[Extra Edition] I like cooking. But there are days I can't move (About the microwave pan)
I actually like cooking.
I'm the type who is good at taking
"Yes, I made something"
out of whatever is in the fridge,
and we barely have any instant food in our house.
……We shouldn't, anyway.
Right now, I am
a soft-boiled egg on medical leave due to mixed depression.
There are definitely days when I can't get anything done.
Even though it's something I like,
there are days I don't have the energy to hold a kitchen knife.
Thinking about the menu
or turning on the stove
are things I just "can't do today."
On days like that,
when I'm asked "What's for dinner?"
my chest tightens just a little.
A realistic ally for those days
That's where this microwave pan
comes in handy.
Cut, put it in, cover it, and microwave it.
That's it.
Even though it feels like "I'm not cooking,"
I'm grateful that it comes out looking properly grilled.
↑
The main dish for this day was salmon.
I didn't use the stove.
But it still counts as dinner.
It lowers the "passing grade" for days when I can't try hard
Days when I can't cook properly
are not bad days.
But
being able to avoid thinking "I couldn't serve anything"
is a real help.
It's cutting corners, but
it doesn't look like it.
In the soft-boiled egg household,
that is a passing grade.
An ally, even including the cleanup
And what's important is
that cleanup is easy.
The dishes I don't mind on days I'm feeling well
become a hurdle
on days I can't move.
Not having to take out a frying pan
makes my heart feel lighter than I imagined.
↑
Along with the side dish,
it looks like a "proper meal."
It's not that I've come to hate cooking
I want you to understand that
it's not that I've come to hate cooking.
It's just that
there are waves right now.
There are days I can move
and days I can't.
I'm grateful to have tools
that give me a place on both of those days.
⸻
※ This microwave pan
is quietly placed in my Rakuten ROOM.
As one of the options
for days when "I just can't do it today."