By Lisa Manterfield
Here’s how I know I was supposed to have kids:
I am totally unable to cook for only two people.
Even though I was one person for a long time and my family has been two for over a decade, I still cook for a family of five. There are always leftovers in my fridge and I often turn the remnants of one meal into something different.
Maybe it’s because I grew up in a family of five and learned to cook for five that I can’t seem to downsize my portions. Or maybe there’s just a part of me that’s pure old-fashioned mother and wants to feed everyone. “Eat, eat! How are you going to grow big if you don’t eat?”
Well, Mr. Fab and I are growing big on my cooking, and now that my mother is visiting, I’ll be fattening her up to.
Do you have a maternal instinct that you can’t seem to shake off?
I’m totally the same way when it comes to cooking!!
Absolutely! I have always been very maternal. I tend to ‘mother others’ but it’s not the same (to me) as being a mother to my ‘own’ children. I am sad that I won’t get to fully express that maternal instinct in the way I always imagined expressing it. It seems so wrong to me that I will never be a mother; I always felt it was something I was ‘made’ to do. Enjoy your visit from your mother! 🙂
Part of the problem is not only recipes but food is sold as if you are feeding a family. The reason I started going to a butcher counter was while it is more expensive than a Costco, I have more control over how much I purchase which in the long run is better. Less money and I am less likely to throw out food.
I am exactly the same way with cooking. Unfortunately, I was taught to clean my plate, and so we definitely eat for more than two! I also have a fear of not having enough food – for ourselves, for guests, etc. I’m not sure why, but it means I frequently cook more than I/we need!
I’m the same way with cooking, luckily it usually leaves me with leftovers for lunch. Fortunately we do get a lot of company so that usually helps with my cooking big meals. We did get a vaccuum sealer so when we buy big packs of meat we break it up.
So true. Cooking and teaching cooking skills to a future child was always on my mind. Children and cooking are so intertwined that my therapist and I actually spent a few sessions on how food and children are inter-related. It is amazing how the things from our own childhood spill over into what we thought our future would be….. I spent a TON of time with my Grandma while she was cooking. Now who am I going to teach her famous Chicken & Dumplings recipe to? 🙂