Woman in the kitchen.
Apparently that is where we are supposed to be. In all honesty the kitchen is my favourite place but why is there such a social emphasis on the woman of the household being responsible for the nutrition of her family or friends?
I had never met a young man who could cook (by cook I mean more than 2 minute noodles and some form of suspicious mince dish) until I met the gentlemen of 25A in Dunedin. I was in love, who knew the path to my bed was via the kitchen?
But once universal franchisement had been secured, did our gender really retain any more right than a man to the dominion of food preparation? Why did I consider that at some genetic or instinctual level that I knew best? Was this a case of nature vs nurture?
Or was my world about to come crashing down around me?
The previous paragraph + one line is a perfect example of the modern man migrating into a woman's (and more specifically my) territory. Why? Because I did not write it. I was zooming around the kitchen making everyone burgers for dinner whilst this window remained open on my laptop. The gentleman who hijacked this blog post also cooked me dinner last night. So not only has he booty bumped me off my domestic goddess pedestal but he has out blogged me (which he should because he strings words together for a living). What is my purpose in life now? I may as well quit life and become a dull grey office drone instead.
But I think that unidentified male hijacker was on to something. Funnily enough at high school I wrote an article about Man's innate sense of barbecue know how. Growing up, barbecuing was always perceived to me as a man's domain. Men hung around the barbecue with beers and discussing the weekends sports results while the women prepared salad inside. That was the way I saw it. This was until Dad stopped coming home from work early enough to barbecue us dinner so I took over (because I was an impatient hungry wee thing). Once I got started I realised it wasn't hard at all. Ever since, Mum has trusted me with the almighty tongs and Dad has been forever shunted out of that position of responsibility. He should be proud though, how many young ladies do you know who can wake up hungover as hell and proceed to cook 20 young males breakfast on the barbecue whilst not even wearing pants? Not many, if any.
In this modern age where we are breaking through gender norms it is not surprising that men are migrating into the kitchen. While all our favourite celeb chefs are Jamies and Gordons and have been dominating the scene for well over a decade now, the average Kiwi bloke is only just finding his feet behind the bench top.
This of course all depends on the household in which you are brought up in. For one of the gentlemen of 25A it was his father who cooked and having no sibings around meant that the second in cooking command didn’t automatically fall to a sister. So in his world view there wasn’t this female sterotype, which I am really grateful for as I have never met a person who makes better deep dish pizza than he.
I have to admit, there was nothing sexier than being told to stay out the kitchen as one of them flipped a tea towel over their shoulder and proceeded to make us all incredible things.
But why has it taken so long for this migration to occur. Guys love eating right? Eating is pretty important, you kind of need it for life. Why then have men historically (ok lets ignore the cavemen who hunted here) relied upon others to get the nutrition they need? Shouldn't one take control of such an important part of their wellbeing? The same goes with cleaning. A friend of mine just told me how he spent the entire weekend cleaning and how he would make such a good wife. The poor guy got an earful from me. So the only purpose of a wife these days is to cook and clean? Surely a man cleaning his living space would ensure him a healthy living environment and therefore be beneficial to him?
I think women are somewhat to blame here though.
I feel like we need to stop being so intimidating.
From an early age, whether intentional or not, we excluded boys from the kitchen. Our mothers taught us and their mothers before them. Boys played outside rather than staying in and making scones. Us girls all started somewhere right? So next time your friend/son/spouse/significant other shows the slightest inkling of wanting to try his hand in the kitchen let them! Encourage them, guide them on this learning adventure they are about to embark on and if it all turns to custard reassure them that it still happens to the best of us (an example would be the disaster of a cake I just made). Confidence is key and so I think it is our job to help build that confidence. A man's ego is delicate, be gentle with your feedback and remember that patience is a virtue.
I should probably share a recipe or something to justify this rant on a cake blog.
I have been wanting to make this coconut ice for a while now. I saw the recipe in the Bluebells Cakery cookbook by Karla Goodwin. It is a beautiful book and I think everyone should have it.
The only thing stopping me from making it was having to fork out a whole $10 for the freeze dried raspberries. The day after pay day however I was feeling like a million bucks and decided to splurge.
I actually couldn't believe how easy this was (it would be a good recipe for a new young baker to try). No baking is actually required, just a strong arm or a sturdy stand mixer.
Raspberry Coconut Ice
Adapted from Bluebells Cakery by Karla Goodwin
Makes 20x20 slice
White layer
2 1/4 cups (340) icing sugar
1 1/4 cups (100g) desiccated coconut
200g (half a tin) condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Pink layer
2 1/4 cups (340) icing sugar
1 1/4 cups (100g) desiccated coconut
200g (half a tin) condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
a few drops of pink food colouring
1/4 cup freeze dried raspberries, roughly chopped
Line a 20x20cm baking tin with baking paper.
in a large bowl mix together the coconut and icing sugar for the white layer. Stir the vanilla into the condensed milk then stir that into the coconut mixture. Stir until evenly mixed through. Press this mixture evenly into the lined tin.
Repeat this process with the ingredients for the pink layer.
Sprinkle over the crushed freeze dried raspberries over the top and with a clean dry hand, gently press them into the coconut ice to secure them.
Refrigerate for a few hours until firm enough to cut into firm squares. Store in a box lined with baking paper in the fridge.
Enjoy!
