Parallel Power Cooking

It’s going to be an every Tuesday 12:00 to 2:00 pm gig, with the end time being non-negotiable since I need to be available to manage my two middle school kids the second they walk in the door at 2:30.

Suzy, temporarily without a kitchen, is desperate to make her family dinner. She knows how bad (yet expensive) take out and restaurant food is and just doesn’t want to give into the temptation to dial up for a meal. So, she’s etched me into her i-phone for the next three months – no joke. Yes, she’s got it bad for now, washing dishes in the upstairs bathtub — which her kids now refuse to use (who could blame them?) and cooking on a portable electric griddle, outside grill and microwave. But don’t feel too sorry for her temporary inconveniences, since she’ll soon have a brand new kitchen once her renovations are complete. Instead it’s me you’ll feel sorry for in my compact getting-more-dated-every-day kitchen. And don’t think I haven’t put my two cents in while she’s been picking appliances, encouraging her to get a six burner stove and suggesting she think about whether she really needs a double oven.

I’m pretty excited that my friend is getting a new kitchen for us to cook in together and there’s got to be plenty of elbow and cooking room, right? In return for the regular use of my kitchen, for starters I’m assured companionship with a good friend and a delicious dinner every Tuesday. She knows I’ll have regular stuff to write about for my blog (we call that content) and the chance to develop recipes and try new things. That’s pretty cool. So, she doesn’t have to feel at all like she’s encroaching on me. I love it! She also has an open invitation to use my kitchen when I’m not in it, something one cooking friend would naturally do for another.

Last Tuesday was our first impromptu cooking date. She made Skillet Asian chicken while I made meatloaf in my new Rachel Ray two piece meatloaf set which I was asked to review. She even helped me stuff and crimp some Curried Chicken Empanadas I was making for my upcoming block party. It was a great start to a delicious arrangement.

Today we’ll be crimping dumplings and making the filling for lettuce wraps — dinner for the night!