Cooking is Hard

mellabyte

I agree. Personally, I love cooking. So I am probably biased.

But cooking is only over-complicated if you choose to make it that way. (And sometimes I do. I make complicated ridiculous meals for special occasions, dinner parties or just to challenge myself.)

But it can be easy as hell also. You can make an omelet in a cup in the microwave if you want to get ultra lo-fi. Roasting a chicken (as mentioned by the OP) is really not rocket science if you keep it basic.

As for cost. You can get two McMuffins for $3 bucks. Sure. But you can also get a 12 pack of eggs, a package of muffins and some cheese for 6-10 bucks (depending on how you shop and how much of a brand-ho/clean eater you are) to last you a week of "mcmuffin" replicas with ingredients to spare for other meals.

Some weeks I pre-make egg patties and freeze them. When I leave in the morning, grab a muffin (or a slice Ezekiel bread, or a low carb wrap, or rice paper - whatever), throw on a frozen egg, a slice of cheese (sometimes some a slice of tomato or handful of baby spinach) and by the time I get to work, I just microwave (or toaster oven depends on how much of a hurry I'm in) and nosh.

k8blujay2

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...

Hmm... maybe that's my problem... I'm too analytical... I can take a "30-minute meal" and it won't be done for at least an hour, but I am also getting better at the multitasking...

My1985Freckles

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:

Can't help ya because for me as an accountant that IS fun.... :ohwell:

3foldchord

I hate scrambled eggs, any 'just eggs" dish. Hate the smell of them cooking. So I don't make them. My son tried a bacon and egg sandwich at Panera, loved it and makes his own now.

And while I think cooking. Knitting, sewing, etc are simply "if you can read, you can do them", I can NOT crochet to save my life. Have been taught in person, read books, googled videos,,etc.... It just doesn"t happen.
My younger two can sew, my oldest just sits down at the sewing machine and it's like everything instantly breaks and comes apart.

COULD we crochet/sew if we practiced over and over and over?? Yes.
But to me, crocheting (and to my son-sewing) are not important enough in the scheme of things to practice over and over and over.

fludderbye

I understand what yo are saying I have a family as well- 3 girls- so staying in budget while cooking for 5- something everyone will like can be a challenge to say the least LOL

but i have found in my 18 years of cooking for myself that - you learn from your mistakes LOL weather cooking or just life-

if i try a new recipe i will look up a bunch of the same recipe- decide which i like to try & go- then i know next time or while i am doing it- oh needs more sugar- more garlic- less sauce next time- or what ever- but with everything PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!!

for instance- i had so me lentils that i bought on sale ( DRY) and started researching what the heck can do with them other then a soup -
i found yo can do a crap ton of different thing so i made a meatless taco meat- now i will tweak the spices next time to suit my taste (i like it spicy) but its something we can throw on a salad, on a taco shell, in a burrito what ever & the lentils cost me less then a buck....

so yes sometimes you have to look outside the box-

all that being said- everybody has likes and dislikes- i would hate to have to work on computers like my husband- but i LOVE to cook- exp for cleaning up LOL and i think the family would starve if my husband had to cook all our meals LOL

so i am sorry if you dont like to cook - but it maybe one of those things you just have to deal with- & learn to tolerate

but there are tricks to make cooking less time consuming

rotill

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.

I really like the process of cooking. Most of the week it's very quick, just done in order to eat and get on with the day, but when I have the time to cherish it, I love it. I love to plan the meal, to find the ingredients, to see things change as I stir and fry and wait, I love to taste sauces and consider textures. I make dogma meals, like saying: I want everything to be orange. Or: Nothing on the plate can have travelled more than 50 kilometers. This makes saying: "This meal can only give 350 calories" one of the easier challenges.

Of course, you need to be a little bit of a nerd to think like that. I am a huge nerd, even if my real nerdiness doesn't refer to food.

k8blujay2

That's why they created crockpots. Chop a few things up, add seasonings, throw it all in, put the cover on and it cooks all day, or night and VOILA Magic happens! You don't need the crap in a box!

