Cooking is Hard

SteveJWatson

Everyone can cook a bit, surely?

I aint talking about planning some cordon-bleu menu for your closest freinds/family, Just general....making your dinner stuff.

If you cant even make stew or meat, spuds and veg, eggs on toast,....etc somethinghas gone wrong somewhere

julesxo

I agree. I am not the best cook but I still try. There are a ton of simple recipes online and I love my crock pot.

WendyTerry420

So when does it become "fun?" For me, I've been cooking for 18 years, and I can't remember a single instance where I thought, "Wow! That was fun!"

You know what's fun? Eating.

SteveJWatson

So when does it become "fun?" For me, I've been cooking for 18 years, and I can't remember a single instance where I thought, "Wow! That was fun!"

You know what's fun? Eating.

Indeed - one is a means to another.

Surely natural selection has an impact on people who cant cook anything at all?

3foldchord

So when does it become "fun?" For me, I've been cooking for 18 years, and I can't remember a single instance where I thought, "Wow! That was fun!"

You know what's fun? Eating.

To me, the fun part of cooking is the anticipation of friends and family enjoying what I made.

alvalaurie

I think when people say they "hate cooking", it's not the actual act of cooking they hate, it's the planning, coordination & TIME that it takes. I can't say that I love cooking to the point of getting excited to get in the kitchen every night, but what I do love, is making sure my family is satisfied with a good, healthy meal. If you cook out of obligation, it can become a drag. I experienced this when I got divorced several years ago & suddenly didn't have the overbearing, brow-beating hubby to criticize my every meal. I took a few years off and the kids & I ate out ALOT. When I found my (now) fiance, I started liking cooking again. Mostly because he tells me how wonderful the meals are and actually thanks me everytime I serve him dinner. Makes a huge difference!

alvalaurie

So when does it become "fun?" For me, I've been cooking for 18 years, and I can't remember a single instance where I thought, "Wow! That was fun!"

You know what's fun? Eating.

Very true! The planning, preparation & actual cooking is not the fun part. The fun is the result of everyones comments on how good it is or having just one person ask for your recipe. The fun is when you pull off that wedding reception all by yourself & the grooms mother still talks about it 2 years later. It's not fun so much as the satisfaction of knowing you made someone else happy with something you created!

BelleRache

When my husband decides to cook(maybe once a month - he does work away from home most weeks though to be fair), he will find a recipe he likes the look of (the last one was an extremely calorific but incredible cheese souffle) and go and buy the ingredients, then use every pan in the kitchen and take 3 times as long as the recipe states. We ate that souffle about 9pm but it was amazing. He also follows everything to the letter, sets his watch to time things like browning an onion and leaving bread to rise, rather than intuitively poking, sniffing and tasting to see if things are done. He is an engineer, so I guess he has a scientific approach!

When I cook (i.e. every day), I look in the fridge and see what we have, then think of combinations of those foods that might work (hmm, lets see, we have a bit of chorizo left, some mushrooms and half a scraggy-looking onion. I know - mushroom and chorizo pasta!), occasionally using a recipe as a guide (although usually ignoring most of it) and using as few pans as possible to avoid the dreaded piles of washing up.

While my husband's style of cooking could be improved, he often tackles things I would never cook - usually because I would see them as being a bit fancy or expensive to make. I consider myself a good, competent everyday cook but would never bother with things like, say, profiteroles as they seem like too much faff. However, my husband would see things like that as a challenge and would take all day. And they would be great. From me, he could learn thrift and being creative with what you have; and from him, I can learn to push the boat out a bit and try new things.

I suppose what I'm saying is, there are many different styles of cooking and we probably all approach it in a different way. So long as you keep up the practise of putting healthy whole foods inside your body in whatever form you like, then any skills you pick up along the way are a bonus!

WendyTerry420

So when does it become "fun?" For me, I've been cooking for 18 years, and I can't remember a single instance where I thought, "Wow! That was fun!"

You know what's fun? Eating.

To me, the fun part of cooking is the anticipation of friends and family enjoying what I made.

