I've come to realize something this week. I don't know why it's taken me so long to see it for what it is, because it's actually pretty obvious. I guess I haven't been able to move beyond a gender stereotype in my own home, and maybe my pride was standing in the way, too. But it's basically thrown me completely for a loop.
Brian is a better cook than I am.
I'm not saying this to fish for compliments, like, "No, no, Emily! You're a great cook! Really!" It's not some wallowing in self-doubt and pity. It's just a fact. I'll explain...
When we got married and had Katy, and I was going to stay home, we decided that I would take on the core responsibility for preparing dinner each night. Most of the time that I had known Brian while he was single, he ate out a lot, and made things for dinner like red beans & rice or the occasional crock pot meal. I guess I just assumed that I, Susie Homemaker (lol), would naturally be the obvious person to prepare meals for us.
But of course over the last few years, and even more so since little David arrived, there have been many times when I have set something out to prepare for dinner, but the time comes to make it and I'm busy, so Brian jumps in and does the dirty work.
And it always, ALWAYS turns out better than when I cook us dinner. Significantly better. This happened once this week, and I was eating my food, thinking, "gosh, this turned out great - how did he get the pork chops to stay so moist?" and it hit me like a ton of bricks! OMG! He's a good cook!
Not only that, but he enjoys it! He doesn't stress when we don't have exactly the right pan or ingredient. Or give up and want to order pizza when the chicken is taking too long. He seems to be having a good time in there, which is a totally foreign concept to me.
So I'm not throwing in the towel and saying, "That's it! I'm not cooking dinner anymore - that's YOUR turf." But it has changed my perspective on the dinner hour. There are 2 cooks in this kitchen now, and it isn't a bit crowded. Actually, I'm pretty relieved. We all have strengths and weaknesses, and Meal Prep is just not one of my strongest points. I'm happy to share the toque with my teammate.
3 comments:
I think that's awesome. Embrace the male cooks! My husband is an awesome cook. He cooks differently than I do, and I love that. He actaully does dinner probably 40-50% of the time. My evening tutoring schedule 4 days a week makes it hard for me to always cook. So sometimes he created things (which he rocks at), or he'll follow a recipe that I picked out. I love it. I have truly embraced it over the years of our marriage. But he leaves the baking to me. :D
Good for you guys!!!
We tend to share - he cooks I clean. I can make a mean omelette though, so he'll let me in there sometimes...
Cooking is a great thing to share with the people you love. Opa and I sometimes take turns and other times work together on meals. When we entertain, it's usually both of us in the kitchen with the guests standing around the island sipping wine while we put the meal on the table.
I'm with you, Em! Men in the kitchen is a GOOD THING! No stereo-type here. It's a macho thing to do.
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