It Runs in the Blood

Dinner swap story from Jane

My sister and I didn’t know how to cook. Our parents were great cooks though. They would usually be the ones cooking for big gatherings in our church. When both my sister and I moved to another state, we realized a little too late that we should have asked mom and pop to teach us how to cook since we missed home cooked meals sorely. She missed my mom’s tuna casserole and I really missed my dad’s superb stir fried vegetables with peanut sauce. For us, fast food and even gourmet restaurants just couldn’t replace our parents cooking. And we didn’t try cooking because as yuppies, “I don’t have time” was reason enough not to. One day, on a visit to my friend’s house I noticed how she had a lot of stuff in her fridge, in her cabinet and a calendar with names and dishes tacked on it. When she was about to explain why, the doorbell rang and someone gave her a Tupperware. She put it in the microwave and told me that she was a part of a dinner group. I didn’t refuse when she invited me for dinner and I tasted one of the best alfredo that night! My sister wasn’t too excited at first because she knew that we weren’t cooks at all. But armed with a cookbook and our trusty phone (to call our parents of course), we were motivated to learn how to cook. It was only a matter of time before we were able to replicate our parent’s dishes. When we went home, we were the ones doing the cooking already, to our family’s delight. Some folks even told us to enter into catering business! Its just great how having a dinner group made us appreciate the art of cooking. My sister and I have also become a lot closer because we spent a lot of time cooking together. And we’ve also realized that maybe, good cooks do run in the family.

Chinese Take Out No More

Dinner swap story by Rb

I should have expected it. But unfortunately, I didn’t. When my husband and I moved from Malaysia to the States after staying there for almost 8 years, I had already gotten used to the slow paced life there.I had time to work yet I still had plenty of time for my family. I was also used to cooking meals for them everyday and it was not something that stressed me out or anything; it was part of the culture there. Then, when my husband was reassigned to the United States, I thought that it would be the same. But, of course, it wasn’t. The kids got busy with adjusting in a new country, my husband got busy, and teaching in a new school stressed me out. I only cooked for them once a week and usually it was Chinese or this and that take-out or TV dinners. I could sense that I was starting to become less of the mother that I should be and that saddened me. During a faculty meeting, a co-teacher of mine asked me if I belonged to any dinner group. I didn’t even know what that was that time and I told her that. She told me about dinner groups and invited me to one of their monthly sessions where they planned for the month’s menu. They asked me to join them since that time there were only 5 of them. I was hesitant at first, thinking that I couldn’t handle cooking for such a big group but eventually I decided to join. I didn’t know that it would bring such an impact in my life and I haven’t regretted that decision ever since. Admittedly, it was a challenge for me to cook and buy by the bulk at first. But I’ve gotten used to it. My family gets to taste really delicious and healthy food everyday and not just on weekdays. We had more time together. My husband looked less stressed. The kids also made new friends with the other kids in our dinner group. My dinner group has helped a lot in putting things into perspective and in changing the atmosphere in my family. If you are hesitant in joining or forming a dinner group, I encourage you not to. Do this for your family. Do this for yourself. And do it because Chinese take out gets tiring too.