Life has been a bit crazy this week with the launch of “Man With a Pan,” which, aside from a celebratory dinner with Santa Maria on Tuesday night at our favorite neighborhood restaurant, al di la, (we thought about trying Brooklyn Fare, but it is booked for the next six weeks) has meant that I’ve been working longer hours than usual.
As a result, I haven’t been at home cooking as much as I like, but the irony is that I’ve been talking more about home cooking now than ever before. Early this week I taped an interview about the book with Al Vuona, of "The Public Eye,” on the NPR affiliate WICN 90.5 FM, in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Al, who said he doesn’t cook as much as his wife does, let slip that he does the shopping. I had to stop him and point out that this is nearly as important as the cooking itself. If you don’t have the ingredients, good luck making the meal.
There’s an old saying in the military, often attributed to the U. S. Second World War field commander Omar Bradley, that “amateurs talk strategy and professionals talk logistics.” I think it applies to parenting as well, and certainly to running a home kitchen. I keep a detailed shopping list and put all my faith in a fully stocked larder. How do you do it? If you have any tips about food shopping, I'd love to hear them.
The interview with Al is set to air on Sunday night at 10:30, if you happen to be wandering around Worcester, or the Internet.
The trouble I find with keeping a well stocked kitchen is that you’ll have a load of ingredients to make a load of meals, and you alone will know what needs using first. So it kind of makes sense for you to do the cooking, which doesn’t help when you want a little break. How does everyone else share cooking and shopping?
I have an egregiously well stocked pantry (I’m embarrassed — it’s my OCD showing) and a grocery app on my smartphone. Both of those do help on “I don’t want to cook” days, though. And even without the app, I could get by for days on the strength of my pasta collection, cans of tomatoes and oniony-garlicy-items. Well, those and the chunk of decent parm I try to keep around.
PS: congrats on the book! I’m working my way through it now, and it’s wonderful fun. :->
Thanks for the comment. So glad you like the book! Nothing beats a well stocked pantry, thats what I think.
I am currently learning how to cook and one of the first things I realized is that in order to cook I need to know how to shop. We live in a small urban apartment, so I don’t have room to stock-up. I shop at least every other day and I am trying to plan meals so that I can make a grocery list, but I find this very challenging. It seems to me that learning to cook is like learning anything else in life. You just have to do it.
regarding shopping and cooking (i do both): one of the most important lessons i’ve learned is to let the market guide my menu as far as fresh ingredients are concerned. this applies not only to keeping an eye on what’s in season, but also what’s on sale. if the fish monger (or his supermarket equivalent) decides to unload lobster for dirt cheap, you *know* what i’ll be steaming that night!
I shop on my lunch break. It’s the only time I have without my kiddos filling up the basket. It’s an absolute mission that’s only completed with extreme preparation (which includes a typed list sectioned by aisle).
There’s the shopping, and there’s the PUTTING THE SHOPPING AWAY ..! 😮
I don’t mind it, but every woman I’ve asked HATES it. 🙂