Food in a minute
Cooking using both limbs for more than 10 minutes straight is a thing of the past for me. Unless I am cooking when Lottie is sleeping (which is generally never around a meal time or close to – who invented babies?), I have no hope of cooking an extravagant meal, let alone enjoying cooking like I used to. That’s ok though, I don’t have time to eat a hot meal these days anyway so what would be the point?
With my inquisitive little being demanding that she be seated on my left hand hip more often than not, my skills in the kitchen are somewhat limited. Things like buttering toast and peeling potatoes have become a distant memory. All recipes need to be short and generally require only one arm.
Here are a few of my current go-to’s:
1. Pasta dishes:
They involve boiling the mainstay in hot water and generally garnishing with a sauce and cheese. Note – Buy grated cheese. Using a grater can result in serious injury or at the very least cheese all over the floor.
If you are going to use meat, make sure that it is defrosted at the preparation stage so that it sticks to whatever surface you place it on and is easy to cut. I find that that trying to hack through semi frozen meat with one hand (#judgementfreezone) often results in the meat flying like a saucer to the other side of the kitchen. Do not try this at home.
If you want to cook smarter, work your pasta dish into the day you do your grocery shop. Buy a hot roast chicken, ravioli pasta, a bottle of cream and a pasta sauce. This is a crowd pleaser and goes for miles. Ok it may be a stretch to classify this as cooking but who cares? Unless you tell, no one other than the checkout lady will know your secret.
2. Roasting everything:
Gone are they days of risottos, gnocchi and homemade pizza bases. They require too much time, fiddle and equipment. I find that while it is not the healthiest option, roasting vegetables in one dish saves on time and dishes. If you buy washed potatoes and convince those you are feeding that the skins are healthy, all you need is a knife, some olive oil and salt.
*Disclaimer: Unless the vegetables have a flat base from the get go (I cannot think of one but don’t take my word for it, please #babybrain) the cutting preparation should not be done with one hand. I either palm Lottie off to her father or, if this isn’t possible, place her in her high chair with anything that I can find which is:
a. Soft enough to break down and chew;
b. Not too soft as to cause a myriad of messy mayhem;
c. Tasty enough to buy just enough time to chop everything needing to be chopped even when you are on fast forward mum mode.
I have nothing to offer in terms of recipes for roasties per se but I expect to do so would be an insult to your intelligence.
3. Get traditional with your meat and three veg:
Buy meat you can cook in the oven with your roast vegetables (I.e. sausages or chops) and steam your green vegetables on the stove top or microwave. While this is a far cry away from quinoa salads and cauliflower puree, I can guarantee that you will feel less of a need to eat the entire pantry following consumption.
4. Baking without eggs:
Have you ever successfully cracked an egg with one hand? Perhaps you have but I doubt it has been while holding a wriggly worm in your other arm. If you have done this, you are a legend and you should start your own YouTube channel on this skill alone.
Since motherhood, I have been channeling my inner royalty through baking the no fail egg-less classic that are sea-cones (how any person with a plum in their mouth pronounces scones). I have been using the Edmonds recipe below and can confirm they live up to their shameless self acclaimed name. However, may I just warn you other one handed cooking mothers out there that unless you reduce the milk quantity slightly or wear gloves for the mixing/setting on the oven tray process, you will end up with moist dough webbed hands which stick to every object or being you touch.
5. Condiments:
I try and use condiments which are not in a can or have a screw top lid. I realise this is limiting but even more so is the time you are left with following an opening mishap with either. Although often more expensive, I find that squeeze tops and standard cut open tops are more manageable.
I am clearly not a dietitian and the above is no dietary dream. However, it is the very real meal deal for our family at present and as the only waistline seemingly expanding is Lottie’s, it’s a winning recipe in my books.