Jannine Gaudet is back with us!!
She says – “There is a reason why I don’t really cook that much but I decided that one night when my husband was on a business and I was on my own with the kids, that this would be the best time to try something new.”
Here is how the night went…
I have a beautiful love affair with my crockpot/instant pot. But an actual read a recipe, prepare ingredients, and produce a wholesome meal with all sorts of sides? Ummmm…not so much.
You think as a most of the time stay at home mom I would be Martha Stewerting it up all over the place. But I am seriously hopeless at cooking, it causes me serious anxiety.
My husband is WAY better at it and actually ENJOYS it (he is a nerd and a weirdo, what can I say). So most of our meals come from him.
Here comes an example of why I am a bit of a mess in the kitchen and why I do not have dinner on the table waiting when my husband comes home from work.
I once tried to make a tea that helps with getting rid of a cold. I decided that one night when my husband was on a business and I was on my own with the kids, that this would be the best time to try something new.
So the recipe is as follows, and it was given to me by a friend, who makes it ALL THE TIME, with no problems:
Ingredients:
2 cinnamon sticks
Half a lemon of juice
6-8 half dollar slices of fresh ginger root
2-4 tbsp honey
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of cayenne (optional)
Pot of water (8 cups)
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a pot on the stove and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
Looks simple right, RIGHT? YOU WOULD THINK SO!!!!
Here, however, is how the Jannine version of this night went…
-First I did a complete search of my house. Ok, so I really just stared at the spice rack for 10 minutes. That’s when I realized I didn’t own any of these ingredients fresh and I would have to use dried ones…ok..fine..I can roll with that.
– My husband had left on a business trip for 5 days and I had to use the stove. That may not mean much to some of you, but the stove and I don’t always get along. So this was a big deal.
– I gathered what spices I COULD find and improvised, which in my world means, I ran around frantically in my kitchen until I found what I could you, ,and then I spilled everything on myself..sneezing commences for a bit.
– I put in the cinnamon, ginger, and a dash (which turns into a cloud) of cayenne, lemon (which I did not have so I used lime..cause, hey citrus).
– I turned on the gas stove without setting my eyebrows on fire, stirred the spices into the water, and made a rue.. I bet you didn’t think I knew what that was, but I do! Just in case YOU don’t know that that is, it is a base for sauce..I think.
– After trying to put 8 cups of water into a pan, I discovered the pan was way too small for 8 cups of water. Then I spilled most of it on the stove, looked around to clean it up, and figure water will evaporate, so I left it. I managed to find a bigger pot, poured in the water and the rue, and proceed to let it boil.
– My cat tried to lick up the spices that were on the floor and realized that he doesn’t like ginger. So he ran around to his water bowl as fast as he could..while nearly tripping me on his way
-At that point, the whole ordeal was becoming comical so I decided to write some of it down to share later. Because, I was obviously going to forget, mom brain.
-I got a text message..phone was upstairs..went to get the phone..husband had landed safely..nice.
-Went back down, realized I had forgotten to add honey to the mixture. I had a huge jar of it and the cap came loose while I was pouring it in. So, a couple of teaspoons became a flood of honey…I was fine with that, it is medicinal…
– I got another text message (I swear I am not this popular when I am doing nothing.)..phone was still upstairs. I went to get the phone trying not to wake up children that weren’t really sleeping. They were just waiting for me to get comfortable so that they could cry that they missed their dad.
-I answered the text message, sat down again, realized that I had forgotten yet another ingredient (oh screw YOU nutmeg). I didn’t have nutmeg..but I did have PUMPKIN PIE SPICE!..next best thing…I added a touch (again pouring it all over me) to the mixture, and put it on the back burner to simmer…
-The house smelled amazing. I may have created something that tasted like sweaty gym socks, but at least it SMELLED like walking in a forest in the fall. While the potion was bubbling I started to tidy up (read, hide stuff in closets).
-I chased the cat off the counter where he was trying to eat through plastic to get at a loaf of bread.
-Contemplated murdering cat but he is really cute, so I decided to keep him…for now.
-Stored the chewed on bread in the microwave and waited another 10 mins for my Sweaty Gym Sock tea to steep.
At this point my kitchen looks like a pound of rainbow cocaine exploded all over and I am not planning on cleaning it. In fact, I contemplated adding a healthy drop of alcohol to the tea, cause that’s medicinal too.
What I did was, finish making the tea and then enjoyed a nice cup in the dark, ignoring my kids ad they were telling me they missed their dad, that they are thirsty and they need to go potty.
And that is why I don’t cook dinner..
When she is not running around being a dance mom, you can find her trying to learn to tap or belly dance, learning about aromatherapy and herbalism, and being one of the biggest Harry Potter fans around.
If you are in the Maine area, please check out her Massage FaceBook Page or her Instagram (@jspaz1) of her crazy life.
Recent Comments