Why I cook

Never a fan of cooking, the crock-pot has changed my mind…so has Jamie Oliver.

Brought up by a mother who didn’t like to cook, who found it overwhelming and unrewarding, I slithered out of cooking any chance I could. Her mother wasn’t big on cooking either. And maybe that’s the curse, my child might not like to cook if I continue in this cycle. I’m determined to break it.

But my dislike of cooking was different from my mother’s. She disliked the Georgia heat and slaving over a hot stove, left over dishes and the fact that she had to turn around and do it all over again for the next meal–with absolutely no help. My dislike of cooking was due to my dislike of food. Always 25 pounds or so heavier than I should have been, I realized by age 14 that food was not my friend. I didn’t want anything to do with it. I didn’t want to be around it. If I could have completely gotten by without eating it, I would have.

It wasn’t until I got in the kitchen (2 years ago at the age of 33) and learned to cook that I didn’t only get the weight off, I kept it off. I couldn’t get away with not cooking any longer. You see, I got married. 🙂 I married a man who called cooking “fun.” He cooked with me in the kitchen to keep me from getting overwhelmed if I tried something new. He ate my cooking even when it wasn’t so great. He told me I could do it, giving me the confidence I lacked.

Shoot, I can do this!

Then I discovered Jamie Oliver. He told me I could do it too, that I HAD to do it. He’s an English chef who completely changed the school lunch system in England and then traveled over here to show America they could do the same. His goal to get Americans eating real, homemade food cooked in our own kitchens and away from processed food that is keeping us fat, unhealthy and unhappy, inspires me every day.

Not wanting to spend all my time in the kitchen, I’ve discovered the crock pot is a great way to eat homemade meals that I don’t need to slave over. I’ve discovered spices, cooking wine, and am no longer afraid of anything. I even cooked my first whole chicken this year!

I make at least 2 meals a week in the crock-pot. My goal is to post one a week and eventually to show how everything from my kitchen goes full circle. Once we get the garden established, and since we compost all food scraps I’ll be able to show how it goes from the ground to the ground.

So stayed tuned for something you might be able to use. We make it all–ethnic, vegetarian, meat-lovers, sweets, bean soups, etc. all in the crock pot. I wonder if I could make bread–ooh, or cornbread in the crock pot! See how it works? Let me know if you have a request or good idea, I’ll try to make that too!

Ta--duh!

Come on America! Get back in the kitchen! If this girl who couldn’t cook and HATED to cook can do it—I KNOW you can too!

Make a comment, share a recipe, a story, ask for encouragement, give inspiration. Or feel free to contact me at GreenMilitarywife@hotmail.com. I’m always ready to learn something new.
🙂

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