For me, that's the part that gives me anxiety. I have a husband with Crohn's disease, so we are limited. If I want to make something like tacos, then I have to make two dinners. (like I did last night)

ETA:
Oh and the one thing I *HATE* is standing over a stove constantly stirring something. I can't help but spend that time thinking of all the other things I could be doing with my time, if only I were wealthy enough to hire a personal chef. :laugh:

kristen6022

When my husband decides to cook(maybe once a month - he does work away from home most weeks though to be fair), he will find a recipe he likes the look of (the last one was an extremely calorific but incredible cheese souffle) and go and buy the ingredients, then use every pan in the kitchen and take 3 times as long as the recipe states. We ate that souffle about 9pm but it was amazing. He also follows everything to the letter, sets his watch to time things like browning an onion and leaving bread to rise, rather than intuitively poking, sniffing and tasting to see if things are done. He is an engineer, so I guess he has a scientific approach!

When I cook (i.e. every day), I look in the fridge and see what we have, then think of combinations of those foods that might work (hmm, lets see, we have a bit of chorizo left, some mushrooms and half a scraggy-looking onion. I know - mushroom and chorizo pasta!), occasionally using a recipe as a guide (although usually ignoring most of it) and using as few pans as possible to avoid the dreaded piles of washing up.

While my husband's style of cooking could be improved, he often tackles things I would never cook - usually because I would see them as being a bit fancy or expensive to make. I consider myself a good, competent everyday cook but would never bother with things like, say, profiteroles as they seem like too much faff. However, my husband would see things like that as a challenge and would take all day. And they would be great. From me, he could learn thrift and being creative with what you have; and from him, I can learn to push the boat out a bit and try new things.

I suppose what I'm saying is, there are many different styles of cooking and we probably all approach it in a different way. So long as you keep up the practise of putting healthy whole foods inside your body in whatever form you like, then any skills you pick up along the way are a bonus!

This is funny because this is EXACTLY how my BF cooks. I can had dinner on the table and have did a load of laundry in 30 minutes (full meal), have the table set, drinks ready. But him, he make cooking hard. We could follow the same recipe and I'd be done 4 hours faster. This is why I cook 95% of the time. I "let" him cook sometimes when I know I'm not in a hurry to eat or really all that hungry. He obsesses about every little step and questions each part of a recipe. He's an IT engineer...

WendyTerry420

I think when people say they "hate cooking", it's not the actual act of cooking they hate, it's the planning, coordination & TIME that it takes. I can't say that I love cooking to the point of getting excited to get in the kitchen every night, but what I do love, is making sure my family is satisfied with a good, healthy meal. If you cook out of obligation, it can become a drag. I experienced this when I got divorced several years ago & suddenly didn't have the overbearing, brow-beating hubby to criticize my every meal. I took a few years off and the kids & I ate out ALOT. When I found my (now) fiance, I started liking cooking again. Mostly because he tells me how wonderful the meals are and actually thanks me everytime I serve him dinner. Makes a huge difference!

Yep. This is me. We are on a very tight budget. We have about $100 a week to spend for a family of four, so everything has to be made from scratch in order to save money. I spend a good part of my weekend focused on meal planning and grocery lists, making sure that everything comes in under budget and no one goes hungry. If someone could think of a way to make that fun, I'm all ears. :laugh:

MaryBeth321

I totally agree with your comments. However, that said, if someone watches too much FoodNetwork TV, they could easily be convinced that cooking is too expensive, what with all of their uses for wine, 'good' olive oil, artisan breads, fancy mushrooms, etc. These things are not necessary to cook well - nice, but not necessary. Most people do just fine making stews, soups, meats and veggies in the oven on on stove top, without the fancy extras. If you go to the Taste of Home website, you will see that most of their recipes include all the calories, serving sizes, and all nutritional information you need to make healthy, homemade food. Love Taste of Home!

rotill

I agree with you. I personally love to cook, but I have always thought that the saying "if you can read, you can cook" was a very true one. I get compliments on things that I make all the time, and people fequently ask me "where did you learn to cook?" I just tell them that I taught myself, that I am constantly teaching myself and trying different things, which suprises some people for some reason.

I *hate* that expression. It's not true at all. Cooking requires more than the ability to read.

EDIT: Cooking YUMMY food requires more than the ability to read.

Cooking decent food that tastes better than most of what you get ready-made doesn't take much of an effort. But of course, if you don't know the difference between "folding in", "stirring" and "beating", then you have a problem. Or nobody have taught you when to turn down the heat after the sides of the steak are seared, and what "golden" onions means, and why it's important that they aren't burnt. Not to mention how you just can't take your eyes off heating milk, or all those other tricks you learn by being present and participating when somebody cooks.

Most of us who still live in cultures where people cook for themselves learn this without even noticing. My two kids then took the things they learned from home, added books, and became good cooks in their own right, of the things they are interested in. The one became good at cakes and desserts, the other cooks paleo-style.

