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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 or nutmeg for specific things like Moussaka or Pastitsio 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!
No, you missed it - the "bias" was from her stating and elaborating on how and why she cooked what SHE called bland food. I did not start that conversation; she did. SHE was the one who offered that she thought she was losing out by never trying new foods...but then given chances, she wouldn't.
The sign of the cross comment was a bit of silly hyperbole and should be taken as such, not literally.
My last sentence is actually how I feel about such preferences. Well that and the aforementioned reference to "fear of new things." Neither of which bother me one iota as long as I am not married to it LOL.
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 )
Your post (which I edited for brevity's sake) is irrelevant. If someone does not like to cook, s/he doesn't like to cook. Period. Blathering about obesity and health and family dinners (none of which hinges upon cooking) doesn't matter to someone who doesn't like to cook.
Your post (which I edited for brevity's sake) is irrelevant. If someone does not like to cook, s/he doesn't like to cook. Period. Blathering about obesity and health and family dinners (none of which hinges upon cooking) doesn't matter to someone who doesn't like to cook.
Although I agree with you that if someone doesn't enjoy cooking, then they shouldn't cook. I do disagree about the obesity issue, and feel it has a direct correlation to eating out/fast food and a sedentary lifestyle. So for someone that doesn't enjoy cooking, but loves their kids, cooking should become somewhat of a priority to keep their child healthy. How hard is it to realize baked chicken with some veggies is healthier than a Happy Meal, and their child deserves a real meal?
My mom is a fantastic cook (part of the reason I am obese now ). I know how to make simple stuff, but more complicated things need some help. I cut the veggies and set up the stove for mom to cook from time to time. But I never really did anything successfully from scratch ingredients besides Garlic Bread Pizza, Ziti pasta, pepper jack quesidillas & Nacho Grande's. Believe me, its not cooking thats hard, but cleaning up afterwards . So I still consider myself an amateur when it comes to cooking because of limited experience. However, I want to develop my full potential as a culinary expert before marriage. Preparing a full meal (starters, main course, dessert, and drinks) for a important dinner function will be my main aim in the next 5 years with regards to food. FYI, I am a 21 year old guy who has a huge appetite .
"I can't cook", is total BS. Anyone who can read, can cook. People who say they can't cook are just lazy and unmotivated.
Not true. 3 out of 4 of my daughters can cook, 2 extremely well, as in better than most restaurants. The 4th not so much. We sort of thought the same thing as you, she was screwing up on purpose because she didn't like it.
Also not true. One time, and I was right there with her- she pushed the popcorn button on the microwave, within 30 seconds it was aflame. She didn't have it in wrong, we watched the entire process.
Another time, I had her push the oven button to preheat - she didn't even have to change the temperature. Within 2 minutes a huge, loud pop and you guessed it, my oven exploded during Christmas baking.
These are but 2 examples of her incompatibility with the kitchen. She does other things outstandingly well, but she can't cook worth a dang and due to a wish not to have to keep replacing expensive appliances, her job was to sit there and look cute while I and her sisters cooked. She did that well.
She has also blown up her dad's appliances, and a couple of friends and some in the first apartment she had. Now, her fiance cooks. There comes a time you just have to say- nope, cooking is not her forte, thank goodness her fiance does a fine job and there are plenty of restaurants and delis nearby.
ETA: After reading the rest of the posts I thought this might be informative for some:
The kid who doesn't cook is extremely interested in fitness and nutrition and eats at least as healthy, usually healthier, than the rest of us. She rarely does fast food unless it's something she picked up from a deli that she knows isn't processed etc. She's the one most likely to read the labels and it's not that she is lazy or unmotivated, she likes doing things like making salads and food presentation, she just has to leave the cooking itself to others.
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.
You're being a bit literal with this. Some people don't have a crock pot, either. That's the point. Not everyone has a fully stocked kitchen or can afford all the gadgets.
In this day and age, there's lot of info out there. There's the cooking channel and youtube. There are books. I learned how to cook as a grownup. I learned how to peel an onion from the food channel. It's not that hard as it looks. And yes everyone can cook
My exwife couldn't cook to save her life. She could start a fire boiling water. Totally clueless. I told her to just follow the directions on the recipe, but she was one of those "I know more than anyone" people and refused. I learned to cook when I was 15, I took Home Ec in high school. Great way to meet girls.
Although I agree with you that if someone doesn't enjoy cooking, then they shouldn't cook. I do disagree about the obesity issue, and feel it has a direct correlation to eating out/fast food and a sedentary lifestyle. So for someone that doesn't enjoy cooking, but loves their kids, cooking should become somewhat of a priority to keep their child healthy. How hard is it to realize baked chicken with some veggies is healthier than a Happy Meal, and their child deserves a real meal?
Believe me, it is just as possible to become obese eating your own good home cooking (and we're not talking deep-fried anything here) as it is eating fast food. Baked chicken and veggies is great, but it can get expensive to just serve a protein and a vegetable at every meal. Pretty soon you start supplementing with pasta, rice, breads, etc. and that packs on the pounds.
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). I know how to make simple stuff, but more complicated things need some help. I cut the veggies and set up the stove for mom to cook from time to time. But I never really did anything successfully from scratch ingredients besides Garlic Bread Pizza, Ziti pasta, pepper jack quesidillas & Nacho Grande's. Believe me, its not cooking thats hard, but cleaning up afterwards 
. So I still consider myself an amateur when it comes to cooking because of limited experience. However, I want to develop my full potential as a culinary expert before marriage. Preparing a full meal (starters, main course, dessert, and drinks) for a important dinner function will be my main aim in the next 5 years with regards to food. FYI, I am a 21 year old guy who has a huge appetite 
