Torture

Every week, and I mean every week, I endure a form of torture as I plan the daily menu for my family. And it’s not just me. A small survey of women revealed that others go through the same thing.

For some it’s a case of not having enough; for others, it’s because they have too much; and then there are those who just find preparing a daily meal a boring chore; and a reason not to get up in the morning. These women would all love to be like Cynthia (See Tastes Like Home); envy her for how effortless she makes it all seem and wish she would take over their kitchens for at least a week. How about it? Hmm?

Preparing meals for our various families is even harder for women who have children. Aren’t they capricious? How is it that they can wolf down a dish this week and “hate” it next week? How is it that they find certain foods revolting at home and yet will go to a relative or friend’s house and chomp down on the same food?

We have the greatest respect for you mothers out there who battle daily in your attempt to please all the members of your family; but we have to tell you, it is a battle that you just can’t win!
But back to my torture and me. As soon as I am finished cooking, or even before, I am already thinking about what to cook the next day. Mind you, there are items in refrigerator to cook, but they just look so ordinary. So I would be torturing myself to come up with something different.

I mean, how can you cook the same things every week? A rhetorical question — I have been doing this for quite a while. At weekend, like many other women, I try to make something different or do I dare say “special”. But during the week it’s, pumpkin, bora, okra and the like. I throw in the odd curry or cook-up, but even those are prepared so regularly, I just can’t stand them sometimes.

And the most annoying thing about all of this is the fact that you get no help from the rest of the family on this issue. The usual comment is “Why you can’t find something else to cook?” But ask for suggestions and most times the response is “Just cook something different”. As I said, torture.
The worst of it is if they decide that don’t like what you have prepared and eat either just a little or none at all. That hurts. But that is the reality. So sometimes, and I hate this with a passion, I am forced to dispose of food as the alternative is eating it all and how much food can one person eat? Besides — and don’t tell my family I said this — even I find food boring sometimes. No, make that most times.

The thing to do is to wait until you are starving before you dig in, by which time it tastes really good.

Cooking every day is just not easy and when you have ungrateful (harsh word but true) family members to deal with it becomes even more difficult. Anyway, time to stop the whining and go back to torturing myself about tomorrow’s menu.

(thescene@stabroeknews.com)