wth on cooking

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