Soup & bread simple meal / 一汁零菜とたのしい食卓

When I was in Japan, I try to prepare several side dishes like Japanese saying "一汁三菜", which means one soup and three sides plus rice. I like cooking so it was fun but sometimes it became stress especially when I was busy. I can understand "一汁一菜" (one soup and one side plus rice) was proposed by a famous cooking expert and the idea is well received.

After I moved to Germany, I gradually learned to be lazy for cooking or to say simplify a meal. I cook mostly only soup for weekday lunch in winter. It's satisfying with few slices of good bread. Or rice for Miso soup, pasta with veggie-full sauce. When I have time and appeteite, I add salad, large portion of protein etc.

As cooking and eating should be a fun activity, I shouldn't be stressed from it. Of course it's nice to provide tasty nourishing meals to family though. It's something simple but I found this out through out busy days living with my baby.

So this year I take time and effort for cooking when I'm capable about it. Actually I'm happy to cook especially veggies and make bread, noodles etc. And sometimes I allow myself to be lazy to be a good cook sustainably ;)

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日本にいた時には一汁三菜ではないですがあれこれ用意して、元来料理するのは好きなので楽しかったものの、余裕がない時には楽しいはずの料理が結構大変でした。少し前から耳にする土井善晴さんの「一汁一菜」が受け入れられるのがわかる気がします。

ドイツに移って数年、いい意味で手抜きというか食事をシンプルにすることを覚えた気がします。冬の平日のお昼は野菜もりもりのスープとパン、パスタとソース、味噌汁とご飯など一汁零菜が定番です（夏はサラダと炭水化物の零汁一菜）。余裕がある時はサラダを足したりたんぱく質を足して少し豪華にしたりします。

赤ちゃんとのどたばたの日々を送りながら、料理がストレスになってしまっては本末転倒だし、ゴールはまず楽しく食卓を囲むこと、次にできればおいしくて栄養のあるものを食べることというのにようやく最近気付きました（遅い！）

今年は気合いを入れるときは出汁をとってうどんも打つ一方、手を抜くときは抜いて楽しい食卓最優先でいけたらいいなと思います。