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.
