Home cooking for the pragmatist

‘First we eat, then we do everything else.’

— M.F.K. Fisher

I am not an ambitious cook. I’ve never been one for hosting dinner parties or making the perfect meal. But I do enjoy cooking for my husband and myself, and sharing baked goods with friends. I view cooking as something I’m privileged enough to be able to do for myself as a human being. And as a writer, I’m inclined to write about what I learn.

It isn’t hard to see why cooking at home is so desirable. Industrial food systems were built for convenience and eating out at restaurants is nice once in a while, but small-scale cooking at home is undeniably healthier, not to mention more in line with people’s daily tastes and culture.
But where is the time? We might imagine ourselves in a ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron belting out culinary hits everyone loves, but all of us know the truth. Cooking takes time, it’s messy, and if you don’t know your way around a kitchen, the results are often disappointing.

In dual income families with children and for people living with disabilities or chronic illnesses, it can be particularly frustrating to cook and clean up many times a day. Ordering in becomes inevitable if you can’t afford to or don’t choose to hire help. There’s little use in exhorting people to ‘put in the effort’ when they’re already stretched thin. But even otherwise, home cooking has somehow become economically aspirational and intimidating as a craft.

If you’re exhausted and disgruntled in the kitchen, it’s hard to want to cook. The best thing I’ve learnt in the kitchen so far is to not make myself miserable. Starting small, being okay with incremental improvements and making one simple dish you enjoy and need everyday goes a long way. Remember, the novice wants to concoct gourmet dishes that dazzle. The seasoned home cook aims to put together satiating meals that are nutritious, satisfying and will be eaten without fuss.

Easy, low-pressure cooking paves the way for consistency. That’s not to say home-cooked meals are less enjoyable. I often go back to Laurie Colwin’s take on down-to-earth home cooking: “When life is hard and the day has been long, the ideal dinner is not four perfect courses, each in a lovely pool of sauce whose ambrosial flavors are like nothing ever before tasted, but rather something comforting and savory, easy on the digestion -- something that makes one feel, if even for only a minute, that one is safe.”

Home cooking might not be practical for everyone’s situation. But if you’re a pragmatist who’s keen on making time to cook, there are ways to develop an aptitude for it. The route that’s worked for me is to treat the kitchen like a workshop and cooking like a job, organising tools for easy access and putting routines in place for things like stocking the pantry and cleaning up. Once they become standard operating procedures, it leaves space for intuition and exploration.

Over time, the workshop hums along quietly and there’s always something to serve. To the age-old question of ‘Who’s going to cook?’ you can step up with confidence and say ‘I am’.