WELL I can’t speak for you but I am a terrible judge of quantity.
Let me explain. When I’m cooking pasta – yes, I am well aware that pasta and rice are there to trick us – I still don’t know just how much to put into the boiling water.
It never looks enough when it’s dry. How can that small amount possibly be enough, I think, so obviously I add more – even though the voice in my head is screaming out to not do it.
I just carry right on knowing fully that it will bulk out and I do exactly the same with rice.
The worrying thing about all this is that I know full well that I will end up eating it all. At least the leftover Bolognese sauce can be put into tubs and popped into the freezer to be eaten another time, most likely with a dish brimming with spaghetti, knowing me.
I must admit though that I am quite thrifty when it comes to leftover food. I think it’s because I am from a generation that was brought up not to waste food and I am a huge fan of fry-ups, so any leftover veg I freeze and then use it at a later date.
I am very versatile like that, you know? I love to make soups and stew fruit, so, like many others I too have a cupboard full of the plastic containers that we get takeaway foods in.
Let’s face it, you don’t throw them away, oh no! They will come in handy. I felt quite chuffed with myself when I looked in the freezer at my thrifty made-up meals, all neatly in the freezer just waiting to be brought out and defrosted – a meal all ready to heat up.
So, the other night, we had the ever-ongoing conversation that I’m sure most women have…
“What do you fancy for tea tomorrow?”
No-one ever tells us when we’re growing up that as an adult that we will spend the biggest part of our lives shopping for food, putting bought food away, preparing food that we bought then put away, then cooking the flipping stuff, yes, that we bought, put away, got back out to prepare then cook.
Not to mention ‘the conversation’ but I was ready the other night. I felt quite smug with myself as I toddled off into the kitchen to find my pre-prepared nosh.
I stuck my head into the freezer’s drawers – I couldn’t believe it. Yes, I may have prepared dishes, but I’d also forgotten to stick a damn label on any of them.
Everything looks the same when it’s frozen. I couldn’t tell the difference between chilli or soup – stewed apple looked a bit iffy as well.
Oh hell! It was going to be a meal of chance and certainly not choice. I pointed out that tomorrow’s tea would be a surprise, and after all many a famous chef had created some right concoction that we’d pay good money to eat – I mean who would have ever thought of sweet and salty together?
Maybe tomorrow I will go wild and tantalise everyone’s taste buds by cooking stewed apple and veg with a drizzle of custard…