Sounds familiar. For so long now I’ve been cooking routinely for 6 daily. Me, my wife, and 4 kids.
And up to 8 on weekends if the in-laws came over, which was generally once a month or so (with us at their house also 1-2 weekend nights a month).
But with the 4 kids moving out over the last few years, it’s really changed. This year in January for a week I was cooking dinners for 9 adults, then this dropped to 5-7 on weekends and 3-4 weeknights. Then for about a couple of weeks over the summer I was cooking daily for 6-7 again.
But right now I’m at 2 most weeknights unless I can get the MIL to come over (she accepts about half the days I offer), and 2-6 for weekend dinners depending on which kids decide to come home.
I’m finding that I really kind of suck at making small meals. I mean, if I think about it I can do it, but mostly I cook on autopilot when it comes to buying and portioning out the raw materials.
Old dog, new tricks, and all that. OTOH with my wife and I both here most days for lunch, the leftovers do get eaten.
As far as eating habits and preferences go, my wife was fairly picky when we married, but has really expanded and now eats most everything and every type of cuisine, except she still can’t abide lamb (unless mixed/spiced, like in gyro meat) and is still afraid to eat sashimi. The kids have never been picky about anything and enjoy a broad range of food types. Except as a mid-teen, daughter #2 started refusing meats and eventually fish as well (just a personal decision for her). Then we found out she has an autoimmune condition, and gluten really whips up the inflammation so she steers clear of gluten.
The in-laws were always “eat just about anything” types except my FIL was a bit set in his ways and I’d have to dumb-down (or Americanize) some types of food for him.
And I, of course, am The Ultimate Consumer as my wife nicknamed me a long time ago. As far as I am concerned, if I can get calories out of it, it’s good food.
