BY TIFFANY ADAMS
SHORTLY AFTER GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL I took a job nannying in Houston, Texas. One of my main responsibilities outside of childcare was preparing food for the family. I had free reign to make whatever I wanted and a willing crew to test out new recipes. I loved it!
Though I had always enjoyed cooking, I was given room to truly explore my passion in the kitchen and it felt great–a truly rewarding experience!
Eventually my time in Texas came to an end and I moved back home to East Idaho to get married and start my own family. I had visions of preparing meals that would put June Cleaver to shame. I’d imagine serving up nutritious meals to my adoring and ever grateful family.
I was abruptly slapped back into reality.
Soon enough, we added a child to our family, and with that came a whole new chaos. I felt like we were constantly busy, and the added exhaustion of battling severe postpartum depression left me doing the very bare minimum. For a while my husband and I lived and breathed out of our freezer and microwave out of necessity.
When our daughter was old enough to eat solids, I suddenly had a renewed interest in cooking. I wanted to broaden her palate and create nutritious meals. We had lots of variety in our foods and I spent a lot of time scouring the various corners of the internet for new recipes that I thought all three of us would like.
After a few months, however, the excitement waned. We found some favorite recipes and put those on constant repeat— “The Ol’ Reliables’’ or “Tiffany’s Greatest Hits,” as we called them. When all else failed, I would reach for a protein source that I could thaw quickly, whatever produce was the least fuzzy in the crisper, and some sort of carb.
With the introduction of another baby and some more busy on top of our already busy, we continued to cycle through our favorites with very rare interruption. We soon became reliant on takeout and quick freezer fixes.
In an effort to try and break up our boring food routine, in the beginning of 2021 my resolution was to make one new dish every week for a year. Each dish had to have either a technique or an ingredient that I wouldn’t normally use, wasn’t super comfortable using or had never used before.
For a few months I held strong. I loved the challenge of working to perfect something out of my comfort zone. It was a sweet reminder of just how much I loved creating yummy things!
I did eventually fizzle out. I found that some of my culinary creations were a bit too out there for my family, and the planning and prep for a lot of the new recipes was much more than I had anticipated. The love of the challenge soon became frustration, and after one too many dishes no one else would try plus an absolutely ruined beef Wellington, I threw in the towel. I was completely disappointed that this “challenge” hadn’t been the experience I so hoped it would be.
Instantly, we fell right back into our monotonous meal routine–simple, easy breakfasts, something easy and clean enough to eat in the car. Most lunches we’d snack through, and dinner became basically the exact same meal with a slightly different seasoning. I think my husband dies a little every time I fill a sheet pan with chicken and veggies. It’s so simple and quick that I’d sometimes make it multiple times a week. Needless to say, we can easily find ourselves in a mealtime rut. However, a few things have changed.
Instead of just making food for my family to enjoy, now we make food for us to enjoy. Instead of being so disappointed that I’m not able to make all the fare I want, I am sharing the love of cooking and simple foods with my girls. We laugh and make messes and then sit down and share the meal we’ve made together. Each of my girls does what is age-appropriate, our 18-month old “stirs and tastes” and my 4-year old helps with chopping (using kid-safe knives) as well as mixing and pouring ingredients. Sometimes we try out fun and creative ways to serve the food and focus on the presentation.
When we do shake it up and use an unfamiliar ingredient or try a new recipe, my kids are more receptive to trying it out because they got to help make it. Cooking isn’t the exact same creative outlet it used to be for me, but that doesn’t mean the creativity has stopped altogether. Quick and easy is prioritized over fancy. Occasionally I still get to flex that muscle and try something new and complicated, and that’s enough for this season of life. Teaching my daughters in a way they can understand and enjoy is a whole new kind of fun in the kitchen. Most importantly, sharing an experience and a place I love so much with my little family has made the time making our “Greatest Hits” so much sweeter.