what is cooking anyway

Tonight was challenging coming up with something to eat for dinner. I did not want to cook and I could not decide what I wanted to order. While I am mostly against cooking since I have become an empty nester, going out and grabbing dinner and a drink at the bar is a thing of the past for right now. Covid gives us a whole new meaning to ‘social life’.

As I was running meal options through my head, I started to think about the food choices I would have if I were back home in Philadelphia. Again, my goal for the evening was not to cook.

Yep, even pancakes-never made them from a box.”

This didn’t always happen when I needed to prepare for dinner. When I was active parenting, it was somewhat easy to come up with dinner options. And my dinners always included meat, vegetable and a carb. You see when I was married, my husband enjoyed home cooked meals. And it was easy to accommodate because I actually enjoyed cooking too.

My mother taught me how to cook some basics when I was a young girl. However, my grandmother taught me how to cook and she taught me using some of the south’s traditional meals-fried chicken, collards, green beans, sweet potatoes/yams, biscuits and gravy, rolls, and a number of cakes for dessert. All of my grandmother’s meals were from scratch with fresh vegetables. This early exposure to cooking provided a foundation for me to experiment with new recipes or make some old favorites my own with a small tweak in the ingredients. My cooking style was so generational that I was taught to make all foods from scratch making only pastas and grains from a box. Yep, even pancakes-never made them from a box.

Now, I run from cooking like it is a bird. (I am extremely afraid of birds) I cook only when I choose to. Although, Covid has given us a whole new meaning to staying at home. And here I am, tonight, pondering over what to eat for dinner while running away for the option of on the store.

After so many options ran through my head, I thought about a Philly Hoagie. Whew, where would I get a real-original type-Philly Hoagie in my area? Of course, there was not much of an option living in the Phoenix area and... yep again, Covid.

So, I dressed myself up and, got cute. Then, I headed to the grocery store. I grabbed all the fixings for a Philly Hoagie. Yes, I made a hoagie. It wasn’t exactly like they make them at home, but I believe I came very close. At least anyway, I satisfied my food craving with little time in the kitchen and I didn’t have to turn on the stove.

Tonight, was a win!