If they had never, like some people I have met, touched anything in a kitchen other than the microwave and the fridge, then of course no amount of recipes would help; it would be like trying to read a knitting pattern if you have never knitted.

BTW, I think all you need in order to know how to knit is to be able to read. A lot of my colleagues disagree loudly when I try to argue that.

WendyTerry420

I agree with you. I personally love to cook, but I have always thought that the saying "if you can read, you can cook" was a very true one. I get compliments on things that I make all the time, and people fequently ask me "where did you learn to cook?" I just tell them that I taught myself, that I am constantly teaching myself and trying different things, which suprises some people for some reason.

I *hate* that expression. It's not true at all. Cooking requires more than the ability to read.

EDIT: Cooking YUMMY food requires more than the ability to read.

Cooking decent food that tastes better than most of what you get ready-made doesn't take much of an effort. But of course, if you don't know the difference between "folding in", "stirring" and "beating", then you have a problem. Or nobody have taught you when to turn down the heat after the sides of the steak are seared, and what "golden" onions means, and why it's important that they aren't burnt. Not to mention how you just can't take your eyes off heating milk, or all those other tricks you learn by being present and participating when somebody cooks.

Most of us who still live in cultures where people cook for themselves learn this without even noticing. My two kids then took the things they learned from home, added books, and became good cooks in their own right, of the things they are interested in. The one became good at cakes and desserts, the other cooks paleo-style.

If they had never, like some people I have met, touched anything in a kitchen other than the microwave and the fridge, then of course no amount of recipes would help; it would be like trying to read a knitting pattern if you have never knitted.

BTW, I think all you need in order to know how to knit is to be able to read. A lot of my colleagues disagree loudly when I try to argue that.

I definitely know the difference between stirring, folding, and beating. My family doesn't like onions, so that point is moot. My steaks are delicious. Steak is easy. I heat the grill, sprinkle them with salt, then put them on, set the timer, flip them, set the timer, then they are done. Unfortunately steak is not in our budget.

PoisonDartFrog

I agree with you. I personally love to cook, but I have always thought that the saying "if you can read, you can cook" was a very true one. I get compliments on things that I make all the time, and people fequently ask me "where did you learn to cook?" I just tell them that I taught myself, that I am constantly teaching myself and trying different things, which suprises some people for some reason.

I'm the same way...I contstantly read cook-books for ideas. The more you practice (cooking), the more you can read a recipe and think "I need to add "this" or "that"" for my liking. I know I usually increase the "spice/heat" by 1.5x for my preferences.

You will also learn to read a recipe and determine how healthy it is (even if calorie and macro counts are not explicitly given).

graciemom828

All these comments are so interesting - the sad thing about being able to cook is that it is much more fun to make the food that is less than healthy for you. I am single, love to cook, and it is not too gratifying to cook anything for yourself, be it healthy or unhealthy.

MaryBeth321

You betcha, tutorials are all over the internet. Check out YouTube sometime - blow by blow videos on how to make nearly anything. I am currently researching the best and most delicious brushetta recipes. Love that stuff (actually, I love Trader Joe's brushetta a lot and am trying to duplicate at home; I know I can make it cheaper once I get the recipe down). Another thing: eating out or eating packaged foods from the freezer section of the groc. store is a LOT more expensive than making food at home - A LOT!!

Dark_Roast

If I have the time, I love planning what to cook or bake. I don't mind cooking, but I wouldn't go as far to say that I love to cook. I don't always measure, sometimes I estimate. I can throw stuff together from the fridge or modify a recipe with what I have on hand and have it turn out pretty good. I do like trying new recipies and I have learned what I'm good at, and what I'm not good at. I'm lucky in that my husband likes almost everything, and never complains if something new isn't as good as I wanted it to be. My kids on the other hand...

moontyrant

This excuse bores me to death. My parents decided they could not make rice. They read the instructions on the rice bag, then ignored them. When the rice did not turn out ricey enough, they threw their hands in the air and decided that this one simple food was out of their combined cooking capacity.
So I, being fairly young- probably 12 years old or so- read the instructions, carried out the instructions, and rice happened. It was a dinner time miracle, apparently.
I don't know what my parents do now that I'm living away from them. I imagine they make my younger brother cook the rice, because it's just so very hard.

jennaworksout

cooking is not hard...nuking your food to cook it, discusting . that is all.