Day 3: Starting in the Kitchen

Mrs. Marple taught this morning that a good place to begin fine living is in the kitchen. Though this seemed a little archaic to us post-feminist types, she made some good points. Like how preparing fresh food is good for our health, and saves money, and provides opportunities for creativity. And how the kitchen is often the primary place for caring for friends and family.

Now I have to confess that I'm kind of hit-or-miss with cooking & meal planning, so I suppose that spending the next few days on the subject would be good for me.

Take for instance the dinner I made last night (thanks to Marple's encouragement). I've had these yellow "green" beans and zucchini in the fridge for awhile.

My ambition was to cook them days ago as part of a healthy, well-balanced dinner. But did I do it? No. Instead we've been eating tortillas with cheese and turkey sandwiches (in other words--foods that require no cooking).

I so often do this: stock up on good food with good intentions...and then end up passing over it in favor of convenience.

I'm not sure why this pattern is so tempting, though. It's not like cooking is so difficult, as Mrs. Marple reminded us. It just takes a little planning. Like with this cedar-planked salmon. It's a simple cedar board soaked in water with salmon placed on top--not difficult at all.


While I was preparing the salmon (with pepper...lots and lots of pepper), I thought about Mrs. Marple's comments about meal planning, and how important it is to at least make an effort at it.

And while the salmon was cooking on the grill, all cozied up in a foil blanket, I thought about how I know the importance of meal planning, but have a hard time disciplining myself to do it.

Frankly it often feels like a chore, and I get tired of the same repetitious recipes. But then I smelled the smoky, cedar goodness of this salmon, hot off the grill, and I considered that even hit-or-miss planning is WAY better than lunchmeat sandwiches and tortillas with cheese.

I mean, in less time than it takes to watch a sitcom I had made a well-balanced meal for just a few dollars.


And it tasted great!

So when Mrs. Marple assigned us a menu planning template as homework, I rolled my eyes at first. There are probably a million things I'd rather do than plan next week's meals. But after enjoying this salmon dinner, and how it beat the pants off of my previous weekly menu of handy convenience food, my attitude improved a bit. I guess you know what I'll be doing tonight...



How about you? What are your cooking/planning secrets? Share them by posting your comment here!

Previous Related Posts:
Project #1: Meal Planning
Flunking Homework
Food for Thought
Leftover Challenge