Challenge the first: Cook dinner every night for a month

[jamethiel]

Take-away and eating out costs a lot more. We've all got busy lives and finding the time and energy to prepare every meal is really difficult.

For a month, I'm going to make an effort to cook every single night. I have flatmates and we share the cooking so it's easier for me than for some. Still, it's going to require some planning and preparation. Who's with me? Comment if you want to take the challenge!

Needless to say, your commitment to this can absolutely vary. I am giving myself a pass for nights I have gigs and can't eat dinner beforehand. I can't really take a boxed meal to a gig! Also, it doesn't apply when I'm out on a date. You may decide that there is one night a week where friends come over and you have takeaway. It's all good!

What this challenge is aiming to prevent are those times when it's been a day from hell and you come home and look at the ingredients you have and you go "... stuff it. I'm getting take-away."

It'll require a bit of prep. You'll need to do your shopping a week in advance, which means planning your menu. I'll do a post on that on Friday and we'll be starting the actual challenge on Monday.

Of course, if your pay cycle doesn't synch with the challenge, feel free to pick it up at a later date.

Comments

[jamethiel]

Eek! Those are some very good reasons to cook right there! I share your casein allergy (I think. They wanted to do more tests and I went "Does it change the treatment (ie. avoidance)? No? Awesome, I decline to be stuck with needles then.")

Can you have polenta, or is it off the list? I have an italian casserole recipe that will make your eyes roll back, it's so good.

[killing_rose]

Funny, that's what I said. "We know it exists. We don't need to figure out how bad it is. Unless you come up with a way that doesn't involve the sharp objects."

Polenta is on the list. (I even have some. I have *no idea* what I'm doing with it--I give myself one "it looks interesting" foodstuff a month. This one was two months ago...)

[jamethiel]

Polenta is great! Polenta dumplings. OM NOM NOM

[exhausted_pigeon]

I find cooking it and then serving it with mushrooms fried with garlic and some balsamic vinegar works?

(or putting chilli on it.)