Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Some people don't like to cook. Some people don't like to play basketball. Some people don't like to drive. Some people don't like to watch movies on TV. Some people don't like to sit in the sun.
It's a big world out there, filled with different people having different preferences. Get used to it.
I am not intimidated by food, just completely grossed out about raw meat. I can't look at it or touch it. (I can eat it!). It is strange I know, but because of that, I can't cook anything with meat. Anything vegetarian I am all over it.
However, just let it go people! Differences is us is what makes the world go 'round!
Cooking is something that's best learned early, but you can learn it later on if you need to. It's nice because it's a skill that you can work on your whole life. I learned to cook when I was little enough that I had to stand on a chair to reach the stove or the counter, but I'm a much better cook now than I was when I was a kid, or even when I was 25.
I'm teaching my kids because I do think it's a useful skill and it's going to be more useful as the trend toward less processed food continues. One of my kids is really interested in trying every vegetable out there, and learning about the different varieties and different ways to cook them, which is really neat. She's always telling me when it's about to be the season for a particular vegetable.
Funny, I had this conversation with an employee at lunch today. She stated that her cooking and eating habits were extremely bland, she had no clue about spices except for salt and sometimes pepper and her husband had similar preferences. She has never used garlic (!) or anything. She has never heard of hummus, never eaten or cooked lentils, never been to and "ethnic" sort of restaurant in her life. She was not taught to cook, because this is how her mother did it.
She has barely been out of two Midwestern states and even though she says it's probably "her loss" that she won't eat different things, has no interest in trying anything new. For instance I picked up some take-out sushi for lunch today and offered her one. She was practically making the sign of the cross to ward off the devil LOL. I often bring home-cooked meals, or things like Mediterranean salad or hummus or whatever for lunch and she won't taste it.
She said that since she never learned, she's intimidated. I said, well, there's the internet, there are cooking shows galore, there are cook books. But she's afraid that if she tries something new and neither of them like it, she'll be wasting food. Which is a silly excuse really. So really, I think it's often just a fear of new things.
I find this a Midwestern thing (broad generality, OK?) and really, it is OK. Food is not the most important thing in the world and if staying in one's comfort zone food-wise seems unadventurous or strange to some folks, as long as they are happy with the status quo then it's all good.
I always think about stuff like that when people bring up "food deserts" or how it's not really cheaper to eat junk. Say a hypothetical single mom is working long hours and goes through the KFC drive through to feed her kids dinner. People will say "oh, for that same $15 she could have bought a whole chicken and potatoes and veggies and cooked a healthy meal herself" Okay, sure, but she'd also have to have all the tools and equipment to cook that chicken. She'd have to know what to do to prepare the chicken. She'd have to know how to cook and mash the potatoes, etc. How to time the preparation so that everything is cooked at roughly the same time. All that takes expertise and it takes time. You can walk in and out of KFC and have dinner in 10 minutes.
Not really though.
All "she'd" need is a crock pot, throw in: the chicken, some potatoes, some onions, some carrots, some green beans and some water and electricity. She ALSO would have saved herself and her kids an hour wasted going to the KFC.
Why MASHED potatoes? LOL. Even so, it would take 5 minutes to smash the crock pot potatoes.
This is a simple matter of NO INTEREST, IMO. Not skills.
Last edited by runswithscissors; 01-16-2014 at 06:37 PM..
Some people don't like to cook. Some people don't like to play basketball. Some people don't like to drive. Some people don't like to watch movies on TV. Some people don't like to sit in the sun.
It's a big world out there, filled with different people having different preferences. Get used to it.
I have to disagree. Cooking is not like playing a sport, cooking is an essential part of our daily lives and we wonder why obesity is a problem in this country.
Cooking a family dinner is becoming a thing of the past. For many it's "too much work" as yeah have to clean
dishes, (or put them in the dishwasher )
Processed foods r not healthy for yeah. Yes once in while is fine, but by a cook book and learn how to COOK.
It isn't that hard to boil macaroni, make a pork chop, steam some veggies etc. cook on the grill, some
low fat chicken or a lean steak...Even cook some fresh fish on the grill..Heck, i can whip up a dinner in a
half hour, while cleaning any pans, utensils at the same time..It isn't rocket science..
Cooking your own food is healthy, something you can pass on to your children and cheaper in the end. Too
bad it's becoming a thing of the past..
Funny, I had this conversation with an employee at lunch today. She stated that her cooking and eating habits were extremely bland, she had no clue about spices except for salt and sometimes pepper and her husband had similar preferences. She has never used garlic (!) or anything. She has never heard of hummus, never eaten or cooked lentils, never been to and "ethnic" sort of restaurant in her life. She was not taught to cook, because this is how her mother did it.
She has barely been out of two Midwestern states and even though she says it's probably "her loss" that she won't eat different things, has no interest in trying anything new. For instance I picked up some take-out sushi for lunch today and offered her one. She was practically making the sign of the cross to ward off the devil LOL. I often bring home-cooked meals, or things like Mediterranean salad or hummus or whatever for lunch and she won't taste it.
She said that since she never learned, she's intimidated. I said, well, there's the internet, there are cooking shows galore, there are cook books. But she's afraid that if she tries something new and neither of them like it, she'll be wasting food. Which is a silly excuse really. So really, I think it's often just a fear of new things.
I find this a Midwestern thing (broad generality, OK?) and really, it is OK. Food is not the most important thing in the world and if staying in one's comfort zone food-wise seems unadventurous or strange to some folks, as long as they are happy with the status quo then it's all good.
There's alot of bias in this post. Sign of the cross? Really? LOL your last paragraph is the opposite of the rest of your post, though.
IME, the best chefs emphasis the FOOD and use spices very sparingly.
Apparently she is happy with her food. Or did someone ASK her "how can you eat such bland food?"
Not using exotic ingredients is "not cooking"??? What?
I wonder why everyone loves traditional AMERICAN Thanksgiving dinner.
It's not a "Midwestern thing". Do you think nobody from other cultures live in the midwest or that Midwesterners are "bad cooks" because they cook AMERICAN cuisine?? (which is also alot of melting pot food from the early 1900 immigration influx)
I cook mostly authentic Greek and the only spices we use are actually herbs - oregano, dill (SOMETIMES).
A touch of cinnamon/allspice for specific things like Moussaka or Pastitsio or nutmeg in the bechamel is about as "exotic" as it gets. Spices don't have to make the meal. Our favorite food is just caught fish or baby Lamb riblets with lemon and oil.
My grandmother cooked strict German, and the only "spice" I recall in her kitchen was celery seed for the potato salad. LOL
And my whole family from Athens thinks hummus is disgusting. It's Middle Eastern villager food. See how that works?
Now I'm gonna go make myself a nice gooey New York Cheddar grilled cheese with New Jersey TOMATO on fat homemade Midwestern WHITE bread. Maybe I'll go WILD and add some pasture raised Wisconsin bacon. A favorite of every chef I know!
Last edited by runswithscissors; 01-16-2014 at 06:39 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
