What really sucks about cooking from scratch...
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Logging recipes when the recipe list is in imperial but your actual ingredients are in metric. I have no idea what 3 oz of peanut butter is, but I could easily measure out 25 g. There ends up being too much math involved.
This goes for calculating what 400 degrees is with a metric oven.
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What I hate about cooking from scratch, is when I search for recipes; not all of the ingredients are from scratch & so then I have to search for that separately as well. For instance I wanted to make Worcestershire Sauce but it said to add Soy Sauce, that's it; no recipe for the soy sauce was included. Obviously if I use store bought Soy Sauce, then the Worcestershire Sauce; wasn't made from scratch!0
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I roughly know how long each thing is going to cook, so I set lots of timers. The item that cooks longest goes on the stove first, then a timer goes off for the next one that takes a shorter time, and a timer for the one that takes the shortest time goes on last.
I love timers. I'm a bit ocd like that.
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WednesdayJanuary07th2015 wrote: »What I hate about cooking from scratch, is when I search for recipes; not all of the ingredients are from scratch & so then I have to search for that separately as well. For instance I wanted to make Worcestershire Sauce but it said to add Soy Sauce, that's it; no recipe for the soy sauce was included. Obviously if I use store bought Soy Sauce, then the Worcestershire Sauce; wasn't made from scratch!
I know, right? My recipe from yesterday called for salt, so I had to go grab a bucket of sea water and wait for it to evaporate. Could have saved me so much time by food prepping the day before if the recipe clearly detailed the salt making step!
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WednesdayJanuary07th2015 wrote: »What I hate about cooking from scratch, is when I search for recipes; not all of the ingredients are from scratch & so then I have to search for that separately as well. For instance I wanted to make Worcestershire Sauce but it said to add Soy Sauce, that's it; no recipe for the soy sauce was included. Obviously if I use store bought Soy Sauce, then the Worcestershire Sauce; wasn't made from scratch!
I know, right? My recipe from yesterday called for salt, so I had to go grab a bucket of sea water and wait for it to evaporate. Could have saved me so much time by food prepping the day before if the recipe clearly detailed the salt making step!
Nice try but salt is only one ingredient of an ingredient, whereas Soy Sauce; has several ingredients.0 -
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Food timing. Oh gosh I suck at this. I always end up with cold roasted veggies or meat while I wait for the potatoes to finish boiling or something
It's called learning, it's really not that difficult. Once you cook something once and it turns out to your liking, you know how long it takes, make note. Then whenever you cook that component, you know how long it takes and hopefully you can combine with other past experiences, so it all gets to the table at the same time.
Does that account for the time lost on the boiling potatoes because hubby decided it was too high and turned down the heat on the stove? But my main issue is roasted veggies. Typically I have no idea how long it will take the veggies to roast, if you look for times online it's always all over the place...WednesdayJanuary07th2015 wrote: »What I hate about cooking from scratch, is when I search for recipes; not all of the ingredients are from scratch & so then I have to search for that separately as well. For instance I wanted to make Worcestershire Sauce but it said to add Soy Sauce, that's it; no recipe for the soy sauce was included. Obviously if I use store bought Soy Sauce, then the Worcestershire Sauce; wasn't made from scratch!
Oh gosh yes. It drives me nuts when I go to a blog and they always use prepackaged ingredients. I mean, I'm not cooking everything from scratch, but if I find a recipe for a 'healthy' pizza and it asks you to use a premade crust... just no. Then they say that their recipe is a '5 ingredients recipe' but really, no.
Or those 'light' cooking websites that use fat free or artificial sweeteners for everything. Ew.
And yeah, the dishes after cooking sucks, but unfortunately I have to deal with that even when I'm not the one cooking because apparently it's better to let the pan dry out for days than to clean it when it's still warm.0 -
WednesdayJanuary07th2015 wrote: »WednesdayJanuary07th2015 wrote: »What I hate about cooking from scratch, is when I search for recipes; not all of the ingredients are from scratch & so then I have to search for that separately as well. For instance I wanted to make Worcestershire Sauce but it said to add Soy Sauce, that's it; no recipe for the soy sauce was included. Obviously if I use store bought Soy Sauce, then the Worcestershire Sauce; wasn't made from scratch!
I know, right? My recipe from yesterday called for salt, so I had to go grab a bucket of sea water and wait for it to evaporate. Could have saved me so much time by food prepping the day before if the recipe clearly detailed the salt making step!
Nice try but salt is only one ingredient of an ingredient, whereas Soy Sauce; has several ingredients.
I do frequently use a recipe that calls for seasoned salt...
Last night I actually made a single serve cake that needs applesauce. Ever since the first day I made the cake and didn't feel like going out to buy a jar of it, I've been making mine from apples, water and cinnamon. To me it's just a bit ludicrous to expect a recipe to have that level of detail. I would think it would be your responsibility to review the recipe and find sub recipes if you prefer not to buy common ingredients. I mean what if people prefer to grow their own potatoes and need a several month head start before they can make scalloped potatoes??
