Home cooked

Up at the crack of dawn, prepares breakfast, hurries children into the waiting school bus. The day's meal is next on her schedule. A nutrious pot of soup in the slow cooker timed to be ready for lunch. Marinate and prepares the ingredients for dinner. A quick shower and she's off to work. She is my neighbour in Penang.

That was yester year when fast food and food centres were not readily available everywhere.
Working mums had to plan everything. Upon reaching home, turn on the stove, get the marinated meat out of the fridge, cook. Dinner is ready in less than an hour with 3 dishes and a pipping hot soup. Simple and easy fare of stir fry, steam or oven grill.
Now, most would pick up dinner on the way home. Colleague of mine(DIL) have been buying dinner for the past 35 days. Counting the days when her mum in law(MIL) will be home from a long vacation. MIL has been cooking dinners for the family for the last 20 years. A perfect arrangement. DIL takes care of the rest. It's a chore now, to think of, not what to cook, but what to eat.
She has never held a spatula and have no intention to start anytime soon. She is not alone, many now considers the kitchen a redundant space. I beg to differ. I like to take charge what goes into my tummy. Somehow, food prepared in the kitchen has a homely feeling.