I was chit chatting with my friend Jackie the other day that I should title my blog “Cooking With Jackie” instead of Cooking With Friends. I joked that I’d soon have to sub in some other friend’s names to make it seem like I’ve been cooking with other people as well. The truth is that I love every minute of my time cooking with Jackie and I like to write about our times together just as much! Yes, I am cooking with other people too but it’s true we have actually been cooking quite regularly together.
Our lifestyles are similar — work at home moms with kids at school a good part of the day. So, we have similar availability. Plus, she’s hooked on the CWF lifestyle herself; planning cooking dates with a number of her other friends. So when I get a “Wanna cook something?” text message from her I jump right on it.
We’ve developed a rhythm cooking together and have it down pat. We’re equal contributors with the ingredients, decide easily what we want to make together, are efficient and have a lot of fun in the hour or so we’re together.
The other day, she wanted to make something with the pears she needed to use. After some ruminating, we remembered the South Beach Diet bran muffins we’d made a while back. With minimal sugar, some oil and a lot of bran, we’ve tasted better. We couldn’t stop laughing as we sampled the muffins, deciding they needed a good smear of cream cheese frosting or handful of chocolate chips. My diabetic husband though, could enjoy to his heart’s content!
Thanks to you, Alison, I cook with various friends. After reading this about you and Jackie, you’ve got me thinking I should cook more often with one or two friends I’m really in sync with. Thanks again for all the great tips!