Inspired by Ward's sister, Ward and I are tying to be more conscious about ETHOOLing. One way we want to do this is to spend more time together. We've come up with several different things we want to do and one of them is cooking. To begin with, we decided that we will cook together at least one meal every week and hopefully turn cooking from a chore into a fun time.
To start the process, I brought an interesting cookbook home from the library, Sheet Pan Suppers by Molly Gilbert. The book basically puts together meals that are baked on a sheet pan. Ward picked out the first dish from there that we were going to make--Chicken Parmesan. As luck would have it, Theo was visiting for the afternoon and joined us.
After reading through the ingredients and instructions, we all went to the kitchen to start the fun. Ward set to work preparing the chicken and Theo began preparing the dipping and dregging mixtures for it. I pitched in here and there where needed. When we were about done coating the chicken, Theo had an idea. He said that we should put the left over coatings on some of the zucchini in the fridge and it would be like Eggplant Parmesan. Great idea, especially coming from one of the carnivores. And before you knew it, we were sitting down to a hearty meal of chicken and zucchini parmesan served with steamed broccoli and a salad.
So how did it all turn out? The food was very good--especially the Zucchini Parmesan. Something to remember as we are about to enter the overflowing zucchini season. We worked well together and enjoyed eating together when it was all done.
Were we able to turn a chore into something fun? Well, we're not quite there yet, but we were able to make a chore more pleasant. Also, Ward and I and Theo got to spend time together. That part was great. And when it really gets down to it, we can't ask for anything more.
Ooooo! Zucchini Parmesan sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteNot sure if this would fall into the category of "fun" for you, but on of my favorite games is to take a random set of ingredients and see what I can create from them. I started it when I belonged to a CSA farm and would have a big box of stuff to use up each week. The interwebs are a great source of ideas... I just type my ingredients and the word "recipe" into Google and see what pops up! I don't generally stick to any given recipe, but it gives me an idea which direction to go.
If I'm gonna cook, that's actually the way I like to cook best--use what's on hand. I like the challenge of figuring out what I'm going to make with things so they won't go to waste. I haven't gotten into the habit of using the Internet for help yet, but I know a lot of people do.
DeleteYou should post occasionally about what you whip up with your ingredients. I'm thinking about posting some of the things my son has made using what is on hand--which is usually very limited. They are things that I would have never thought about putting together, but he says they seem to work.
I find it interesting that to Ethool you and Ward chose to cook together. "-)
ReplyDeleteChicken Parmesan was one of the few ways I would eat chicken before becoming a vegetarian but your meal has my mouth watering especially the zucchini Parmesan slices. I'll have to try that this summer.
Thanks for the book suggestion, this would make a great gift this year for my soon-to-be ex-daughter-in-law. She is so tired after working all day she resorts to a lot of processed foods when she doesn't toss ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning.
It does sound interesting that we picked something that neither one of us likes to do that much to ETHOOL. But we're trying to view it as spending time together with a good result. We're also hoping that this will help us cook at home more.
DeleteI really liked the zucchini. I traded my chicken to Ward for his zucchini after we both had a small sample of both. It was a win-win situation.
Sounds good and if I ever actually cook again I might try it! We have been living on grilled chicken and salads lately and no one is complaining (yet) so I might give up cooking entirely for the summer
ReplyDeleteWe haven't grilled chicken in a long time. We used to do it with just a little BBQ sauce. How do you like to do it?
DeleteSometimes I marinate it in a garlic rosemary olive oil bath, or sometimes I use bbq sauce, but most of the time with chicken we make white bbq sauce. Occasionally I throw it on the grill with nothing more than lemon pepper. Chicken is cheap and cooks quickly so I guess that is why I have it so often.
DeleteI am not familiar with white bbq sauce, so I looked it up. I see that it is big in the south. My husband really doesn't like mayo, so I don't know if he would like it or not. I'll have to give it a try sometime and not tell him what's in it and see what he thinks.
DeleteIt really does not taste or feel like mayo at all but that is still no guarantee he will enjoy it. We love it especially since it is so easy to do.
DeleteThe Ethol mantra is a good one, I'm going to repeat it every morning to charge my day! I love zucchini. I didn't grow much this year, just a few strawberries and some rutabaga and beets, both of which I like to eat raw, due to water shortages and water expense here, but others have gardens and the one thing they attempt to rid themselves of every year is excess zucchini. I just need to find a frazzled overloaded home gardener.
ReplyDeleteI use the same method to get my squash every year. :)
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