I’m becoming concerned about my cooking habit. Every day, I tell myself I won’t buy more fresh produce and won’t cook anymore, because cooking eats up so much time in prepping, the actual cooking, and then cleaning up and washing dishes. I really should use my time better.
But then I buy more fresh produce and then feel like I have to cook things before that produce goes bad. This is a not-happy-making cycle.
I am serious about being worried about this, forreal. I worry that I am becoming OCD about cooking.
Part of this results from the large volume of ordinary produce sales — one bunch/bundle (단) of most produce (though not all vegetables are sold in 단) is too much for 1-2 people to eat before it spoils. So then I feel pressured to make 반찬 from the remaining produce. The produce is so cheap though! Argh I’m not helping myself LOL.
Further complications: I have a TINY kitchen, with the following issues:
- only ONE working burner (WTFFFFFFF).
- the working burner is INCREDIBLY fastidious, requiring multiple CAREFUL tries to get it steady in flame.
- oftentimes the pan will get too hot from me trying to keep the flame going. this means that stew will start boiling multiple times before I can get a consistent flame to create a conducive environment for actual cooking (the fluctuations mean that food can burn before it ever gets cooked through :(…)
- and even still it often cuts out in the middle of cooking.
- the tiniest amount of counter space (see photos). which causes me to use put things on the windowsill and other places as I prep. this is honestly ridiculous wthhhhhh
So why do I keep buying fresh produce and why do I keep cooking??!!!!???? ARGH halpppppppp
below: 파전 and my tiny counter space
고추장아찌