I LOVE to cook. For me, it is a creative outlet where I can add flavors and textures and color all the while feeding the people that I love. It’s like painting with food and flavor rather than with a brush and paint. It truly is my love language; when I have a full kitchen of people with my home cooked food, my heart is happy. So as I was thinking about my next blog, I decided that with it being the holidays it would be the perfect time to encourage engaged couples to cook together. I am going to share 5 good reasons why I believe that cooking together as a couple matters, and I will also share 1of our favorite cozy fall recipes as well as a cozy fall dessert.
1 Cooking together saves money.
Cooking together saves money. Let’s face it; going out to eat is expensive! While it truly is a treat to sit at a restaurant and to be served, it adds up if you eat out often, therefore, cooking in is a great way to save money. You can plan your meals around your favorite store’s weekly deals or go to Sam’s or Costco to buy in bulk. And what about Trader Joe’s? It’s a great place to buy delicious meals that you can use as a base to add to and all for a very affordable price.
2 You build teamwork while you work alongside each other in the kitchen.
You know the saying, “Too many cooks in the kitchen?” It is something that I say often as a venue owner with no reference to the kitchen at all. But truly, as an engaged couple, cooking together is a great way to build teamwork and to figure out what matters to each other. I love to clean while I cook, whereas, Jason is more of a 1 task guy. So oftentimes, when we are cooking together, I clean the dishes, knives, and utensils that he has used once I see that he is finished with them. If Jason has picked the recipe, I ask him where I can help and allow him to delegate what tasks he needs help with, and he does the same for me. Being in the kitchen reveals a lot about who we are; do you have a certain way that you want your cucumbers cut for the salad? (BTW this is Jason’s least favorite food- and actually, the only food that he does not like, therefore they will not be in a salad that I make!) Cooking together might mean that you give and take with the way that you expect things to be done. If Jason is offering to help, I don’t feel the need to direct him on how to cut the cucumbers; however, I grew up in a household, where my mom was very particular about how she wanted things. Cooking together builds trust, communication, and teamwork.
3 Working on meals together builds tradition.
When you choose to cook something together, you are also building traditions whether it is holiday cooking or just a regular day. Jason loves Taco Tuesday and so when we cook on Tuesdays, our kids know that we will be eating some type of taco. We have favorites that we circle back to and we have new recipes that we try together. For Thanksgiving, we always make a sausage, thyme stuffing recipe which I will share with you in a bit. After cutting the onion and celery, Jason works on browning the sausage while I am cutting and toasting the bread cubes and putting together the other ingredients. Food brings back memories. In fact, the dessert recipe that I am going to share with you is one that we make every fall. When my middle daughter, Perrey, got the little book out of the cupboard two days ago, she said, “Momma! You made a note here? It says, ‘Made November 2006.’ That was before I was born!” I do write in my cookbooks and make notes alongside my recipes which I am glad that I do because I shared with her that it makes sense because the first time I made it, I shared the recipe with my oldest daughter’s preschool teacher which would mean that I had been pregnant with P.
4 Preparing food together merges your cultures together.
We all come from different cultural backgrounds, so cooking together is a great way to merge your cultures and/or to teach each other how to cook dishes from your individual cultures. One of my friend’s Diane’s mother is Korean and she makes the yummiest Kimchi and if Diane has not made this with her husband, I am going to encourage her to do so. I can imagine that she would be able to share stories about her mother during the cooking process with a delicious result. News! I texted Diane asking her if she has made the kimchi, and she said that it has been a long time because of the lengthy process. BUT she sent me this photo of her with her parents in Korea 11 years ago. They are standing near the large clay pots that are used to store kimchi underground in the winter. How cool is that??!? I am so glad I reached out to ask her! Cooking brings people together and allows you to share your culture with your partner and others.
5 Making food with one another creates good quality time and togetherness.
Finally, cooking together is a great way to spend quality time together because you are present in the moment. When you are in the kitchen cooking together, you are not distracted with other things because your main focus in on preparing your dish; your phone may be used for the recipe, but you aren’t texting or working on emails- you are present with your partner. Time together is precious and preparing food together is a perfect way to stop and to be together. And if you love to eat, like we do, the end result is savory and….the time together is sweet.
Here is one of our favorite cozy fall dishes along with our fall must make dessert! Enjoy!!
Shel’s Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
1 lb chicken (can use rotisserie or boil chicken on the bone for 30 minutes and shred when cool)
1 onion, chopped
1 cup Carrots, chopped or more to taste
1/2 celery, chopped
1 lb wide egg noodles
8 cups of chicken broth (or more depending on how brothy you like your soups- the more the better IMO!)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 T Italian Seasonings
1 t kosher salt
1/2 crushed black pepper
2 T olive oil (I eyeball so none of the measurements are precise- you will want to add if you need more for all. I underestimated all ingredient amounts)
Saute the onions, carrots and celery in the olive oil. (Mean while, shred the chicken from the rotisserie or bring water to a boil to boil the chicken depending on which method you are using.)
When the veggies are browning and soft, add garlic and sauté until fragrant about a minute more. Add salt and pepper and set aside.
Boil the noodles in the same water that you boiled your chicken in, or if using rotisserie, fill a pot up with water to boil the noodles according to directions on the package. Strain noodles and add back to the pot. Add the veggies, shredded chicken, chicken broth, and Italian seasonings to the pot.
So here is the strange addition- we fill our soup bowls and add Shredded Italian 5 cheese and parmesan with crushed red pepper. If I’m not feeling well, I will sprinkle turmeric on top to add some powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to the bowl.
Chocolate chip pumpkin squares
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin puree- (NOT pie filling)
3/4 package of semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 package mini semi sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13 packing pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on two sides. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy: beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin purée (mixture may appear to be curdled, but don’t be afraid!) Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and add some of the chips on top for good measure!
Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35-40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
Using the overhang, lift the cake from the pan and peel off the foil. Use a serrated knife and cut into the sizes that you prefer.
ENJOY!!
Thanks for taking some time to read my blog! In support of locally owned venues I always mention 5 venues because we feel whole heartedly that family owned small businesses offer a unique and one of a kind experience.
XO
Shelley