Everyone knows I love to cook for my family and friends. After all, discovering my love of cooking inspired this blog. It brings me much joy to cater to them. It’s a small gesture of love for me. When they are being extra sweet to me, I bake them cookies or cook their favorite casserole. But, when they piss me off, they get a frozen pizza and I get a bottle of wine. What can I say, it be’s that way sometimes.
I love to cook. But what I don’t love is cleaning the kitchen afterwards. It seems like this is the same with everything in life. We love the good stuff in life, relish in its deliciousness; but don’t want to get our hands dirty cleaning up the mess. I include myself in this scenario. As I’m griping to myself, loading up the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, collecting half-empty glasses from around the house, I have to remind myself that this is the price I have to pay for being blessed with such love. I’m no saint, so I am also simultaneously reminding myself that killing your family is frowned upon, orange is not my color, and I’m not tough enough to start my own prison gang.
We are a selfish and self-centered society. We want the good job without the essays and tests. We want the money without putting in the elbow grease. We want the roses without being pricked by a couple thorns. We want!! We Want! We Want! And, with each scenario, we are trying to get it without putting in the work.
Of course, everyone is deserving a little catering to from time to time. Everyone is worthy of a strawberry cobbler-kind -of-day without having to do the dishes afterwards. But, we must remember that there are days when we will have to clean the kitchen! And, some days we may not get dessert at all. That’s just how life is. We can get all we want, but it won’t be free. And, anything worth having, calls for a little (or a lot) of work.
You receive what you reflect. If you spend your life just chowing down all the greatness life has sent you without cleaning up your mess, you will eventually wind up fat and bloated in a life full of mess, with nothing new to offer you. If you take the time to appreciate each gift, bite-by-bite, put in the work, care for it and clean it up, you will find that with each “meal” life has granted you, you’ve accumulated ingredients to create “meals” you never even imagined. Life can bring a lot of messes your way, but if you dig in there and clean it up, you will find that among the crumbs, life also leaves you the tools you need for the future.
I guess each day we need to decide what role we will play in the kitchen of life. Are we gonna be the cook, catering to those we love? Are we gonna sit at the table and enjoy the meal given to us? Are we gonna leave an empty plate and bread crumbs for someone else to clean up? Or, are we gonna appreciate the day, roll up our sleeves and put in some work for a better tomorrow?
Today is Sunday. This is usually my favorite day to sit around my house, play in my yard and cook a big meal for my family. Today I will be the cook. Because everyone is being lazy, I will also clean the kitchen. But, tomorrow the girls will be rolling up their sleeves and putting in a little work because I will make sure that one day they will be able to manage a kitchen of their own without sitting at someone else’s table.
Today’s recipe is a strawberry cobbler that my sweet cousin, Margaret was kind enough to share. Even though she leaves in Arkansas and we only see each other at funerals and weddings, she’s got that Aderholt-girl stubborn spirit and can do make a good meal out of any mess life leaves her. It’s a quick and easy dessert to share with those you love to gather around the table.
Strawberry Cobbler
Ingredients: 2 qt strawberries 1 egg 1 cup All-Purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup sugar 1 stick butter 4 oz cream cheese 1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and pour into 9×13. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, flour, sugar, milk, baking powder and salt. Pour directly over the butter in the baking dish, but do not stir. Add the strawberries, arranging in a single layer as much as possible. Sprinkle cream cheese pieces over strawberries. Place in preheated over and bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown and edges are bubbling.
Lessons Learned From The Rainbow 