Husband cooks dinner in this house, mostly. He didn’t always. I put in my 20 years or so. He will tell you that he does all the cooking, and for the most part that’s true.
When we divided certain household chores after the youngest moved out for good, he took the laundry and I agreed to take the dishes. There was just the two of us by then, it seemed a fair trade. It didn’t take me long to understand what a bad deal I had struck. He’s doing the laundry once a week and I’m washing dishes every day. Furthermore, I am still, to this day appalled by how many dishes two people use in a 24 hour period. And if I miss a day, it’s like someone came in here while I was gone and had a party.
Since it would be very uncool to reneg on my bargain, I let inertia balance the scales. I became less interested in dirtying up the the very dishes I would be bound to clean later. Besides, I could always find something else that demanded my attention. There is always work, some job in the shop or a gallery piece to make. When it became apparent that I was not stopping whatever I was doing to fix dinner he would finally cave, because, as he tells people, he would get hungry before I did. Pretty soon, it became understood that he does dinner. I do breakfast (oatmeal, same thing every day), but he does dinner.
Now that he has been at it a few years, it’s mostly pretty good but there was a bit of a learning curve there. I have tried to never complain and always say ‘thank you’, if not for the flavor then at least for the effort to sustain me. It’s very often inventive. This usually because of the weird assortment of ingredients he often is faced with. Reminds me of that cooking show where the chefs are given a basket of ingredients and they have 30 minutes to think of and make some dish using everything in it...like bananas, mussels, cheese, chocolate and yams.
So I’m looking at my plate. We’re having fried potato salad (leftover from this weekend) and scrambled eggs. Oh, and watermelon (also left over from this weekend).
“What’s in the eggs”, I ask.
I have to rephrase this question two more times pointing at little bits before I understand that he has scrambled the eggs in the same pan after frying the potato salad. That’s little bits of well cooked potato salad in the eggs. He does this, he will tell you, to spare me having to wash two pans. Well, OK. There is, after all, watermelon.
This may seem like an odd meal to have for dinner (in case you didn’t get the ‘he cooks dinner’ part), but you have to understand that the first and foremost ingredient to any meal is a liberal application of whiskey.
I’m OK with that. I feel the same way about the dishes.
Oh, my . . . I think we might have married the same man!!!! LOL!!!!
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe not. Mr B knew I wasn't the domestic type when he married me, but I did give it my best shot when I stayed home with kids intermittently.
I just cracked up reading about your hubbie's "inventiveness". You're much kinder than I am. I finally had to put my foot down when I discovered the "secret" ingredient in everything was vanilla (which I generally don't like).
Mostly he doesn't tell me what ingredients he's used now.
But, oy, I can so relate to the dishes dilemma . . . like dang tribbles, those dishes. We don't have a dishwasher (unless we're referring to my two hands)!
Delightful post, Ellen!
But still, no matter what the recipe, (and I use that term loosely!) doesn't food always taste better when someone ELSE cooks it? Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHey, it's sounds like you have a pretty good arrangement there. Whiskey and scrambled eggs? I'll take some.
ReplyDeleteGreat cook or not - he must be a very nice man, that you married! And so considerable - he doesn't want you to have to wash more dishes than necessary! How cute is that!
ReplyDeleteI,too like all the "kitchenwork" as much as you do, so much really, that I had to write about it today.
Enjoy all your meals! ;)
you just keep me falling out of my chair sometimes. I loved this. What's in the eggs? I'm not sure I could have asked. We will remember these lovely eggs......on our way to the laundry room??? LOL, so so cute! Whisky/Rum it is.
ReplyDeleteI do the washing and cooking and husband does the washing up!
ReplyDeleteThat is a better deal I think!
You could change it!
Thanks for visiting me.
I do believe in egalitarian living. When we got married, I agreed to cook if he did the dishes. That works out rather well. Otherwise whoever sees a chore first is to take care of it, but I must say he does more chores than me. More laundry, more cleaning. I do the shopping, which is a chore in itself isn't it.
ReplyDeleteI hope your daughter finds some peace with her headaches too, although it is nice to know I'm not alone. I'll send some healing thoughts her way.
Well, he does have more free time than I do since I do the larger share of the work that brings us income.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I do the laundry, the cooking, the dishes and the general cleaning on my own. Lest anyone think I got the bigger load, he works the extra job that gives us health insurance and he is the one who always has to go route out the sewer line........ I think I like my jobs better!
ReplyDeleteIt's always a balancing act, isn't it? Tonight we had cooked potatoes with some melted cheese - and fresh cherries from the store. That's all either one of us had the energy to do.
ReplyDeleteI love to cook as long as I don’t have to do the dishes because I am a messy cook. Husband has faithfully cleaned the kitchen forever.
ReplyDelete