Why am I starting to discuss work-life balance in this week’s food post? Your food blog has nothing to do with business, so why bother us? Is anybody even reading your posts?

Well, it is because I use cooking to recharge my batteries after a long week at work, and it is a way for me to disconnect from the stress.

Where possible, I do not bring work home to the family, especially if I’ve had a challenging week with technology and project issues. Bringing home bad vibes affects the family dynamics and the mood. You do not need to generate friction with your family because something happened at work.

It is easy to bring it home, but then you do not disconnect, and you will continue to think or stress about issues you must fix at work.

Instead, I try to use cooking to focus on something completely different, and it works. I spend 2-6 hours every Sunday preparing and cooking meals for the family, and take joy in creating these beautiful dishes, and the aroma it spreads in the house is sparking interest amongst my family.

Furthermore, I can listen to excellent music or audiobooks while I get creative. I stream music from Spotify or listen to books through Audible.

So, work-life balance is not about working from home every other day but finding ways to switch off from work when you are home. You need to be there for your family, given you spend more time working than with your family.

In addition to cooking, I also get to “enjoy” owning a house and the chores that come with it.

House Projects

In addition to the roof project, we always have exciting projects we want or need to complete. Some projects are carefully planned, whereas others are shit that suddenly happens.

At the end of last week, our small bathroom decided to call it a day. It must’ve listened to our conversations, and then speed up the project timeline. Unfortunately, it is never as easy as just replacing the toilet.

I had to spend 4 hours Friday afternoon removing the old toilet, “play” with the auger, and attempting to get it flowing again.

Ultimately, I ripped up the tiles, removed the old rusty flange, bought a new toilet, adjusted the pipes, and will put down a new floor this evening. The plumber is coming tomorrow to help change the pitch of the plumbing downstairs so it flows more smoothly.

Outdoor Kitchen

I’m very excited about the wood and materials for my outdoor kitchen arrived.

I will be building a simple four-post station with a pitched roof. Nothing fancy, but it’ll be great to get Blackstone and Traeger up on the deck, and then I’ll build some simple walls.

A good friend of mine will help put it together. He’s slightly older than me, but he’s excellent a directing me. It makes me think I’m building it alone, but I have a mentor by my side throughout the build.

Week Ten Meals

I’m dedicating this week’s meals to my Danish heritage and have found several simple but delicious dinners. I was surprised by how few ingredients are in these dinners.

But then again, Danes have historically used the available produce, and it is only in more modern times when we can get all the ‘exotic’ ingredients all year around.

Many traditional Danish dishes consist of pork, potatoes, and onions. However, I have pimped up the meals slightly and will use rice or quinoa instead of potatoes. Otherwise, we will grow tired of potatoes.

School Lunches

I started the kids’ school lunches with home-baked bread. Only three ingredients: let the dough rest for 8-24 hours, then bake the bread. Simple and delicious.

I loaded the bread with sliced BBQ chicken, salami, and homemade coleslaw.

I will also use some chicken meatballs for lunch but serve them with hummus.

I then make a simple pasta salad using sliced turkey (cold cut), cherry tomatoes, corn, and some pesto.

On Tuesday, I will make the pizza dough and the quiche. The kids love both, so why not serve them some lovely lunches?

Dinner Time

We are kicking off the Danish meal plan with chicken meatballs (frikadeller) served with boiled potatoes and a simple parsley sauce.

I made some nice thick beef patties with celery and paprika mixed in, fry them on the pan (5 minutes per side), place them in a large oven tray, and then pour over a mushroom and onion cream sauce – then I bake the entire dish for 20 minutes.

Later in the week we will enjoy some meatloaf crusted patties with stewed vegetables and rice.

At the end of the week, we will indulge in ‘burning love’, a large portion of mashed potatoes, with grilled turkey bacon, onions, and mushrooms on top. Damn simple!

Meal Prep Party Pictures

Meal Plan

	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	Load Ciabatta with smoked BBQ chicken slices, salami, and homemade coleslaw	Chicken meatballs (frikadeller) with spuds and parsley sauce
Tuesday	Pasta salad with turkey slices, spinach, corn, and cherry tomatoes.	Danish beef patties in mushroom and onion sauce (tray dish)
Wednesday	Chicken meatballs (frikadeller) with hummus.	Meatloaf patties with creamed vegetables
Thursday	Quiche with ham, red pepper and zucchini	“Burning Love” – simple Danish mashed potato dish with toppings
Friday	Homemade Friday Pizza	Friday night fire pit wonders

Have a fantastic week, my friends. I hope you enjoy these meal plans. It is much easier to make food in advance, although you must invest several hours preparing meals during the weekend.

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