finding the time to cook

Over the past 3 weeks, I have been given the gift of time – gifts of not having to attend a full meeting, gift of time to blog and the gift of time to cook! When we juggle a house + kids (and may or may not throw in extra work), finding time to tackle that to-do list or find time for us is a challenge. Any time any of us get a couple extra minutes – we are blessed! Personally, I find peace in my kitchen cooking (plus I then know we eat a good meal). But, lately, I must confess, the cooking has fallen on my husband. Luckily, he does a good job!

This past Sunday, I had a couple of free hours to spend with my sister and her family while they visited. Do you remember my Happy Box?? While the kids played…we decided to “play” in the kitchen together. We had fun prepping some of the vegetables from Friday’s delivery.

Menu of fun: prepping fresh carrots, prepping fresh romaine and tatsoi, trialing and cooking with daikon radish and making kale salad.

Fresh carrots: On Friday, Patrick said, “Oh good! I like those kind of carrots!” Don’t get me wrong, we do still buy the bagged carrots for convenience. But, the fresh ones are super sweet and only take a little extra prep time. The bowl full of carrots didn’t last too long on the table with the kids nearby!

Our salad: Tatsoi is similar to spinach – and we eat it like fresh spinach. When prepping fresh greens (here, the romaine and tatsoi), wash several times in a bowl of water and spin the greens dry using a salad spinner (my favorite kitchen gadget!). Our boys do enjoy fresh green salads -the darker the greens, the more nutrition you get!

Our kale salad: I pulled out the kale and decided to add some kale on the side for our lunch. We tore the kale, washed and spun it dry – placed in a bowl. We then cut up some colored peppers and onion (also from the Happy Box) and added to the bowl. Then, I pulled out the daikon radish. My sister asked, “What is that?” We tried it – whew! It was bitey and our mouths continued to grow in heat. She diced it and cooked it on the stove with olive oil. I added extra virgin olive oil, (1-2 Tbsp) red wine vinegar (up to 1 Tbsp) and salt to our kale salad bowl. I then massaged it with my hands for about 3-5 minutes – this helps with breaking down the stiff kale leaves. The daikon radish’s taste softened with heating and we added it to the kale salad.

We had a super little lunch (full of calcium, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, folate and fiber) along with some fun in the kitchen together. It all held us over until a couple of hours later when we celebrated our parents’ 60^th wedding anniversary with a large meal.

I hope you receive the gift of time sometime soon, too. Maybe you will be able to dabble in your kitchen some!