Oh and these things are my friend... yesterday it was roasted chicken, baked potatoes... then I steamed some veggies when I got home.... a whole meal was ready before I got home and it was pretty darn good if I say so myself.

rotill

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:

Been there, done that. My best friend and I used to have competitions: best meal under (at the time) 5 $ for four people. Frosen and tinned vegetables can go a long way if you have berries and mushrooms in the freezer, and know how to swing a fishing pole. And pooling our resources meant we had a little more leeway.

Of course, that was extreme cooking for students with families. I am very happy I don't have to do that today.

Lovlilyn

Wow, they want to eat healthy but don't like to cook... those are conflicting in the sense that what you make at home can be made healthier and to your own dietary specifications rather than a box of food that doesn't always meet your needs and is often higher in sodium, fat, carbs and calories.

Looney Spoons has great healthy recipes that don't make you think, just write down what you need, get it and prepare everything in one day and make it ready to cook another day (this works for most recipes as long as the ingredients can be frozen or can last in the fridge for 3-5 days before cooking.

Crock pot recipes can be thrown in a giant freezer bag and plopped into a cooker for 8 hrs on med or low heat and be done by the time you get home or a breakfast bake by the time you wake up in the morning. You don't have to like cooking to make it easy... and crock pot recipes are a good example of that. Throw it in a pot and cook while your not there lol.

I'm ranting... or raving, whatever... cooking is a learn to love experience since I am sure not everyone is born loving to do it.

Oh, I want all these "throw it in the crock pot for 8 hours, then have a delicious meal" recipes. I don't have one crock pot recipe that doesn't a) have multiple steps that require you to either prep the meal going into the crockpot or be home to put something in it midway, or b) would be incinerated in 8 hours. I leave the house at 7:30 AM and don't get back until 6 PM, so I have to use a timer with my crockpot. Plus, everything from the crockpot seems to have this same, "crock pot" taste.

chocl8girl

I hate cooking. Like, intensely hate it. Hate anything to do with it. I can make most basic stuff just fine. Crock pots are my friend. But literally EVERY time I have ventured beyond the most basic things, it has been a hilarious failure. And no, practicing doesn't help me. I have tried to do some things more than once. I just DO NOT have the talent. And have no real desire to cultivate any more skill than absolutely necessary. and I don't really see anything wrong with that. I do other things. *shrug*

My1985Freckles

Wow, they want to eat healthy but don't like to cook... those are conflicting in the sense that what you make at home can be made healthier and to your own dietary specifications rather than a box of food that doesn't always meet your needs and is often higher in sodium, fat, carbs and calories.

Looney Spoons has great healthy recipes that don't make you think, just write down what you need, get it and prepare everything in one day and make it ready to cook another day (this works for most recipes as long as the ingredients can be frozen or can last in the fridge for 3-5 days before cooking.

Crock pot recipes can be thrown in a giant freezer bag and plopped into a cooker for 8 hrs on med or low heat and be done by the time you get home or a breakfast bake by the time you wake up in the morning. You don't have to like cooking to make it easy... and crock pot recipes are a good example of that. Throw it in a pot and cook while your not there lol.

I'm ranting... or raving, whatever... cooking is a learn to love experience since I am sure not everyone is born loving to do it.

Oh, I want all these "throw it in the crock pot for 8 hours, then have a delicious meal" recipes. I don't have one crock pot recipe that doesn't a) have multiple steps that require you to either prep the meal going into the crockpot or be home to put something in it midway, or b) would be incinerated in 8 hours. I leave the house at 7:30 AM and don't get back until 6 PM, so I have to use a timer with my crockpot. Plus, everything from the crockpot seems to have this same, "crock pot" taste.

Chicken Breast, top with box of stove top stuffing, top with a can of cream of chicken soup and 6oz. plain greek yogurt mixed together. My hubby adds a cup a water, but it doesn't need it as too much water will make it soupy.

Exactly the same, but with a box of rice-o-roni instead of stuffing.

