I rather enjoy "puttering" around the house, particularly when it's of the cooking, preserving, gardening variety. This is a bit of a brag but also a question to others about why cooking and baking can be so enjoyable and relaxing at times??
For me it depends on the project, but cooking -- particularly in batches and when I use up stuff I have on hand -- is enjoyable to me. On my most recent day off I made a huge pot of stew (for the freezer), threw together a make-shift casserole with leftover ingredients from our Thanksgiving, and found useful roles for the odd bits hanging around my fridge. A small head of cabbage and a watermelon radish were mixed with carrots, onions, and sweet peppers to make sweet and sour coleslaw.
I do take a great deal of satisfaction that our food waste is a fraction of what it used to be. I use our freezer a lot. I also take a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that I can invite others over for dinner or drinks and know I could put a yummy (not fancy), wholesome meal on the table quickly without stressing about it. This is particularly nice during the holidays. There are lots of people I want to treat (we don't give many gifts) and it's nice having meal options ready to go.
I finally cracked open my "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" book and whipped up my first batch of dough -- easy peasy.
And I'm beginning to look at uses for elevating the humble ingredients I've bought (ten pounds of carrots at Costco) into yummy nourishing stuff. Next on the list -- roasting marinated carrots.
