Tomorrow's food, today

If you have spent longer than a few minutes reading my blog, you probably know that I love to bake. I never struggle to think of something sweet to make, but when it comes to savoury food, I am often stumped.  There have definitely been seasons of my life where I have really enjoyed cooking savoury food - like at university where I cooked with my housemates and discovered the delights of using wine and cream in cooking. So much deliciousness with those two ingredients in so many dishes. But then, I ended up marrying someone who loves cooking, and is far better at it than me. I feel ever so fortunate that most nights, my husband cooks up something really delicious for us to eat.

However...I still have to cook for Ruby most days. The way meal times work for us at the moment is that Ruby tends to be just finishing her dinner when John arrives home. Once Ruby is in bed, John cooks for us. I am certain that over time, this pattern of eating will change. As much as anything, it feels a bit unnatural for me to sit with Ruby while she eats, and I don't have anything. Also, on the nights where there aren't any leftovers for Ruby to eat, it seems like a waste of time for both John and I to cook. If I'm going to be cooking for one, I might as well be cooking for all three of us. 

Courgettes chopped by Ruby. She often helps with vegetable prep using her crinkle cutter.

If you were a fly on the wall in my kitchen between the hours of 4.30pm, you would more often than not find me wracking my brains for ideas of what to cook for Ruby, and doing a lot of procrastinating, just to avoid actually getting on and trying to make something tasty. We have tried meal planning, which worked to a certain extent, but once we reached the end of our three month meal plan, I was a little bored of some of the meals. Except for homemade pizza, which we make most weeks. I never get bored of that. 

If I am not procrastinating, I tend to go completely the other way, and get way too productive for my own good. This happened last night, and I found myself simultaneously cooking pasta & pesto for Ruby's dinner, potato salad for our lunches, cottage pie for a dinner later in the week, and defrosting curry for dinner. One way or another, I always seem to find myself thinking, 'I just need to be a bit more organised to avoid these situations.' Perhaps I just need to do this more often - cook meals for all our tomorrows ahead of time. 

So there you have it. A little insight into my chaotic cooking. Please feel free to share your favourite meals in the comments below - I would love some fresh inspiration!