Today I succumbed to the latest trend in dining: meal preparation kitchens. I tried out Sous Kitchen in San Carlos and assembled two 4-to-6-serving meals: Crispy Mustard Chicken and Mojito Chicken. I had a coupon for $10, so both dishes (at $30 each) cost me $50 total. A bit of a splurge for us, but it's cheaper than takeout, and it isn't every day that my in-laws are here, so we want to spend more time talking and less time cooking. We had the Mustard Chicken tonight and it was wonderful! We can't wait to try the other dish I made and I can't wait to go back and try more dishes on their menu while my in-laws are here.
If I were a working parent who had to slave in the office all day and come home to hungry, tired kids and not a clue what to prepare for dinner, this would be a Godsend. Even as a stay-at-home parent, if I could afford it, I think I would use this service quite often. No dinners from a box or a jar or a microwave, no peanut butter sandwiches. Just fresh, real, tasty food that took me 10 minutes to assemble in their kitchen (versus an hour cooking at home plus more time cleaning up), ready and waiting in my freezer.
Their kitchen is a sight to behold -- immaculately clean, organized and spacious. Gleaming stainless steel appliances everywhere. Shiny modern measuring spoons and cups. Clean, bare counters. Pre-sliced, defrosted meat waiting in the fridge. Ingredients neatly lined up at each preparation station. Personnel standing by, ready to whisk aside all the used bowls and spoons as soon as you're done with them. It's like having my own sous chef, prep crew and cleanup brigade.
Compare that with my own kitchen -- crusty pans soaking in the sink, leftovers cooling on the (well-splattered) stove, tea stains on the countertops, papers everywhere, kids' artwork strung up with clothespins on the window, cereal crumbs under the table even at dinnertime, tacky white fridge cluttered with magnets and photos. And just one drudge-- me. Wow, now I wish I had a kitchen like theirs at home.
But really, well, actually I'm glad I don't. Rather, I'm glad that I get a chance to "have" a beautiful, immaculate kitchen 0ver there and my own messy, cluttered kitchen over here. Because for every ten minutes I spend preparing meals in their beautiful, immaculate kitchen, I gain thirty minutes in my own messy, cluttered kitchen interacting with my messy, cluttered family. Because after all, kitchens are not just for cooking, are they?
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15 comments:
We have something very similiar here. I've been dying to try it, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.
What a fantastic idea, a meal preperation kitchen. It will probably take 50 years to get here to Austria! I love the name of your blog too!
You said it right my dear...kitchen aren't just for cooking. I love your kitchen with your kids artwork dispalyed in it :).
By the way, we also have something similar here on Maui. It's called Dish Simple - and yes, it a huge help to me, a working mom :)
I ove the idea of hanging your children's artwork across the window like that!
Your kitchen looks very sweet and comfortable, Bongga Mom- just the way it should! And I love yellow in a kitchen!
you are right kitchens are meant to be lived in and used...the best socializing happens in kitchens..everyone knows that!
Cheers
BEautiful pictures of Kitchen.
I love to be in the kitchen, not necessarily cooking but just interacting with family in there.
gautami
Cook up a tale
Great photos! Your kitchen seems so warm. Maybe I'll post a pic of mine too.
Your kitchen looks warm and friendly. And the instant homemade suppers sounds like a dream (a yummy one!).
I hadn't heard of that service before, but it sounds terrific! And your kitchen looks lovely and warm.
Your kitchen looks like the perfect place for kids to enjoy being, and that is certainly the most important think!
Your kitchen looks so homey...and I've been dying to try one of those meal preparation places too. Like you said, cheaper than take out, and there's only so much macaroni and cheese a toddler should eat!
And from the photos, your kitchen is COMPLETELY a place that everyone should spend at least 30 minutes in.
The post is simply lovely, as is the kitchen. I totally have kitchen envy!
There are professional kitchens, and then there are home kitchens. Yours is definitely a home kitchen. People with enormous industrial kitchens in their houses never actually hang out in them, have you noticed?
I could have really used that as a single disabled mommy! Now they are grown they hate cooking. :) I have your border in my kichen. I never liked stainless steel modern kitchens either ;)
That meal preparation place sounds so cool - I have to see if they have any here in NYC yet.
As for your kitchen I have a feeling it's quite a cozy place.
Thanks for sharing.
Take care
My sister does that in colorado, she's told me all about the meals she's prepared that way, I love the idea. And you're right, any extra time with your family is worth an occasional splurge!
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