Cooking up ideas
PLANNING AND VARIETY CAN HELP KEEP SPIRITS UP IN THE KITCHEN
As lockdown fatigue sets in for millions of Australians, many are also feeling burnt-out on the cooking front – especially on Mondays and Fridays.
New stats reveal that while the vast majority detest cooking on the first and last day of the working week, most of us get our chef mojo back by Wednesday and Thursday.
“Mondays mark the start of another dreaded week in lockdown and we’re lethargic after a weekend of walks, binge-watching marathons and keeping the kids entertained – it’s a tough job having to muster up the energy to cook dinner,” says Julien Pourtau, spokesperson for Maille Australia, which commissioned the research of 1000 Australians.
Home cooks can feel equally sapped after a gruelling week of work, he adds: “Friday night takeaways are a much-needed break in the schedule and give the cook in the house the night off to relax.”
The survey also uncovered clear differences in preferred cooking days based on age and gender, which could prove to be a boon in multi-generational households.
“Millennials surprisingly don’t mind spending time in the kitchen on the weekend, whereas the older generation, aged 65-plus, were the only age group to dislike cooking dinner on Sundays the most,” Pourtau says.
MEAL PLANNING
To mitigate against pandemic cooking burnout, Pourtau suggests families create a cooking schedule based on each member’s preferred days in the kitchen. “This could settle the debate of who’s going to cook dinner each night and help share the load of cooking for the household,” he says.
According to the research, females are most averse to cooking on Friday night, while most men dread the task on Monday. “The simple solution here is that females cook on Mondays and males to cook on Fridays to make it a less of a dreaded task – and keep everyone happy,” Pourtau says.
Even professional chefs aren’t spared from occasional bouts of cooking fatigue. Masterchef 2017 winner Diana Chan is currently locked down in Melbourne, and says being unable to host dinner parties has taken some of the enjoyment away from cooking.
“I love cooking for people – my problem now is not having enough people to feed,” says Chan, who catered major events around the world as a freelance chef before international borders closed.
For Chan, who lives with her boyfriend and a flatmate, Friday and Saturday nights are usually reserved for takeaway, whereas Sunday is all about a big cookup.
“I love cooking on Sunday, it’s relaxing, I can take my time and everyone is in a better mood,” she says.
WEEKDAY HACKS
For others, like her, who enjoy a Sunday cooking session, Chan suggests making something that can be reinvented to create easy meals on Monday and Tuesday. For example, Sunday’s roast chicken could be transformed into Monday’s chicken salad, and Tuesday’s broth.
“You can pull the meat apart for salad, then use the carcass for a broth, adding carrots, zucchini, tomato, celery, onion and garlic,” Chan says.
Similarly, pork ribs or the bone from a tomahawk steak could be a base for soups.
“When you roast a bone, it releases a lot of collagen, so when you boil it afterwards, it makes a very good stock.
You could add noodles or vegies, or use it as a base for a bolognese, pho or stew,” she says.
MIX IT UP
With more time spent dining at home, lockdown is a time to expand your repertoire, but this doesn’t mean you have to tackle a completely new recipe each night.
Chan says meal planning around the same basic recipe, with two or three tweaks, will ensure that meals are fun and easy to prepare, and also offer some muchneeded variety in the groundhog days of lockdown life.
“Even if you have the same cut of steak for four nights in a row, you can mix it up with different vegetables and sauces,” she says.
“Using chimichurri as opposed to bernaise sauce will turn it into a completely different cuisine.”
For a lighter option, changing the protein in rice paper rolls will keep the meal fresh and interesting over two or three nights.
“One night it could be pork, then prawn, chicken or duck,” Chan says.
“Once you have the noodles, vegetables and herbs ready, they’re so easy.
“You pull the same plates out of the dishwasher from yesterday, and half your prep work is already done.”
EMBRACE FREEZING
Batch cooking cuts down waste by using up all your ingredients, takes little more time than preparing smaller quantities, and sets you up for days when grocery supplies are limited, or when cooking fatigue strikes hardest.
“There’s no point in making a small batch of curry or rendang, but you don’t want to be eating it for days on end,” Chan says.
“Freeze the leftovers in small containers, and always have fresh lemon and herbs on hand to cut through the fat and bring it to life.”
By employing these hacks, Chan says she rarely repeats a recipe within a two or three month period, and constantly feels inspired by her homemade creations – even during lockdown.
“This is why I love cooking and have managed to stay so positive about it,” she says.