This is my first blog post on my new "A Dad That Cooks" blog. Thanks for checking it out!
So....why did I want to start this blog? Like many people in this world, I'm a dad. I have 3 terrific children (Kolya - 7, Quinn - 4, and Adia - 2) and a rockstar wife named Isa. We are both full-time working parents, with a twist. Isa is a nurse and works three 12-hour shifts each week, as opposed to my Monday-Friday 9 to 5 job. Her schedule is a little bit wonky, until you figure out the pattern, because every full-time nurse at her hospital is required to work every other weekend. This means one week she'll work Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday....followed the next week with a Wednesday, Thursday only schedule.....wash, rinse and repeat every other week.
Oh yeah...and she leaves for work at about 6:30am and doesn't get home until about 7:45pm. What that means for our family life is that two days out of every week and every other weekend, it's just me and the kids. Kolya, at 7 years old, is starting to become more and more helpful, but the majority of the day's responsibilities fall on my shoulder.
Man, do I have a greater appreciation for what it means to be a single parent because of these solo days. Granted, my wife comes home at the end of the day and helps with bedtime, and then (even more importantly) is here as my companion....something that single parents don't get...but those 12 hours of children being awake are full on go, go, go. (in fact, I'm writing this blog while sitting next to the bathtub, as Quinn and Adia play together in the bath....Kolya's wandering in and out reading over my shoulder....and I'm keeping track of the time because Isa will be calling soon to say she's on her way home...then it's time to wash the kids, fold some laundry, and get ready for Isa to come home....like I said: go, go, go).
A big part of every day (especially on the weekends) is making sure the kids have delicious, nutritious, interesting meals to eat. I want my kids to grow up loving food, and I want them to eat a variety of cuisines from around the world. I want them to understand the complexity of flavors that can be accomplished in a dish. I want them to know that there's more to life than pizza, hamburgers, and mac n cheese (not that there's anything wrong with any of those foods).
Now, I wasn't always a fan of cooking. My mom (who was a single parent, by the way) would pretty much make all of my meals for me. I didn't really ever have to pitch in, and subsequently I never really learned the basics of cooking growing up. I was well-versed in warming things up and grabbing a snack....but that was just about it. In fact, when I started college, I didn't even know how to boil rice correctly in a saucepan. I always seemed to burn it. I could make boxed meals and sandwiches and super simple things like that (and I worked at a pizza shop for a while followed up with a job at a restaurant/brewery, so lots of eating at work), but nothing that really took any creativity, prep, or skill.
Flash forward many years, and now I'm happy to say I'm a dad that cooks.
One more thing you should know....I'm not a stereotypical guy to begin with.....not really into sports, not that handy with tools, don't know squat about cars. I have 2 theatre degrees (undergraduate in general theatre studies and master's degree in Asian Performance and Multicultural Directing). I'm the Casting Manager for Teatro ZinZanni, a circus/cabaret/dinner show in Seattle, WA, and I am a liberal through and through. So, duh, I'm kind of a progressive, equal partner sharing in the responsibilities of running the household. The only woman's work I can think of is the act of carrying a fetus and going through labor. Otherwise, I'm game for all the cooking and cleaning and raising of the kids.
Besides, I love cooking, and with my best friend allrecipes.com, I can cook just about anything. I can type in a general keyword or get completely specific with ingredients that I do and don't want to use in a dish. I can get a quick idea of the quality of the recipe by looking at the 5-star rating system that's on every recipe, and then read all (well usually some) of the user reviews to see if there's a general consensus of how to improve upon the recipe. Then voila - I can come up with something that's delicious for my family. It's that easy.
I'm writing this blog, because I want other dads to know that they can come up with great meals for their kids, and it doesn't always just have to be pizza, hot dogs, hamburger helper, bologna sandwiches, etc. I'm writing this blog, because it's not just mothers that cook meals for their families. I'm writing this blog, because I really dig cooking, and I want to share some of my favorite meals with all of you.
I'll be laying out some of my favorite recipes I make for the family here in this blog....maybe I'll take a picture from time to time....and I'll talk about the family's reactions to the dish.
Next post I'll tell you all about Baked Cauliflower Mac n Cheese. Spoiler alert.....big hit with the family.
