Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Give Her a Box of Macaroni and a Broom

The Matron is sort of a start from scratch cook -- even if that 'scratch' means a can of mushrooms and some salad dressing. When her husband met her, she had exactly that in her fridge: one can of mushrooms and French dressing--which was dinner.

But last night, she labored over an extravagance for her family. Glazed chicken. Potatoes. Carrots with a slight bit of peanut sauce--mushrooms, red peppers, onions. Can we all pause here and acknowledge all the chopping, planning and presentation?

This was an hour and a half endeavor.

Her family? Practically fled the table in 7 minutes (she counted).

Stryker: "I hate chicken. Can I go now?"

Scarlett: "Did you know I'm a vegetarian? These chickens are tied to the ground with hundreds of others. They have horrible lives. I will never eat meat again."

This was news to the Matron -- Scarlett's perspective and not the reality of meat. She's wildly sympathetic but unwilling to give up a good burger on the grill, although her family does buy their meat from a family farm. The cows roam free and have names. But Scarlett said that naming animals you'll eventually kill isn't good public policy.

Merrick: "Did you see my basketball? I don't want any more cawwots. I want to play basketball."

Tonight, faced with more rejection and HOURS in the kitchen? Not to mention American Idol and Glee ahead? The Matron ordered pizza, which was a big hit.

Here's her confession: she'd rather spend that hour and a half cleaning than cooking. A sparkling house lasts a few hours. A meal? Under ten minutes -- at least in her house

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This sums up why I don't cook much. It's so unappreciated when they'll happily devour a cheese pizza out of the freezer.

Suburban Correspondent said...

This definitely reminds me of my Reuben fiasco. The thought of it still makes me cry.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

I basically haven't cooked in a week, but my husband has returned from his business trip so that little reprieve is ending.
I prefer to mow the lawn than do anything in the house (cook or clean). At least the lawn looks nice for 2-3 days!

Daisy said...

Can we trade places? I enjoy cooking and baking (baking more than cooking) and I hate cleaning. Hate it.

Karen said...

I was goin to say the same thing as Daisy. I would HAPPILY come cook for you every day of the week if you would come clean for me. I'd cook 7 days for you for just ONE day of cleaning in return.
Really, I would.