A New Project

So I have decided to write a cookbook... just for fun. I just think it would be something I would enjoy doing. I have thought about it for years and now I have an idea. You see, it seems that cooking is a dying art for so many in my generation. I have oodles of friends who do not cook, AT ALL. I find myself pondering that idea all the time and I truly have trouble understanding. I ask women I meet who say they don't cook, "So what do you eat? What do you feed your kids?" I can't comprehend it. Much of my day revolves around cooking. It is not just the cooking itself, but the planning of meals, shopping for food, and prep for meals that occupy my thoughts. I LOVE to cook. I adore food.

This year, Jeff and I are undergoing a complete finance makeover. We will spend less, save more, blah blah blah (thank you very much Dave Ramsey), and I am really excited about the challenge of shopping with coupons. I am going to try to maintain the level of cooking and meals we are used to while cutting our grocery budget dramatically. We shall see where we wind up but we are going to try! So, I have been thinking a lot about meal planning and what we will eat.

This morning as I was preparing the traditional New Years Day meal of greens, hoppin' John, & pork roast I decided, I should make my own cook book because I almost never follow a recipe as it is written. I should write an easy to follow, fun cookbook that chronicles what I cook for my family in 2010. I cook almost every night so there will be plenty of material. I will start each week with a grocery trip and details in the cookbook about what I spent and how much each meal costs per person. I can offer tips for where to buy what and how to save. Then, at the end of the year, I can give it to my non-cooking friends hopefully as inspiration to start cooking! Anyone can cook if you just have some inspiration and easy to follow instructions.

It makes me sad to think there are so many kids growing up in a house where all they eat is frozen pizza, nuggets, and take-out. Some of my best memories are of cooking as a little girl with my mom or my grandmother. Cooking is one of those generational links that can link a little girl with a grown woman or a single mom with a grandmother of 10. I just heard MeMaw say to Maddie May on Christmas, "are watching to learn what ladies do in a kitches?" It struck something in me to hear that. I want her to love cooking as much as I do. I want her to never feel she has to cook because her husband expects it, but rather she cooks because she loves it. I know men can (and should) cook as well, but for me it is a privilege to be able to cook for my family each night. It is a way to show them I love them.

Now just to be clear... I am totally aware that there is a place for frozen pizza and nuggets and I have been rescued by a box of Kraft Mac N Cheese more than once. I just wish there were fewer moms who simply say, "I don't cook" becuse that means there will be a generation of kids who become adults who have never been cooked for and will not know how either. I also know it doesn't mean you love your kids any more or less. In fact I know some who say they don't cook BECAUSE they love their kids! But, anyone can cook and I want to help more women discover the absolute joy making something from scratch that makes your husband smile and your kids know that not all chicken comes in chunks from the freezer. I'm teaching the boys to cook already. They might need that skill one day if they marry the daughter of an "I dont cook" mom.

Wish me luck - it should be fun. Happy 2010!