Or my fav, throw a roast in it, a bag of mini carrots, some potatoes (you could put them in whole if you just stab some holes in them). put a cup or two of water. I usually salt/pepper it and throw in some spices.

All three of these can be cooked on low the entire time you are away with no problems. I leave my house at 7 and get home just before 6 and have never had a problem with anything being in the crock all day. If you have a recipe that wants you to add say brussel sprouts 30 minutes before the end, just get a bag of steamer ones and nuke them when you get home and stir in. It'll taste awesome!

My1985Freckles

Oh! Another Fabulous crockpot recipe!

Chicken breast, green/red pepper slices and a bottle of italian dressing. serve over rice (or eat as is cause it is delicious!)

cuterbee

There was a time I loved to cook, and could make fantastic gourmet meals that my friends still rave about 20 years later! But stuff happened beginning about 20 years ago that just made it a chore for many, many years, and it still feels like that.

Nowadays, I love my George Foreman grill, and I sometimes love my crockpot or even my bit stir-fry pan, but most of all I love the pre-chopped tomatoes, onions, and pico de gallo I can get at Walmart (I detest and loathe Walmart, but these make it worthwhile for me to go there).

The way I feel about cooking now is that if I never stand over a hot stove for 30 minutes or more ever again (or spend that much time prepping), I will be very, very happy. Maybe at some point I'll find the joy in it again, but it's going to be awhile.

Lovlilyn

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:

My mom made something with a white sauce at least once a week, and I can picture her with her book beside the stove as she stirred.

I find my white sauce thickens up pretty quickly using gas stove.

BamBam125

So, she'll never go hungry but she will also never make Chicken Marsala.

Most people can cook something.....but not everyone will be able to master intuitive cooking or multi-step recipes.

This made me giggle. Hubby has made Chicken Marsala twice now with great success and he swears he only cooks things that are "easy" and "use only a handful of ingredients." He got a book called "How to Cook Everything" and sometimes experiments out of that. Granted, when he's made it I've always been responsible for the sides for the meal, and most of any chopping (no matter what he cooks), but thankfully our kitchen is now a "4 butt +" kitchen instead of a "1 butt" kitchen--as my late grandma used to say. Having enough space to work without running into each other is amazing. He uses the "wrong" whisk for beating eggs in my opinion, but it works well enough for him that I've given up trying to correct him. Personally I just use a fork. He still thinks I'm nuts for using a knife to "scoop" ice cream instead of a spoon or a real scoop though. A knife just works better for me. My dad always used a knife.

I don't think cooking is hard, but I do think some of the skills need to be learned directly from another cook (or tv show). Gravy for example, is not difficult, but a lot of people use canned gravy because they have no clue how to make it and they think it's "hard." I learned that skill over Christmas one year when Grandma drafted me into the kitchen when they were whipping up a ton of the stuff. You just have to know what to watch for and what to do to fix a mistake (in my case: more milk and time stirring, not more flour).

Likewise family recipes that aren't written down are best learned by cooking with the "teacher." You learn what it tastes like and feels like when it isn't complete, so that when it is complete it's "right." Like, when Great Grandma says a "handful" remember she had tiny hands. Or that when the stuffing recipe doesn't mention onions (because Great Grandpa didn't like them) it means she just chopped them so small that he didn't recognize them. It had sage too, but he did't like that either. So the two pans of stuffing at the thanksgiving table for "his" and "hers" were really "he just thinks it's his" and "hers."

I think families do their kids a great disservice when they fail to teach a kid the basic skills of cooking like how to crack an egg and separate the yolk from the whites without getting shell in a batter or without breaking the yoke. Basic skills like how to safely use a knife so you don't lose a finger and how to put out a grease fire are essential as well. I remember the look of amazement on a friend's face when I walked into a fire in the kitchen and my instinct was to head to the spice cabinet. I grabbed a box of baking soda and dumped it on the stove. Made a huge mess but the fire went out almost instantly. For baking, knowing how to measure is important as well. Hubby looked at me like I was crazy the first time he saw me "pack" brown sugar into a cup for a batch of holiday cookies.

