Don't sweat the onions

This takes 10 minutes to cook.

My children have already noticed that sometimes I will peel an onion and chop some garlic before I have decided what to cook.

So, we all know by now that when a recipe says it takes fifteen minutes that it will actually take half an hour. Jamie Oliver I am looking at you!  This is important.  Hungry and busy teenagers need feeding quickly, and when you plan to eat at 7 o'clock, it has to be ready by then. The biggest culprit in all of this is ONIONS.   Just about every recipe I have seen suggests it takes a couple of minutes to sweat onions. "Just lightly coat them in oil over a low heat for two to three minutes until they are translucent" they say - yeah, right. It never takes less than ten minutes. Ever.  Don't be afraid of correcting your recipe books when they lie. They all do.

My recipe books are now covered in post-it notes, and scribbles. This is what makes them useful.  Also, I have learned to watch carefully for how many people a recipe serves.   Why don't recipe books contain recipes that serve the same number of people all the time?  Of course, an active 15 year old boy counts as two.

Find the time, and the thyme.

Making a meal takes time. Pouring a glass of wine, and spreading peanut butter on toast doesn't.  Feeding hungry teenagers means planning, shopping, prep and cooking ...  eating, and clearing up. This is not news to anyone that has been doing it for years, and I am left in awesome admiration for all those who put in a full day's work and still manage to put a decent, healthy meal on the table at end of the day - as well as doing all the cleaning, ironing, washing, parenting, dog-walking - every day, building up a balanced but enjoyable diet.

Making the time to cook has probably been the most valuable, therapeutic thing I could have done. Sitting down with a meal of recipe books, browsing the Sunday papers for ideas, drawing up meal plans, converting them into shopping lists, all instil a sense of both calm and anticipation that was new to me. Time is a luxury few of us who juggle work, family, friends and fun,  enjoy - an early win for me was discovering Diana Henry, who as a new mother, observed that it doesn't matter how long a meal takes to cook, what matters is how much hands-on time in the kitchen is required.  This has been a lodestar, and I keep reminding myself in those moments when I succumb to toasting mustard seeds half-way through a 20 ingredient Ottolenghi recipe.

I was also vaguely aware of some green stuff growing in the garden. Gardening doesn't do it for me, but growing stuff you can eat is fantastic. More on this later.

More than boiling an egg

When I became a solo Dad I hadn't cooked much more than breakfast for the best part of 25 years. Faced with the challenge of feeding myself and two hungry teenagers, I scribbled down some meals that I thought I could cook: spag bol, shepherd's pie, macaroni cheese etc. Pretty much student food you say? Yep.  That was a couple of years ago.  

Fast Forward: For the past two months we have not eaten the same dish twice, as I developed a passion for good food, and found the time to learn. This blog is so that my Facebook friends don't have to put up with me wanting to share that experience.

It is also a way of saying "thank you" to Fiona who has guided and encouraged me.