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WednesdayJanuary07th2015 wrote: »WednesdayJanuary07th2015 wrote: »What I hate about cooking from scratch, is when I search for recipes; not all of the ingredients are from scratch & so then I have to search for that separately as well. For instance I wanted to make Worcestershire Sauce but it said to add Soy Sauce, that's it; no recipe for the soy sauce was included. Obviously if I use store bought Soy Sauce, then the Worcestershire Sauce; wasn't made from scratch!
I know, right? My recipe from yesterday called for salt, so I had to go grab a bucket of sea water and wait for it to evaporate. Could have saved me so much time by food prepping the day before if the recipe clearly detailed the salt making step!
Nice try but salt is only one ingredient of an ingredient, whereas Soy Sauce; has several ingredients.
I do frequently use a recipe that calls for seasoned salt...
Last night I actually made a single serve cake that needs applesauce. Ever since the first day I made the cake and didn't feel like going out to buy a jar of it, I've been making mine from apples, water and cinnamon. To me it's just a bit ludicrous to expect a recipe to have that level of detail. I would think it would be your responsibility to review the recipe and find sub recipes if you prefer not to buy common ingredients. I mean what if people prefer to grow their own potatoes and need a several month head start before they can make scalloped potatoes??
There are limits. Applesauce is a simple ingredient, I'm fine with canned diced tomatoes and the like (plus it's cheaper than using your own tomatoes frankly), but when a recipe asks for packaged dough or ready made pasta sauce etc, it's not cooking from scratch (which is fine, really, just not always what you're looking for).
About the sauce thing, well, if I have to buy some soy sauce to make Worcestershire sauce, well I might as well just buy a bottle of Worcestershire sauce, you know? So I see her point...
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Food timing. Oh gosh I suck at this. I always end up with cold roasted veggies or meat while I wait for the potatoes to finish boiling or something
It's called learning, it's really not that difficult. Once you cook something once and it turns out to your liking, you know how long it takes, make note. Then whenever you cook that component, you know how long it takes and hopefully you can combine with other past experiences, so it all gets to the table at the same time.
Does that account for the time lost on the boiling potatoes because hubby decided it was too high and turned down the heat on the stove? But my main issue is roasted veggies. Typically I have no idea how long it will take the veggies to roast, if you look for times online it's always all over the place...
Again, humans as well as many animals have the ability to draw upon past experience. If you've roasted veggies a few times you should have a good idea approx how long it takes to cook properly. If it's a brand new veggie you've never ever cooked, online/recipes will give you a rough approx of how long it'll take, once you cook them them according to the directions you'll know if you have to add or subtract time. Learning isn't that hard...
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Good luck with that.
(Have a child... still have mountains of dirty dishes... more people in a family makes more dirty dishes but not necessarily more people washing dishes)0 -
The temperature of the vegetables (room, refrigerated, frozen) and the size is probably what's causing the variations in cooking time. Just try and be consistent with those two things and you'll get consistent cooking times you can plan the rest of your meal around.But my main issue is roasted veggies. Typically I have no idea how long it will take the veggies to roast, if you look for times online it's always all over the place...0 -
Me too. Without that thing I'm not sure I would ever have learned to cook!0 -
I wish I liked my crock pot. I like a few things with it, but mostly dislike the consistency of what comes out...0
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PoisonIvy088 wrote: »I roughly know how long each thing is going to cook, so I set lots of timers. The item that cooks longest goes on the stove first, then a timer goes off for the next one that takes a shorter time, and a timer for the one that takes the shortest time goes on last.
I love timers. I'm a bit ocd like that.
I do the same thing, mainly because I am math challenged, and the timers make it easier to remember when to start the next thing.0 -
Crushing garlic. I LOVE garlic - would add it to every single meal if I could. But garlic crushers are messy and annoying, and I haven't mastered the chef's way of using the flat side of the knife blade. It's a good thing I don't mind getting bigger chunks of the stuff every few mouthfuls!
Oh, and cleaning up afterwards. Love planning, preparing, and cooking food. But loathe any form of housework, so the clean up is my most hated part of cooking. I do it. I just hate doing it.
I learned a handy trick for dealing with garlic instead of using a crusher or garlic press. Use a good quality zester. It breaks up the garlic so you're not getting big chunks and releases the flavor beautifully.0 -
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I always set up my recipes with MFP and it all figures it out for me (as long as I can select the item with grams. I so hate it when an item is setup as "medium", "cup", etc. Can't trust any item that way). Then, I put everything with my name in the beginning of the recipe (i.e.: (DebzNuDA) Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Pineapple). It's so easy to find and log. If I find that I need to change a recipe then all I need to do is "Edit" the recipe.
Yes! This! I get sick of trawling through all the entries with 'cups'. Just put in the freaking grams, people! (I'm calm, I really, really, am.....)
