If you're someone who cooks at home often, you know it's not as simple as it seems. Even if you like to take care of yourself, prefer to eat prepared food, and enjoy cooking, it takes time and effort.
Cooking for others can be both incredibly rewarding and incredibly frustrating, depending on your family's reaction. If you have children, you also risk them telling you they didn't like the food you made, even though they said they loved it the last time you used the same recipe.
There are also times when, despite our best efforts, a recipe doesn't work once you change ingredients for healthier ones, or we've tried to be so creative that the result isn't very appealing.
Then there's the question of what to do with the food that nobody wants to eat - do we keep it? Do we throw it away?
I don't know about you, but when there are days when I spend hours in the kitchen, all these variables drive me crazy.
Of course, we never see this in the Instagram photos of the healthy food accounts we follow—that's normal; to inspire us, they're not going to show us food that nobody likes. However, it's the reality for all of us who cook at home and try to cook in a healthier way.
I've been cooking basically my whole life. As a child, I helped my mother in the kitchen, just like my children help me now. As a teenager, I brought homemade desserts to my friends' houses, and when I moved out on my own, I cooked in small shared kitchens.
For almost six years I've been eating three meals a day, most days more since I try to give my children homemade snacks too. However, many days something goes wrong. The other day I dropped a whole pan of sauteed cabbage with garlic on the floor. Pan and all.
What did I do? First, I moved away because I thought it was falling on my feet, then, I admit, I cried a little.
In the end, we ate the cabbage since I had just cleaned the floor, and the children tried it, ate it, and although they didn't finish it, they didn't complain either. I thought it was delicious sautéed with garlic. (The recipe is below)
And this story? I'm telling you so you don't get discouraged. Whether you're just starting to take care of yourself or you've been doing it for a while, this will most likely sound familiar.
It's easy to get discouraged, especially when it seems so easy to pick up the phone and order food that always seems to satisfy—high in fat, sugar, etc.—or take something out of the freezer and throw it in the fryer. But I assure you that every problem we have in the kitchen makes us better cooks and teaches us that cooking requires patience, concentration, and care—something we don't always have, but that is essential.
That's why, in our recipe arsenal, it's essential to have a handful of those that take very little time. This is one of them; I hope you don't drop your pan...
RECIPE: Sautéed Cabbage
Ingredients
1 bunch of cabbage
1 large clove of garlic, or two small ones
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method
Wash the cabbages well, making sure there is no dirt left anywhere. Cut them into julienne strips.
In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic, and before it starts to brown, add the cabbage and gently sauté until tender, stirring with a wooden spoon to ensure even cooking without burning. Season to taste with your favorite sea salt and serve.
Note : We ate the collard greens as a side dish with a simple dinner that included quesadillas and a salad of black beans, cherry tomatoes, and avocado. You could also add them to a warm salad or serve them as a starter with toasted almonds.
*Photo by Dan Gold for Burst