Wild Woman Cooks Dinners for a Month

This weeks DM interview takes another form. This is my friend Jamie Jo and her clan. She and her husband, Andy, run Camp Kivu, just down the road. They have 5 darling kids. Not so long ago, she posted on facebook, before the sun was up, that she was shopping and doing her cooking FOR THE MONTH. My plans for that same day involved a cup of coffee and maybe a magazine. One night at a time can prove difficult for me, the whole month seems suicidal. Maybe it's just a cry for help, was my first thought. But no, she was for real. Here's her story. Feel free to feel like an under achieving loser. I know I do.

Me:  How did the whole thing transpire? Were you drinking (or feverish) when you said to yourself, "Hey! I'm going to wake up long before dawn and go grocery shopping and then cook till I drop."

JJ:  Several years ago I had three children (only) and two live-in college boys and a husband who was always bringing people home for dinner.  I felt overwhelmed because I was working full time and I was never prepared for whoever showed up for dinner.  Then someone told me about the book "Once A Month Cooking" and I tried it. . . .  Fast forward five years and I have five kids and a full time job (or two) and dinner time is always on me before I know it. 

This Fall my oldest, Hays, asked me (in a very sweet and innocent way) if I could just cook dinner twice a week.  He was so dear and I thought, "Hey, I can do that."  Well, "that" lasted for maybe two weeks and I was back to knee jerking my way through throwing something together at the last minute. 

On top of that, the economy hit us and we had to tighten the budget down drastically, so I dusted off "Once A Month Cooking" and got to it. 

To be perfectly honest with you, the getting up at dawn thing was the result of pure procrastination and laziness!  I had scheduled to go to the store on Thursday, but then my husband returned from out of town (he travels about 20 days a month) and I didn't want to miss a minute with him.  Then I was too tired from snowboarding.  So, I had to go to the store at dawn (three degrees outside) the day of cooking.  (I do NOT recommend that!) 

And a quick note about my cooking for the month experiences five years ago:  I LOVED IT!  I loved being prepared at the drop of a hat.  I loved having good meals when I wanted them.  I felt like the perfect mom and wife just because those home made meals were available to me in my freezer!

Me:  Was it fun or torture? Did you use any performance enhancing drugs? Steroids, B-12, sugary coffee drinks, crystal meth.....

JJ:  Was it fun?  Not really.  Looking forward to it was fun (it won't be this next month because the "pain" is still too fresh)--actually it is a lot like pregnancy and child birth... right after you spend nine months throwing up and getting fat and then pushing out a watermelon, you don't want to do it ever again, but once time goes by, you forget how terrible the terrible really was and you're ready to do it again!  I had a friend cook with me.  It was kind of accountability because we both had it on our calendars and I couldn't back out since she was counting on it, too (hence, the shopping trip at dawn).  My perormance enhancing drug is Red Diamond Sweet Tea....ALL DAY LONG! 

Me:  Do you like to cook and this was like running a cooking marathon...only the elite need apply...
OR
Do you hate cooking and this was like ripping off a bandaid, let's do it really fast and get it over with...
OR
Are you a SERIOUS type A personality?

JJ:  I don't really like to cook and I'm not a great cook.  I think the main reason why both of these are true is just that I do not have time and I can never plan ahead (which answers your Type A question).  The dinner cooking time is referred to as the "arsenic hour" around our house and at that hour, I just can't cook. . .I seem to only survive sometimes.  I just really struggle thinking about dinner until it is actually dinner time and then it is too late to pull anything more than mac 'n' cheese or frozen pizza together!

Me:  So far, how is it? The food, I mean. Are the kids grooving on it? What is their favorite? Least favorite?

JJ:  The food has been super!  The kids have LOVED each meal and my husband now may think I'm a goddess!  I'm not sure what has been the best.  I took a survey at dinner the other night and they all agreed that they were all favorites!  (Granted, I have only heated the ones that sound good so far.)  The calzones were my favorite (who wouldn't love fresh bread baked around cheese and then dipped in spaghetti sauce?).  The best part about it is that I really feel better about myself and my "job" of being wife and mom and chef.  I pull something out (that I made from scratch) and put it in the oven and I just feel like I could be June Cleaver.  It is amazing what it does for my self-esteem.  Is that silly?  And I love the "Oooooo, mom!  This is amazing!" and all of the other words of encouragement I get!

Me: You DO realize that a new month is upon us....which means you'll have to do it again. What's the verdict? Yay or nay?

JJ: ABSOLUTELY!  The great thing about the "Once A Month Cooking" is that she gives you several months worth of menus.  So, you aren't really re-eating any one recipie over and over.  She has about 75 different meals.  She also has the book set up with a shopping list (broken up into parts of the grocery store) and a "how to" step by step list for the day of cooking so that you are making the most of your time.  She has suggestions for what to serve with the meals and everything.  The book is great. . .all-inclusive cooking!  It is truly cooking for the dummy and that works perfectly for me!

I will do it again!  The pros definately outweigh the con of cooking all in one day!  And it is much more cost effective if you are on a budget!  I say DO IT!!!!! To read more about Jamie Jo, go here. 

Now this is where it gets real. Jamie Jo made the mistake of mentioning that she wears swim goggles while cutting onions on this suicide mission of hers.  That, gentle reader, is where I can relate. 

I'll probably never cook 20 meals in one go. 

I can, however, pull off the onion goggle trick.  

Don't ever say you don't learn anything here at durango mom!

OK Folks! There you have it. Could YOU do it? Would you WANT to do it? Let me know!