There’s a hint of contention around the suggestion that you cannot marry your position as a “career woman” with being a “domestic goddess”. I am using the bunny rabbit ears because I don’t believe either of these things actually exist, certainly not as applied titles and I am not going to spend this blog debating gender politics because that would be silly and boring.
Quite simply I have three facets to my personality that are part of me but don’t define me in isolation; I have a career and it’s high-pressure, I love to cook and entertain and I am a woman.
My day job has long, erratic hours and involves a commute to Edinburgh every day and my creative projects keep my spare time equally packed. I am often tired, a bit stressed and with a hefty workload that can bleed into my home life. It is a rare occasion I find myself over the door any earlier than 8pm. And because the first thing I tend to do when I get home is go into the kitchen and start cooking I get accused of being mad (mainly by my Mum). How can I be bothered? I should be relaxing, de-stressing...well...I am! Cooking does relax me. When I am feeling particularly irritable or have had stressful day at the office then I like to go into the kitchen, pour a glass of wine and make something delicious - being a weeknight it’s often fast and simple - but homemade and as from scratch as I can manage.
Regular weeknight favourites of mine tend to be Butter Chicken Curry - tomato based, mild and rich. Bourbon Street Chicken - sticky, sweet and very spicy. Roast Chicken Pie - classic and comforting. Spicy Baked Meatballs with Spaghetti (and lots of cheese!) Pork Fillet in a creamy, mushroom and white wine sauce, which is one of my favourites, pork fillet is just the business and frighteningly underused in day to day cooking.
None of this stuff is hard; you can twist the recipe a little each time to make things richer, spicier, stranger or healthier, depending on the dish and, of course, your mood.
I’m not going to lie or make myself out to be some sanctimonious super-chef; there are some nights where only a bottle of wine and a Chinese takeaway will do and sometimes time is actually against me and I don’t get home until late o’clock (that can really get me down, good thing there is often leftovers to comfort me). I just like to cook and there is a sense of satisfaction that relaxes me far quicker than plonking myself straight down on the couch.
Not sure why I am thinking about this, I think it might be because my work has me busy every weekend this month - as is normal and par for the course given the nature of my work - and the culinary part of me lives for the weekend. Those days are reserved for things like making pancakes for breakfast, slow cooked stews, homemade bread and soup and baking and, ideally, sharing all these things with friends. I get a little ache when there is larger gaps of time between being able to do that.
Ah well...I am working on Dr Sketchy this afternoon, should be done by 6pm. I would cook if I did have some work to get done before Monday morning.
Such is the life of a Super Human Career Domestic Goddess.......what a dick! :p
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