Eating at home

Last week, when we were contemplating the week ahead, we'd realised how much we had to do, we decided to make a date of it today eat out. Our friend from Kendal is coming this afternoon, which may be taxing so we will not feel like cooking.

Now that day has arrived. And what has happened? Well, I'm once more plopping away a meatball curry, ready to warm up tonight.


I'm trying to work out why this change of heart. Our friends are eager to eat out on any excuse yet we peservere with cooking whenever possible.


My first answer is that our friends appreciate having something to eat they wouldn't normally have at home. But that doesn't really apply to us. I 'll tackle anything. As you may have realised by now, we have a wide variety of meals, of styles of cuisine. We do have some favourites which recur fairly often such as today's curry, but we don't ritually have the same meals every week. PD his wife seem to exist on a weekend roast followed by several days of cold leftovers, then something like a prawn courgette pasta meal a Chinese takeaway once a week. The variety of meat may change but that seems about it. I heard somewhere they reckon most households in this country know how to cook about 6 dishes which they have every week. Presumably the seventh day is a takeaway or a meal out elsewhere.


I admit these days I don't often make starters or desserts, but apart from that I will tackle anything. We have Chinese food every bit as good as at most Chinese restaurants. (The Fox is a real wow with his wok these days!) Our pasta is often freshly made. Our Indian are something more than just a re-heated jar. Our British is varied, a mixture of traditional, contemporary fusion.


In the past I have made that great French classic dessert croquembouche, every bit as elaborate as seen on TV. It's just these days energies are limited it has to be admitted our waistlines need a bit of limiting too.


All of this is to say I'm not sure what we eat out that we don't, ot couldn't if we wanted, eat at home.


The other reason for eating at home for preference is that we both love cooking. We find it therapeutic, a time out from everyday worries to concentrate on something else. I miss that when we eat out.


As far as I am concerned the attractions of eating out are more for the conviviality of seeing friends, for a change of scene, as part of a greater celebrational experience, as a completion of a day out, or just as a necessity as neither of us feel up to the cooking (or washing up afterwards, even with a mechanical dishwasher!) We go, hoping for something to eat that is at least as good as what we have at home if not baetter. So often we are disappointed in this.


No, if possible it is home-cooking for us. And today it's a meatball curry. But if we don't feel up to it by this evening, it will only improve ready for tomorow's delictation.