Suzy Homemaker

That's what you can call me after all my kitchen exploits this week. My mother gave me a slow cooker for Christmas and I tried it out twice this week. Monday was stew and it turned out very well, if a little too watery. There must be an art to slow cooking and learning that the contents need less water than when cooking on the stove.

Later in the week it was corned beef and cabbage. It was awful. I think I added the cabbage too early and mixing its flavor with that of the corned beef produced the worst tasting cabbage I've ever swallowed. And I love cabbage. So, I dumped all the cabbage, wrapped the corned beef, and we're enjoying sandwiches out of it. Really tasty this way.

Thursday night I made cookies for an employee's birthday. If you've never tried the recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies on the lid of the Quaker Oats box, I suggest you hit the kitchen right now. They are to die for. Use Golden Raisins for a fantastic flavor and add chopped pecans. It's a meal in itself!

That same night I made a simple dump cake using apples. Robin was impressed and I failed to tell him how easy it was.

This morning I made the blueberry-lemon coffee cake that Allison gave me the recipe for. It was such a hit when her in-laws visited that she made it again the next day. I admire her for being the perfect hostess since the coffee cake is a bit involved. Grated lemon rind and working with almond paste, which I've never baked with before. The end result was heavenly. It's just as delicious as she said it was. But it was work. Work that I suggest you all give in to since it's so good!

All this and other non-exciting meals in one week! I feel very industrious and energetic. Cooking and baking are not fun activities for me. I've heard women say they love to cook and I just can't grasp the concept. Maybe I'm just burnt out. There was a time when I was prepared every week to have guests over after church. We met some wonderful people and somehow I managed to enjoy them even though I was worn out. I am not sorry my tenure is over. I remember as a child wondering why my mother always had company over for dinner when all the work put her in a bad mood. I understand now. We do it because we enjoy new and old friends and feel the work is worth it. I know I harped on my own kids about keeping my clean house clean before the visitors got in the door. Also, cooking for a bigger family or a crowd is often easier than cooking for two. My meal selections are limited now because I can't use some of my bigger recipes.

Even though I dislike cooking, my favorite (if a favorite is possible) household chore is doing the dishes. If I could find someone willing to cook for us I'd gladly clean up the mess.

Often when I'm baking a batch of cookies Robin will tell me that I love to bake or I wouldn't be in the kitchen doing it. That's like saying we love to change dirty diapers or we wouldn't be doing it.

"If you don't enjoy baking, why are you mixing up those cookies," he's asked often.

"Because I'm dying to sink my teeth into a chocolate chip cookie, maybe?"