I end up with some freakish diary entries because of this. I know how many grams are in the cup sometimes thanks to the food package, then calculate the percentage I'm using and end up with some weird fraction of a cup based on how many grams I'm using.
I really should be the unlazy one and add an entry that calculates a correct entry for these things.
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I wish I had someone to cut up all the veggies for me. I'm so slow with the chopping part. Maybe it would go a lot faster if I wasn't obsessed with the veggies being all the same size. Ha, ha, ha, ha.0
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My problem is that I'm not good at knowing what's missing, what needs to be added to make it taste better. I didn't grow up around any cooks.0
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Dishes....cleaning the flipping dishes.0
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What sucks most right now? My stove and oven went out, I have no slow cooker, and it's 36 degrees outside while I cook on an open fire. -_-
And then I have to do the dishes.0 -
WednesdayJanuary07th2015 wrote: »
Dishwashing is a reasonable chore for a child.
In my opinion, raising younger siblings is NOT a reasonable chore or expectation. Sorry that happened to you, it really sucks. (Just one of the 8000 reasons the Duggars can bite me) But, kids do need kid-appropriate chores. Folding laundry, washing dishes, helping with sweeping/vacuuming....normal. "You've been assigned your little brother?" Not so much.0 -
WednesdayJanuary07th2015 wrote: »WednesdayJanuary07th2015 wrote: »What I hate about cooking from scratch, is when I search for recipes; not all of the ingredients are from scratch & so then I have to search for that separately as well. For instance I wanted to make Worcestershire Sauce but it said to add Soy Sauce, that's it; no recipe for the soy sauce was included. Obviously if I use store bought Soy Sauce, then the Worcestershire Sauce; wasn't made from scratch!
I know, right? My recipe from yesterday called for salt, so I had to go grab a bucket of sea water and wait for it to evaporate. Could have saved me so much time by food prepping the day before if the recipe clearly detailed the salt making step!
Nice try but salt is only one ingredient of an ingredient, whereas Soy Sauce; has several ingredients.
I do frequently use a recipe that calls for seasoned salt...
Last night I actually made a single serve cake that needs applesauce. Ever since the first day I made the cake and didn't feel like going out to buy a jar of it, I've been making mine from apples, water and cinnamon. To me it's just a bit ludicrous to expect a recipe to have that level of detail. I would think it would be your responsibility to review the recipe and find sub recipes if you prefer not to buy common ingredients. I mean what if people prefer to grow their own potatoes and need a several month head start before they can make scalloped potatoes??
Actually the Soy Sauce & Apple-Cider Vinegar, to make Worcestershire Sauce take several months to make because some of the ingredients, have to ferment. Some people, especially children and/or new cooks whom want to even just try to make something simple from scratch, might not realize that a particular ingredient; isn't in it's natural state from the recipe. I am just trying to be as health conscious & processed free as possible, so if I could potentially substitute an ingredient and/or even reduce it, it makes sense to me; for all of the ingredients to be listed. There can be a lot of different things, that one might have to look up separately; for a single recipe. If I just type "How to make Worcestershire Sauce", I expect to get a simple list of ingredients but when I typed "How to make Vegan Worcestershire Sauce from scratch", I expect to get exactly what I asked for; which of course is a more complex list of ingredients.0 -
About the sauce thing, well, if I have to buy some soy sauce to make Worcestershire sauce, well I might as well just buy a bottle of Worcestershire sauce, you know? So I see her point...
Exactly my sentiment!0 -
I hear you. I get really grouchy really fast if hubby doesn't hustle to the table when it is at it's peak (I'm getting pretty good at timing everything to be ready at once). Then he has the gall to ask howcome the stuff at the restaurant is better? Because he is ready and waiting when the meal at it's peak, DUH! This weekend I decided to dial back my anger a notch and wait until his favourite program is finished. But that meant the asparagus was overdone, and wasn't nearly as nice as it had been ten minutes ago. Frustrating.0
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I hear you. I get really grouchy really fast if hubby doesn't hustle to the table when it is at it's peak (I'm getting pretty good at timing everything to be ready at once). Then he has the gall to ask howcome the stuff at the restaurant is better? Because he is ready and waiting when the meal at it's peak, DUH! This weekend I decided to dial back my anger a notch and wait until his favourite program is finished. But that meant the asparagus was overdone, and wasn't nearly as nice as it had been ten minutes ago. Frustrating.
Have him cook & you be late, then see how he likes it. Sometimes a taste of one's own medicine, is exactly what they need.0 -
transientcanuck wrote: »Logging recipes when the recipe list is in imperial but your actual ingredients are in metric. I have no idea what 3 oz of peanut butter is, but I could easily measure out 25 g. There ends up being too much math involved.
This goes for calculating what 400 degrees is with a metric oven.
I put an ounces/grams/cups chart on my fridge and that is helping a lot. I've used it twice this weekend.
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