On to the purpose of this post! I have a friend from college (Shelly) that has a page on Facebook called Cooking After Work. Every time she posts something I sit back and admire the dish. But the main thing that I admire about this classmate is that she was a working professional mom!! I decided it was time to interview her for the blog.
SSD: Tell me about the purpose and inspiration for your page Cooking After Work.
SSC: I had graduated law school, started my first career job (I’d been working since elementary school J), purchased my first home with my then fiancĂ©, was about to get married and realized…WAIT A MINUTE, I CAN’T COOK….LIKE REALLY COOK…EGGS AND PASTA DON’T COUNT! Then, I thought to myself, “I wonder how many other young professionals are in the same boat as me?” That boat being one where you had spent your life through that point focusing primarily on school and work and did not carve out time to learn how to cook. I then did some self-reflection and realized that school and work had been my life through that point. I was fortunate enough to be able to live at home through my time in law school and my first year of work. As the last child of 6, my family allotted me the much appreciated luxury of focusing on my education and career. But now, things were getting real. I was about to start my own family. My two young nephews would be moving in with me before I even had my own children and I needed to be able to feed them, right?! At least these were all of my thoughts. I also thought about all of my friends from elementary, middle, high, college and law schools. I figured that many of them had to have been in the same boat as me. Right? Right? No, OKAY! However, I didn’t know how many of them would be willing to admit it. To admit that you couldn’t cook as a young woman seemed to be such a faux pas at the time. I’ve found that some would even frown on using recipes. That’s when I decided that I’d start Cooking After Work. This would be a way for me to share my experience learning how to cook and also to help inspire others to come out from behind shadows and the shame (okay, I’m being dramatic…or am I?) and get into the kitchen and learn how to cook. I figured I could teach others from my mistakes and successes and learn from others as well. Cooking After Work got its name because I thought of cooking as something I did after work, naturally. Cooking After Work became a place for men and women, alike, to get together and share their dishes, ideas and support for each other in their individual cooking escapades across the World (well, the US and Caribbean, that I know of).
SSD: How do you balance cooking with working and having a family? Any tips to maintain that balance?
SSC: It’s not easy but it’s possible….WITH HELP! The key is to
get lots of help. I now have a 3 ½ year old son so my time is even
more limited than when I started Cooking After Work. However, with the
help of my
husband and extended family members, I am able to still get my cooking
fix in. Spouses, grandparents, neighbors, and friends are the perfect
individuals to look to in keeping any little ones occupied while
cooking. If you have the time, include the little
ones in your cooking projects. Even if those dishes don’t come out as
planned, the fun that you’ll have preparing them will make up for any
failures in the taste and looks department….I promise!
Utilize your weekends, they’re your friend. You won’t
feel as rushed as you do in the week. Prep meals for several days or
the entire week if you can (I currently/generally only cook 2-3
times/week). Also,
some weeks you just won’t feel like cooking. Those weeks are known as
“every man for himself” in my household. Those weeks are fine too.
Cooking does not have to turn into a chore. With supportive family
you’ll be able to slack off a week or two or more
with no pressure---I think I slacked for the majority of my pregnancy as
the smell of food didn’t appeal to me for months! Getting the other
adults in your household to cook also takes the stress out of HAVING to
cook. This way when you choose to cook, it’s
a more pleasurable experience.
One practical tip, go food shopping on one day, organize
and freeze, and then do your cooking on another. It makes things much
more manageable. If you have excess, portion out and freeze before
folks start
diving into the dish, this way you will have a home cooked meal for
those “every man for himself” days!
SSD: I noticed that you make a lot of different types of foods/cuisines. Where do you get your inspiration for you meals?
SSC: I get my inspiration in a myriad places. I’ve gotten
great inspiration from my Afterworkers. For example, one of our
members, Rachel, shared a short rib lasagna roll recipe one year and I
decided to try it
one holiday. My husband fell in love with the dish and I make it every
now and then for him (more then than now due to all the work it
entails!). I get inspiration in the lunchroom at work. I get
inspiration from the food network (the Pioneer Woman is my
recent favorite…I think our styles in cooking are pretty similar). I
also get inspiration from food magazines that friends have been kind
enough to gift me. I get inspiration from my family members who will
request dishes at times. I love trying different
cuisines! While I have a few staples that get rotated on a monthly
basis, i.e. Pelau dish discussed below, I definitely like trying new
foods/cuisines to broaden my cooking and EATING horizon.
SSD: Are you multi-tasking while you are preparing your food? (i.e. watching TV, listening to music, talking on the phone)
SSC: I actually don’t multi-task much while cooking. Cooking has become my relaxation go to method. When I am stressed or overwhelmed with any part of life, you will usually find me in the kitchen cooking or baking. I like to do it in virtual silence when stressed. I’ve found that it really calms me down and puts me in a better frame of mind in which to come up with a solution to whatever issue I’m facing. Cooking has in essence become my ME time. It’s a time when I can be one with my thoughts and I relish the moments I can get alone.
When I am in a relatively relaxed mood, I may have the TV going but I am usually busing looking at a cookbook or a recipe on my phone so I don’t pay the TV much attention. On those relaxing cooking days, my son is usually in the kitchen “helping” me out. I cherish these experiences as I’m able to get in some bonding time with him and some pretty “interesting” photo ops.
SSD: Did you grow up cooking or did you start when you had a family?
SSC: As discussed above, I definitely started when I had a family. I knew how to make breakfast foods and a few other minor dishes but I didn’t fully delve into cooking until I started my family.
SSD: What is your favorite item to prepare?
SSC: Just one?! Really? I love preparing a dish called Pelau. Primarily because of the nostalgic feel I get each time I make it and I make it often. I was born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and it’s one of the dishes that we made often growing up in St. Vincent and then later in Brooklyn once we immigrated to the US. It’s essentially rice, peas, and chicken all in one pot (think arroz con pollo but the rice is not yellow…it’s actually more so brown bc of the “burnt” sugar you start the dish with). When I first learned to make the dish I had to use a recipe. It also took some time learning how to “burn” the sugar so that it didn’t really burn and give the dish a bitter taste. Man, did it take some time! Now, I no longer use a recipe. I can make it in my sleep. But I am still trying to find ways to perfect it. My sister is the master pelau maker in our family and I am always looking over her shoulder to learn her secret Jedi pelau tricks. She swears she doesn’t have any but I know every time I blink she throws in a secret ingredient or two!
SSD: Do you have any tips for anyone that wants to start cooking more?
Thank you Shelly for ALL this great insight!! SALUD!!!!
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