2 Cooks - 2 Bad Feet = 2 Gimpy Gourmets
Have you ever tried to push a grocery cart using crutches, or balance on one foot while trying to mince and stir? It's not a pretty or well-balanced situation, let me tell you. For the past month, both Lynn and I have been gimping around, each with one foot in a cast or boot--she due to surgery, and I due to a run-in with the pavement from suddenly falling off my bike. This has severly limited our abilities to cook, but it hasn't limited our obsessions. So we thought we'd share with you what happens when foodies can't do their foodie thing. Cravings abound!
Lynn: What does a passionate foodie, cook, and culinary school director eat when she has foot surgery and has to be on the couch all day with the foot up for ten days? Well first of all, this is quite a change for someone who’s on her feet pretty much all day every day and in a kitchen most of that time!
The first several days, little hunger was present. (She is thinking, "good, I can’t bike ride or exercise for a while…this is good.") But the one thing she was really having a taste for was a cappuccino from Peet’s. Since the husband worked from home the first week, he went and got her one the third day.
Hunger surfaced a little the fourth day. The red and yellow bell and Anaheim peppers needed harvesting from the garden. The husband said, “How about if you tell me what to do and I’ll make a summer pepper soup?” (This husband is slowly learning to cook when time permits.) So she sat in the kitchen with the foot still up and the soup turned out great. Add a nice mixed green salad with crumbled feta and that was dinner. Fresh and healthy.
Beautiful weather the first weekend called for the grill. Chicken breasts with corn on the cob and other grilled vegetables, yum. (The husband is great with the grill!) Extras meant lunch and dinner the following day. And she’s still eating fresh and healthy.
Uh, oh. Week two, cravings begin to surface. She wants a bran muffin. Is that considered a craving thing? Yes, for someone who loves wonderful artisan fresh-baked bread and muffins. But not just any old bran muffin. A Grateful Bread bran muffin. The husband went to the store and got one. Oh yeah, he also got the ginger cookie she was craving!
The end of week two is nearing and still no take out, but she is REALLY craving sushi and Thai food. So I’ll bet one, but probably both, will make it to her table soon!
And Ann's take:
My injury was unexpected, so I hadn't even stocked up or made plans for being off my feet. And with a just-walking baby, this was no time to be crawling around. But cooking while becrutched is not very workable, so my best bet was to sit at the table and prep while my husband did the cooking. Dinners were definitely much more pared down than usual--and usual has been much pared down from pre-baby. We're lucky we're not eating Lunchables at this point!
Since Bob is a good cook himself, we weren't forced to do much take-out, so that was good. My main problem was during the day, when Bob was working and I was here with the baby and a two-story house (see: getting upstairs on one's bottom)! A couple of very kind friends took pity and brought us dinner on two nights, so leftovers for lunch worked well. But I'm the type who usually goes to a different grocery store or market every other day, and that was out of the question for a few weeks. What I would have done for a little chocolate consolation! But, as Lynn pointed out, lack of exercise = better not to overeat while on the sofa.
If I had known ahead of time, I definitely would have made and frozen some comforting soups. The fresh veggies and fruits ran out far too quickly, so I was forced to snack on stale crackers (how long had those been in the cupboard) and questionable cheese bits. So sad. And it definitely makes you question whether or not you really need to eat something when you have to ask someone else to get it. This was good for tempering my need for instant culinary gratification.
Try keeping track sometime (without breaking your foot) and see how many times you wander into the kitchen for a drink, a snack, or just a nibble of something sweet. Be nice to your feet, for they get you where you need to go, which in my case is often toward food.
Comments
I totally get it. I broke my foot a few years ago..and lived alone..out in the Redwoods.
I made some home made chicken stock and I am bringing soup..today. Call if you want anything else!!
Posted by: Melly | October 11, 2008 11:04 AM
Not to be mean, but there is something slightly humorous in all this. ;)
Posted by: Garrett | October 13, 2008 8:23 AM
Nice site, thanks for information!
Posted by: YahooBot | November 11, 2008 2:57 PM