Reflecting on Cooking - 2024

 This is perhaps the first year that I cooked with no exact goals in mind.  But, I did try some new ways to ramp up the daily cooking schedule.  

For many years, I have pretty faithfully followed this meal schedule

Monday: Chicken

Tuesday: Justyn Sports/Kids, Mac and Cheese, me: grazing

Wednesday: Fish/Vegetable

Thursday: Pork (Lamb was also on the schedule - but I have maybe made it twice in 10 years).

Friday: Ground meat 

Saturday: Steak

Sunday: Pizza - mostly homemade.  

This year, I tried to be more flexible and:

1) Continued to cook in ways that leave as little food waste as possible.  

2) Changed pizza to pasta night. Years of making pizza from scratch has not made it better. I could not stomach it anymore. As a result, kids ate more, ate the leftovers, and the pasta could be made vegetarian for veg night.  I am the only person who wants to avoid pasta in my family, so too bad for me it is such a hit.  

3) Incorporated more ground meat - because the kids eat it.  Meatballs.  

4) Tried freezing some food/meals, and it never really took.  I don't like eating reheated/previously frozen items, and neither do my children.  

5) Made bread from King Arthur recipes.  I was inspired by my trip to Britain to make better bread, and I did. It was good! No one ate it/appreciated it. I don't need to eat more bread.  I guess I will continue to buy Killer Dave's White Bread Done Right for the kids, and not eat bread. 

Cookbooks I cooked from:  

What to Cook when You Don't Feel Like Cooking - Caro Chambers.  My sister Sarah introduced me to her  (in person!) this year and treated me to the cookbook.  Favorites have been the Chicken Chili, and the Ground Meat/Peanut recipe.  Have made about 15 from the book, and have repeated 2, which is always a good sign.  

I purchased Jenny Rosenstrach's Weekday Vegetarian 2: Everyday (I think).  Haven't cooked anything from it, and haven't tried. I do continue to receive (paid) and use her sub stack newsletter. 

Modern Proper is also a cookbook I have not written about in the past, and have utilized a ton.  Probably bought it in 2022 - and thus not mentioned.  The meatball chapter is phenomenal, and I need to cook more from.  Hopefully these ladies come out with another book this year! 

Cooking Goals for 2025 

1) Only buy what I need in order to lower food waste.  

2) End buying greens and that I will just throw away 2 weeks later - I see you arugula, cilantro, parsley.  

3) Make meals that the girls can pack in their new thermoses the next day: Pasta, Chile, and will think of something else.  New thermoses are a hit! Make more soups they will eat

4) Eat less dairy and gluten - preferably not together.  Drink less.  I might incorporate me some of these in my all over goals of 2025 - which I will write tomorrow.