Big Girl Panties Diaries — Entry #82: Sometimes Dinner Is the Win

I was never a great cook. Honestly, I avoided it whenever I could. During COVID, though, cooking became a lifeline. Out of necessity—and maybe boredom—Hailey, Anna, and I started taking virtual cooking classes together. We laughed through kitchen disasters, competed over who could chop onions faster without crying, and surprised ourselves with meals that actually tasted… amazing. One of my all-time favorites is still feta pasta primavera with grilled chicken. We made it from scratch, and for a moment, it felt like we weren’t just making food—we were making memories.

Fast forward to now: I barely cook. Between work travel, constant running, and everything in between, I’ve fallen into the grab-what-you-can lifestyle. Somewhere along the way, I forgot I can cook.

But here’s the twist: my garden hasn’t forgotten me. It’s been showing off, exploding with cherry tomatoes, basil, zucchini, and squash—basically mocking me every time I walked past. Today, I finally stopped ignoring it. I filled a basket with ripe tomatoes that were practically begging to be picked, snipped handfuls of basil, and carried in zucchini and squash still warm from the sun.

The kitchen smelled like summer as garlic and tomatoes simmered on the stove. I sliced zucchini into thin ribbons, tossed in the squash, and poured everything over gluten-free corn pasta (that doesn’t even fall apart!). When I took the first bite, it wasn’t just delicious—it was a small victory.

And here’s the thing: it’s not about the meal planning (which I’ve resisted forever—meal planning feels like homework in disguise). It’s about slowing down enough to remember that creating something with my own hands can feel like an accomplishment, not just another task.

Cooking reminded me of something bigger: how often do we forget the skills, strengths, and joys we already carry with us? Like cherry tomatoes ripening quietly on the vine, they’re still there, waiting for us to stop running long enough to notice.

Because sometimes, dinner is the win.

Big Girl Panties Diaries Rule: Don’t underestimate cherry tomatoes. Or yourself. Forgotten skills aren’t gone—they’re just waiting for you to pick them back up. 🍅

Further Reading (because sometimes the side dishes are just as good as the main course):

• [Entry #70: Tapas Isn’t Just for Dinner] — finding joy in the little bites of life

• [Entry #74: The Sister Who Holds Us Together] — family, food, and fierce love (with gummy bears, of course)

• [Entry #55: What Your Energy Says When You’re Not Speaking] — how slowing down shifts more than just the pace