I've been in a cooking funk this week. I just don't feel like cooking, and then, I don't like what I cook. Last weekend I did quite a bit of cooking so maybe I'm just feeling a little tired of being in the kitchen. Fortunately most of the food I cooked was eaten, which makes me think my guests enjoyed it. But Monday came and we had to eat again. So I was back in the kitchen...
We've been going through a rough patch with our 3 year old boy. I won't get into gory details but there have been plenty of tears shed, and not just by the children in this house. Parenting can be very challenging to say the least, and the last few weeks have been a true test of my patience and faith in my skills as a mother. Long story short, food issues are are the fore front of many power struggles between Isaac and myself so I have decided to try a different strategy. In an effort to get him to try the family meal I modify what I cook to make it more palatable for him. This makes the task even more challenging since what I love to eat involves lots of vegetables and spices and this is nowhere near what he wants to eat. So the battle begins in my head. Am I spoiling him? In my household we had one meal and we were expected to eat it. Period. Should I force feed him the way my mother did with us? We turned out just fine right?
Finding time to cook with 2 young children in the house is difficult enough, but trying to satisfy everyones needs and wants just adds another dimension. I'm always looking around for recipes to try even if I don't personally like them because I think maybe, just maybe Isaac will. But he doesn't. And I end up with a pot of something completely unedible by anyone. This sucks! I've broken down and bought him a few boxes of crap noodles and cheese like substance (mac and cheese). Sometimes he will eat it, often he will not. It really isn't about the food, it's about asserting his control. And I get that. But we all still have to eat. And I refuse to be a short order cook. There is one meal served in the house. Period. I no longer expect him to eat. He will eat when he wants. But the guilt sinks in when I have to send him to bed without eating. If you are a mother, you know this feeling. Mothers were created to nourish, not to starve their offspring.
I love food! A little too much in my opinion. I enjoy cooking as well, but these days my meals must be concocted in 30 minutes or less which leaves little room for experimentation or say, fun in the kitchen. I enjoy getting ideas from other bloggers and I get plenty of inspiration from them. I especially like a blog by Emily Malone (dailygarnish.com), a vegetarian chef and stay at home mother who deals with all too similar issues as I do. I look forward to her posts not only to get fresh cooking ideas but to relate to someone like myself. I thank God for the women in my life who inspire me and help me be a better person. I have a few recipes to try next week and a great new perspective :)
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