There are times when my soup week rolls around and despite all best attempts to spread out tasks through the week, I still find myself doing all the prep and cooking on Tuesday evening. Cooking for the entire Soup Club is no small task, so preparing myself for a long evening in the kitchen is essential! This particular Tuesday, I had a quick dinner and a big cup of coffee, fresh out of the French-press (I love Puerto Rico Coffee Company French Sumatra) before switching into soup mode.
One of my favorite things about my soup week is the music that accompanies me in the kitchen. There is music that speaks to every occasion, and tonight I wanted positive vibes to fill the air while I chopped, stirred and simmered. With such a big night of cooking ahead of me, I needed to elicit a little help from other members of my household–including my little ones!
This is where the Jackson 5 strategy kicks in. The danceable nature of almost every song makes getting up and moving irresistible and the lyrics seem hard-wired into most people’s brains even if they’ve never heard them before.
That means that without much coaxing, I rallied the whole family into our little galley kitchen on a dinner clean-up and soup prep mission guided wordlessly within seconds after the first twangs of “Want You Back”. There is the shuffle step clearing of the table, some hip-shaking-dish-washing, and the potential for great mis-en-place shenanigans and solo break outs – “Dancing Machine” anyone? By the time I’m all set to assemble soup, “I’ll Be There” takes us out–straight to pajamas and reading. I start the soup, the kids climb in bed and Tuesday night has been conquered once again.
I put together my favorite songs to pump up the energy in your kitchen–with many appearances by the Jackson 5! Bring our playlist in the kitchen with you, and you’ll be having fun in no time!
Have songs that keep you motivated on a big night of cooking? Share with us in the comments below so our playlist can grow!
Carolyn
Music to cook by!
Monique
Right there with you. We have speakers just for the kitchen. If hubby is doing dishes, it is a bit more heavy, old school rock. We had holiday tunes the other night while the kids were also hanging. For me? Anything I can sing. DMB, Journey, Dixie Chicks, Green Day….. I love music in the kitchen.
Lauren
I cook to everything! Often it’s a shuffle of all the jazzy standards in my library, stuff like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald (dinner), sometimes some quiet classical like Bach Brandenburg concertos (early morning). Jackson 5 for sure, Sam Cooke, 60’s Motown, Ben Kweller, Built to Spill, Weezer or other 90’s power pop, sometimes Simon and Garfunkel (when making a melancholy soufflé), Bob Marley and other reggae when my toddler is involved. I also love flamenco guitar and especially newer rock/flamenco like Rodrigo y Gabriela. It’s frenetic and drives my husband crazy but I LOVE to cook to it (and jog to it). It keeps the energy up, good for short ribs and potato pancakes and spicy chili
I usually have music on all the time when in the kitchen, I feel lonely otherwise!