10 September 2013

Learning to be a grown up

This is a story of numbers
3 weeks. In 3 weeks I am learning how to be a grown up. 
In 3 weeks I will move into my first house. 
A house with 3 hilarious, silly, kind and generous girls. 


I have spent 1 week learning how to cook. 
In truth though I have known how to cook for many years. I have spent this past week learning how to follow a recipe, how to time different dishes so they arrive on the table at the same time and how not to fry onions to the bottom of the pan. 
This has happened 2 times already. 
There have been at least 5 soaked pans on the draining board this week. 
The longest one was there for was 3 days. Welded might be a better description of the food stuck to it. 


There has been only 1 emergency run to the supermarket. 
So far I have cooked 2 different types of meat, done potatoes 2 different ways and made 1 batch of bread dough. 
I have also figured out the perfect plastic tub in which to store meal leftovers. 

The best figure of all though is that from Monday to Friday there were 5 hot, edible and tasty meals on the table each evening. 

This grown up lark...we're getting there! 

The photos are from the party we held this weekend and the food is therefore not my creations but my mums- I have the best teacher! 

14 comments:

Karen said...

Ahh, I remember learning to get all the dishes on the table at the same time. Sadly, it was under pressure as my mother was very ill, and I had to take over the cooking when I was home from college. My father and brother were pretty understanding, but I remember one night when the green beans finished well after the rest of the meal! The more one cooks, the easier it gets!

JO SOWERBY said...

Ah yes the joys of growingup, I still haven't really even at 47. I remember doing the cooking in my first flatshare. We started off with bad food but ended up with me doing the cooking quite well. I never made bread but then it was not a big thing back then. I had a cookbook by Delia Smith with everything you needed to know and my roasts were famous,
Jo xxx

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

This is so cool, Abi, and I'm really excited for you. I'm glad that you are taking the time to get some pointers from your mom! Cooking is one of those things that gets better with time. I'm sure that once your roommates realize you can cook you'll get plenty of practice! :o)

Maria Ontiveros said...

When I was in law school, we used to alternate, so each person cooked dinner one night during the week. We had a set time for dinner, and it worked really well (even though people first said they weren't sure they could arrange their schedules, it was no surprise that everyone managed to show up on time almost every night).
Rinda

Sian said...

I am still friends with the girls I shared a house with and we still laugh about the cooking we did then: someone tried to boil potatoes without any water in the pan and someone put the icecream back in the fridge instead of the freezer. Oh, and then there was the time Donna tried using the carpet as an ironing board..

But now we cook big meals for all of us and our families all together :)

Best of luck in your new house. You'll have a blast

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

Such an exciting time. I remember moving in to my first grown up house with four other girls. Two have remained life long friends. We used to have a night each for cooking a meal (with pudding!) and would always eat together during the week. I learnt to cook on the job! On Saturdays we got chips from the chippy down the road. Happy days. You will have the best times x

Miriam said...

Hello Abi, I have been catching up with you today. I love you student makes, such fun. Your project life is looking good and I wish you all the luck in the world with your learning to be a grown up, but not too soon :)
Three weeks will fly by.

Becky said...

Yes, getting everything on the table together is a real art! Good luck in your new house x

debs14 said...

Practice makes perfect! I'm sure you will be fine and surprised to realise just how much you do know. The timing of everything is still a bit hit and miss for me even after many, many years of cooking!

Sinead said...

I love hearing how you're preparing for grown-up life in a house Abi! The cooking adventures (and misadventures!) sound brilliant, and I'll be your housemates will be envious when they hear the meals you can prepare! When I shared a house with two friends in my final year in uni, there were many kitchen mishaps - one girl left carrots to cook and forgot about them while she was studying, with the result that they were burnt into a dry pan! Another girl set kitchen roll on fire when she left it too close to the hob! Funny to look back on now :D I love cooking, and Jamie Oliver's new book is my obsession at the moment! xx

Mel said...

Wow I defo didn't make bread when I was a student. I did enjoy cooking meals for my boyfriend and I and acting like a real grown up housewife! The novelty soon wears off...

K said...

Having had my own place for 12 years now I still feel like I'm playing at being a grown up. Keep playing at it hun, keep trying new things out, make it fun for yourself, there are exciting times ahead :)

Ruth said...

I still follow a recipe most days and can have problems with timing! You'll have such fun in your new home, assisted by wonderful dinners you've done yourself!

Sandra said...

Half the fun is in the learning, and it sounds like you're having a blast. I still cook meals that surprise me as to how well they've turned out and I've been married for 25 years lol