I few things you just have to know from experience as well. We all got a laugh out of a work pot luck once. Someone had been adventurous enough to try a new recipe that called for "Salad Dressing" (unspecified). I'd heard him puzzling over what dressing to use all week, and it was driving me nuts because I knew I'd had the same question before and couldn't remember the answer. That week at the grocery store, it dawned on me. I emailed him, but was too late. He used thousand island... It was horrible. FYI, when a recipe doesn't specify which salad dressing to use, it means use "Miracle whip." He was a good sport about it.

As for the price... I'll admit that getting a pantry and spice cabinet build up is definitely pricey. BUT once you have the basics assembled then you just have to restock as things run low and you see them on sale. A plastic container of arborio rice for risotto at $7 looks expensive compared to a $1-2 pack of pre-flavored Zatteran's or Uncle Ben's, but if I only get 1 meal for 2 out of the cheap box mix and half a dozen meals for 2-6 people out of the canister of plain rice, then the "fancy" risotto ends up cheaper per serving.

I miss my cast iron pans. They're boxed up because the new house has a glass top stove. Hubby and are both plotting to have a gas one put in whenever we redo the kitchen. Cooking with cast iron was awesome. Everything could go straight from the stove top to the oven...

Cooking I enjoy... cleaning not so much.

jenniferjoygilbert

I like your post. I think that what people lack most in life is planning skills. Once you learn to plan for the things you can control like food intake, exercise etc. you can most time manage with unplanned challenges. Everyday is a new day to try again

My1985Freckles

Likewise family recipes that aren't written down are best learned by cooking with the "teacher." You learn what it tastes like and feels like when it isn't complete, so that when it is complete it's "right." Like, when Great Grandma says a "handful" remember she had tiny hands. Or that when the stuffing recipe doesn't mention onions (because Great Grandpa didn't like them) it means she just chopped them so small that he didn't recognize them. It had sage too, but he did't like that either. So the two pans of stuffing at the thanksgiving table for "his" and "hers" were really "he just thinks it's his" and "hers."

I LOVE your grandma! :-)

loadsandloads

bump

TVISmith

Why does everyone say that cooking is so expensive!?! If you find recipes that share ingredients, then after the initial pantry stock up it is not that expensive. Hell, lunch alone five days a work week at some place like Panera or Culvers adds up quickly too ($50.00 for a "you pick two")! My husband and I are saving money by planning meals and cooking for ourselves rather than relying on restaurants and quick stops!

Lovlilyn

Oh, I want all these "throw it in the crock pot for 8 hours, then have a delicious meal" recipes. I don't have one crock pot recipe that doesn't a) have multiple steps that require you to either prep the meal going into the crockpot or be home to put something in it midway, or b) would be incinerated in 8 hours. I leave the house at 7:30 AM and don't get back until 6 PM, so I have to use a timer with my crockpot. Plus, everything from the crockpot seems to have this same, "crock pot" taste.

Chicken Breast, top with box of stove top stuffing, top with a can of cream of chicken soup and 6oz. plain greek yogurt mixed together. My hubby adds a cup a water, but it doesn't need it as too much water will make it soupy.

Exactly the same, but with a box of rice-o-roni instead of stuffing.

Or my fav, throw a roast in it, a bag of mini carrots, some potatoes (you could put them in whole if you just stab some holes in them). put a cup or two of water. I usually salt/pepper it and throw in some spices.

All three of these can be cooked on low the entire time you are away with no problems. I leave my house at 7 and get home just before 6 and have never had a problem with anything being in the crock all day. If you have a recipe that wants you to add say brussel sprouts 30 minutes before the end, just get a bag of steamer ones and nuke them when you get home and stir in. It'll taste awesome!

I've tried that chicken recipe - it was way too salty for my taste, and the recipe I followed definitely cooked <8 hours, but ymmv. I find when I cook on low, the food doesn't get cooked. I guess even crock pot cooking takes talent and practice. For the most part, based on my experience with it, I rather just come home and cook up one of my 30 minute meals.