It all started when we began ordering one of those food-delivery-recipe-making-dinner-packages.
You know the one I mean.
They have the funny commercials on tv.
It was during the pandemic, and ordering such a service seemed like a great way to share a hobby, since there was nothing much else to do.
Couldn’t go out to a restaurant to eat.
Nada.
A friend of mine had been using it for months and just loved it.
She gave me a coupon for a sample box.
Hubby and I were hooked.
Unpacking the box seemed like Christmas.
Reading out the recipes and deciding who does what was great fun.
I seemed to always end up on the vegetable prep side, chopping and dicing and slicing and cubing and mincing and grating and juicing and zesting.
Hubby always seemed to end up on the meat prep side, seasoning, browning, sauteing, stirring and flipping.
We shared the carb dish – baking or boiling or mashing or straining or tossing.
Along the way we learned some new words.
Like fond.
Who knew?
We are gourmet experts now.
And we love a nice, succulent fond.
Essentially the remnants of cooking meat in seasoning and the juices and all the hard bits at the bottom getting saved and mixed up to contribute to another part of the meal.
Delicious!
We have learned a few more words along the way.
Like demi-glace. And roux.
But we have become especially big fans of the spices.
The decadent blend of herbs and flavourings that are individually and specifically made for each meal package recipe.
Delectable.
Opening the little bags and inhaling them deeply has become one of the highlights for us.
Is that smoky bbq? Paprika? Cilantro? Cayenne?
When the recipe results in a delectable sauce to be poured over the meal at the end, even better.
We are practically salivating by the time we plate it and it all hits the table.
Not only have the meal kits given us something to do, to share, and to enjoy.
It has given us new purpose together in the kitchen.
Instead of me making all the meals, which had always been my preference, I have let go of the apron strings a little and welcomed the shared duties.
And it has been wonderful.
To partake together in the making of a meal that we then share is pure bliss.
I pretend we are channelling Rachel Ray and Jamie Oliver in the kitchen.
A pinch of this. A stir of that.
Fun.
And it seems we both truly appreciate the meal more when we have both had a hand in creating it.
Sure, at its most basic, it’s a meal in a box that is delivered and yes we have to put it together ourselves like an Ikea table.
We’re doing all the heavy lifting.
And we are paying to do so.
But it is such a fun experience and I really do look forward to it each and every time.
It’s like a cooking class for idiots.
A problem solving spectacle not for the faint of heart.
What’s the worst that can happen.
We forget to add a spice?
And there is always so much left over that we are covered for another dinner during the week.
It’s win win.
And we often mix and match ingredients when we have the leftovers, that it seems like a brand new ball game.
Leftovers, schmeftovers.
And so feeding each other has become the new joy.
Bon appetite!