill or throw them into the saucepan / wok?
By that I mean we shouldn’t even have to think about any further prep beyond maybe cooking rice or pasta. Plus we like chicken and beef. And fish. I like the lamb but the Neil doesn’t.
Can you store pre-chopped herbs (garlic, ginger, onion, mostly) and vegetables (green leafies) and will they last a week in the fridge?
I’m currently assuming all I need to do to protect chopped onions and garlic from going off too soon is to soak them in oil, but then since I know nothing about cooking I’m probably wrong. Would clingfilm work for the others?
I’m obsessed with these wee containers that promise not to leak smells from Ikea and I’d love a reason to buy them.
Are there any good alternatives to tomato-based pasta sauces, besides garlic and olive oil, that don’t go off too quickly?
As a general rule, I hate hot tomatoes, and cream seems to go off really quickly. To keep using olive oil and garlic will wear thin. Not that we’ve started yet, but I anticipate the boredom.
What really is the best way to freeze seafood?
The raw prawns in Asda are in a ‘protective ice glaze’, does that mean we just need to make sure our seafood is damp? WTF?
(The title of this post comes from my favourite line in a book — well, manuscript — I’m reading right now.)
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The old fashioned way to “find the time” was to have your wife do all the cooking.
Assuming you have space for it, a chest freezer? There are 200 liter freezers here for about £120 (based on the current exchange rate). I just baked a pork roast and divided it up. It should last me almost two weeks of dinners assuming I do not get tired of it.
The ‘ice glaze’ can be a bit of a scam since you pay for the weight of the ice. It does help protect some foods from freezer burn but it is usually better if you buy fresh and vacuum pack easily divided portions.
Terry, ho ho!
And no, no space for any other white goods, we’re all full up with a fridge and washer-dryer.
Neil ate one of the pizzas on Saturday night, so there’s bit more space now. Hehe.
If we’re freezing stuff I tend to put them in ziplock bags and try to get as much air out as I can. Seems to be okay so far.
Hi Andrea,
I do a lot of food prep on the wkend.
I’ve got tupperware containers that are meant to keep vegies crisp, and so far it’s worked for me.
I do try to work out a rough menu plan for the week, do my shopping, and then chop up capsicums, zuchinnis, carrots, broccoli, etc etc and store them in the tuppercare containers. They last for at least 5 days without looking iffy, so that means if I do my prep on Sunday, I get enough food to last us for the working week.
With meat & seafood, years of having to wait impatiently for meat to defrost in the microwave and not being organized enough to take them out of the freezer the night before meant that I’ve learnt to do the hard work PRIOR to freezing them.
I sliced and diced and prep my meat/seafood, and then place them in ziploc freezer bags, in a flat layer so they defrost quickly.
When we get home from work, I pop the meat in the microwave to defrost (takes abt 10mins), feed my little boy, and by the time he’s done, the meat is defrosted, and either hubby or I will cook whilst the other bath the boy.
HTH!
Jade.
Jade, that does help… I have a good reason to get more storage containers now! Hehe.
Last night I chopped up onions, ginger and spring onions and have wrapped them up in cling film for use tonight. I also sliced a bulb of garlic and it is living in a small container of sunflower oil.
At least I now know I’m not alone in being seriously anal retentive (but not so active, unfortunately) about food prep!
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