Cooking is Hard

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...

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 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:

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:

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!

Cooking *is* hard. I've been doing it for nearly 20 years. There are some things that I have perfected in that time, but there are still some things (like meatloaf or Alfredo sauce) that I can't get to taste as good as it should.