Perfect time to step up kitchen game

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/03/2020 (2025 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My wife and I have three kids, two dogs and one cat. Although I can’t work right now because of COVID-19, my wife is secure and can work remotely full-time for her company. That makes me the new dog handler, hopeless cook and OK bottle washer. I can clean, but I don’t cook. I can burn things very well though!

When I got out some cookbooks and flipped them on the kitchen table to try to make helpless me kind of look like I was trying, I made the mistake of whining that I was going to need some help! My wife, who is barely five-foot-two, stood up very tall, and told me: “Bite the bullet, baby!” She said she has no intention of doing any cooking, as she will be logging overtime at work, now that we are temporarily without one income.

I crawled away with my tail between my legs. How am I supposed to suddenly become a great cook like she is? The kids are young and won’t be any help. What am I supposed to do?

— Should I Bite It? The Maples

 

Dear Should I: Yes — and take a big bite while you’re at it to surprise your hardworking wife! Everything you can’t find in cookbooks, you can find on YouTube — every single technique and many dishes cooked start to finish in front of your nose. If you can find your way to the stove and get over your stubbornness, you could use this time to become a really great chef.

Get tuned into great cooking shows on TV (there’s a whole cooking subculture with its own stars) and you might really enjoy it. At least it’s good for learning some tasty dinners and getting some laughs. Good luck!

 

 

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: Having to be stuck at home with my kids since the COVID-19 restrictions stopped my work has sure opened my eyes to their personal lives. I have a daughter who is 16 and her phone is going off constantly. I asked her the other day who is messaging her so much and she just said, “Boys!”

I’m freaking out. Her father and I are not ready for all this. My sister, who has four kids, told me it’s none of my business about personal phone calls, but I disagree big-time. Am I the one being inappropriate? She is only a baby!

— Upset Mom, Winnipeg

 

Dear Upset: Your daughter is not a baby and you and your husband have to grow up and be ready for this time in her life. Kids are group-dating when they’re in junior high and dating alone often by 14. Your daughter is 16 now and she’s a popular girl. She can either confide in you or hide her activities and lie to you. She has chosen to be open about the many calls she gets.

You can limit her time on the phone in front of you — but then you drive her into her bedroom, where you really won’t know what’s going on. You are just setting your daughter up to lie and hide her activities.

There may be a time in the near future she needs birth control — that is reality. Will you be there for her and will she be able to ask you any questions? It’s not like she can’t go to Women’s Health Clinic (womenshealthclinic.org) without your permission to see medical staff and get help, but it’d be better if she had a wise and understanding mom behind her at home.

 

 

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: My son’s girlfriend is 28 and he’s 30, and they live in our basement. I care for her very much. In fact, I’m getting the sneaking suspicion I like her more than he does.

A certain old girlfriend of my son’s recently moved back from Toronto and he has never gotten over her. Ever since I found out she was back, my son has been “missing in action” too often here at the house.

I found myself watching TV with his girlfriend all night long, when I knew darn well his shift had been cancelled at work. Where was he? I’m no fool.

I asked him privately (when he finally stumbled in looking sleepy-eyed) if he had been with that old girlfriend, and he flinched and two red spots appeared in his cheeks — always a sign he’s been caught at something.

I told him to straighten it out with his girlfriend and find her a place to live, now that he’s lying and cheating on her. He was shocked when I said those words. I said, “We think the world of this girl you have, and you can’t do her dirt. Don’t see the other one again until you get this girlfriend moved into a new place and settled.”

It’s not that he doesn’t have the money to do it, as he’s a young professional and a skinflint who likes to save his cash. Why do you think he’s living in our basement at 30 and not paying rent or bills?

I’m steaming mad! I’m just checking: Am I being too hard on him, or is this what he deserves?

— Furious and Embarrassed by Son, Charleswood

 

Dear Furious: Good! So you’re calling him to account! He is living in your basement at age 30 with a girl who has become like a daughter-in-law — someone you really care about — and you unwittingly pinch-hit for him while he was out chasing his ex!

Shortly after he gets his basement girlfriend out and settled, make sure he also gets his own place. You don’t need to be in the middle of his messy love life! You just got attached to one of his young women and are hurting now. He’s 30 and it’s time he got launched — whether he likes spending his money or not.

 

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6.