Too Many Dirty Dishes

A lot of people have asked me if I eat out all the time because I don't have a kitchen. I sometimes cook for the guys at work and they are completely confounded that I am able to prepare decent meals without a stove but it is really not a big deal. I guess it does take some getting used to but with a little thought you can prepare most any meal with just a few things. I do try to keep it simple, mainly because I just like foods that are cooked quickly (the meals feel lighter) and because I am pretty busy, as you might guess, and need to get the cooking over with. I like to cook a lot, which surprises the guys too. They think that any woman that is "liberated", as they like to say, would not like to cook. They're so funny. I try to cook a full meal most evenings and that means a meat, at least one veggie (usually two) and one carb, usually rice or couscous etc. This is a really easy recipe for just about any cut of pork. You take about 2 T. honey (local beekeeper), 2 T good, stone ground mustard, a little garlic, about a T of olive oil and salt and pepper. Mix all of that up and pour over the pork. Roll it around to coat the meat and bake for about 30 minutes for a tenderloin or pork chops etc. A little longer if it is a bigger roast or so. As you can see, I don't really measure or time stuff; you just know when it's right. You may need to make more sauce for a larger piece too and sometimes I'll add a teaspoon of hoisin sauce.
I use this toaster oven, which works great for baking lots of things. The guys kid me and say that I'll never be able to cook in a full size oven again. I have made them many homemade biscuits in this oven. Plus, the toaster oven works wonderfully to warm your plates on as you are cooking. I mostly use my own pottery to eat off of and stoneware will draw the heat out of food if it is not warmed up itself. I have a microwave and a little, one burner propane cooktop and that is about all I need really. Of course, I don't cook for several people either. I am going to buy a nice grill soon for the deck and that will help a lot.
Several of the younger men I work with say that their wives don't cook, in fact, don't even know how. How is this? Mama never really taught me much but I guess I just wanted to know. The guys often have to go home, bathe their kids and cook supper. I don't understand these younger women. There is nothing wrong with these men doing some of this but the women ought to know how just for their own sake. They seem to have an attitude of, oh, he'll do it for me. I have talked to some of them myself and so it's not just what the guys are telling me. It seems some of these younger women think that being a feminist means sitting on your butt and talking some man into doing everything. I guess I lost my handbook when I was little because I never have figured out how to find a man that will do all these things. But what these women don't realize is that they are dependent on someone else then for their well being and that is a bad thing. All women, and I guess men too, should know:
1. How to cook at least a small variety of meals.
2. How to sew a little, at least to make repairs on garments.
3. How to mix one good drink.
4. How to change a flat tire.
5. How to properly drive a nail.
6. How to weld.
7. How to wash clothes. You'd be surprised how many don't.
8. How to grow something you can eat.
9. How to balance a checkbook.
10. How to write a good thank you note.

Was this all a rant? Did I leave out an item that you think everybody should know?


*title is an old blues song by Albert Collins.