What's For Dinner Maddie?

Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could subscribe to Timothy Leary’s famous line, “Tune in, Turn on, Drop out.” It would go something like this: “Sorry kids, Mommy doesn’t work here anymore” and then that’s that, we just drop out. No more cooking; how’s that for a turn-on! I remember my mother once going on strike; something about my Dad not fixing something in the kitchen. My mother was someone who was prone to outbursts and rage but in this instance she remained completely calm and held her ground all the while repeating her new byline “No fixy no cooky”.  I think the standoff lasted several days, ending in plaster dust and the cacophony of electric drills, but our apartment had remained remarkably calm as we survived on cinnamon toast and peanut butter sandwiches. Only now as an adult can I appreciate my mother’s sense of tranquility at not having the pressures of cooking nightly for a family of five. I can still see her sitting quietly in the white living room peacefully reading at what would normally be the frenetic dinner hour, a slight smile that could almost be mistaken for smugness. Anyway, we survived, my sisters and I, and we even had reprieve from polite dinner conversation and the obligatory rounds of praise.

I tried the same thing in my house not too long ago, for different reasons, probably something along the lines of feeling underappreciated and underpraised. But my strike was met with far less success. In this age of prepared food, fast food, take-out and delivery, the other adult in the house was able to cope all too marvelously and the kids thought they’d hit the jackpot with pizza one night, butter chicken another, and little mini chicken pot pies that they got to eat right out of the tin.  The People didn’t suffer; just the striking CEO, whose ego and pocketbook took a hit. So, note to self, take a day off from time to time and order pizza, Thai, Indian or whatever your fancy. Allow the odd box of frozen meatballs to enter the house, or my favourite, a tourtiere; pick up a shepherd’s pie or lasagna already prepared and serve with a green salad. A break from cooking also is a break from dishes, and What’s For Dinner Maddie sanctions a good break from time to time. Also, They may just appreciate you more.

And on the theme of a break, What’s For Dinner Maddie will next be posting on some culinary delights in Africa. Stay tuned.