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I cooked for a family for a looonnnngggg time. I'm tired of cooking. But I do like to eat so I have to. Cook, that is.
I understand the basics and I tend to stick to them. I'm not into the whole "foodie" scene where everything has to have a spice/herb/sauce added, or some garnish for "presentation". While I know how, I don't care to.
My two eldest sons are amazing cooks. One of them earned his living in a restaurant. One of my sons is a firefighter and they all know how to cook! The other two have managed to survive so they must cook something sometimes.
If you can read, there is no excuse for not knowing how to cook. Just make sure you have a good, reliable cookbook that features basic recipes that don't call for a lot of exotic ingredients. Once you have established a repertoire of dishes, you can move on if you feel so inclined but at least you'll have the ability to survive on something other than take-out or pizza delivery!
Cooking is not only an art, but a hobby. Not everyone enjoys the kitchen. I have 2 grown, married granddaughters, one is a very good cook, the other tries, but it just isn't her thing as much. Our kids were the same, one daughter loves to create, thus she loves her kitchen; the other leaves the gourmet cooking to her hubby who is a great cook. She is ok, with the simple things.
I am in a couple of bridge groups. One particularly is into serving lunch as well as playing bridge. We are in our 60s and 70s mostly and the talent or enjoyment for cooking ranges from "I want to be Julia Childs" to I want to get this over with as soon as possible and the less than talented cooks oftern don't even realize it.
For some cooking is a chore. For others it is a pleasure. Isn't it the effort that counts? Can you discreetly point things out such as 'have you tried adding salt to pasta water'. There are so many resources for those who want to learn. Do they?
I think the younger generation is pretty clueless about cooking. To me, it is laziness and/or lack of interest. My sons have had 3 wives and none of them could cook. I do not get how come females these days can't or won't cook. IMO, if you can read, you can cook, so it's just laziness.
My sons are AWESOME cooks. They make both basic and some pretty intricate dishes, and they do them all well.
Regarding the bolded comment about females....why single out females?
I can tell you why THIS female did not cook for some years...I was working 3 jobs at one point, so no time.
Also....I don't LIKE to cook. I am perfectly fine with a bowl of cereal and a cup of yogurt for dinner. So WHY would I go through a lot of time, work, and trouble to make something else? It's not FUN for me. WILL I cook? Sure, for holidays. And I do it well then. But I don't LIKE it.
I am 46 and I didn't learn to cook until I started dating my husband in my early 30s. Actually he is an incredible cook and he taught me the basics. He learned from his Mother. My mother was a HORRIBLE cook. Her idea of cooking was a tray of frozen Salisbury steak or chicken croquettes. SHUDDER! Now I love to cook. I guess I would call it my hobby.
I think the younger generation is pretty clueless about cooking. To me, it is laziness and/or lack of interest. My sons have had 3 wives and none of them could cook. I do not get how come females these days can't or won't cook. IMO, if you can read, you can cook, so it's just laziness.
For some cooking is a chore. For others it is a pleasure. Isn't it the effort that counts? Can you discreetly point things out such as 'have you tried adding salt to pasta water'. There are so many resources for those who want to learn. Do they?
There are many sources, starting with the net, cook books, TV shows, classes, etc, but we have to remmeber some people think they are good cooks, when others would disagree; then there are those who really are not comfortable in the kitchen and like any art, some are just not good at cooking, no matter how hard they try.
I am 46 and I didn't learn to cook until I started dating my husband in my early 30s. Actually he is an incredible cook and he taught me the basics. He learned from his Mother. My mother was a HORRIBLE cook. Her idea of cooking was a tray of frozen Salisbury steak or chicken croquettes. SHUDDER! Now I love to cook. I guess I would call it my hobby.
I am sure many can identify with you. I was one of those who was happy in the kitchen when I was as young as about 10. My dad taught me to cook, he was one of the best I have ever seen, but he couldn't bake worth a damn. Mom made a few really awesome dishes but basically was a bad cook. Her mom was a great cook, but had to support her family with 6 kids and never took time to teach her girls to cook.
Like you, many young women, especially today just have never bothered to learn, have never had anyone teach them or are just too busy. Glad you finally realized how much fun cooking can be and it is a great way to bring out any creative gifts one might have. I majored in foods and nuitricin in college, but started out as a basic home ec major. I have never been a good seamstress, I have no artistic ability when it comes to drawing: heck I can hardly draw a stick figure and I could never win a decorating contest, yet I can create almost anything I want in the kitchen.
I'm a good cook. I learned when I was growing up, even though my mom doesn't remember most of the things that I thought I learned from her, so maybe I learned mostly from books. One of my sisters cooks, and the other eats TV dinners and calls that food. I got to be a better cook after I got married and had my own kitchen to practice in. I got to be even better when I started staying home with my kids...I always want to learn things at any job I do and I look at being a SAHM as my current job, so I've improved my cooking, learned to cut hair, sew, do all kinds of arts and crafts, etc. Sometimes I will have a cooking obsession that will last a few months or even years...sourdough bread was one, and cake decorating.
My mother-in-law never cooked. She loves to tell me about how she was always an important woman who had a career and didn't have to waste her time slaving in the kitchen. She always tells me this while I'm cooking something.
I knew someone who cooked every day but didn't have any measuring spoons or measuring cups. She would use mixes for lots of things but even for that to come out decent, you have to be able to measure the things you add to the mix. I couldn't understand why she was so proud of never measuring anything, it just didn't make sense.
I love cooking and learning new recipes and getting them to taste just right and watch people enjoy them.
My sister-in-laws idea of deviled eggs is to boil them, cut them in half and put them on a plate. She doesn't even put salt and pepper on them. Another sister-in-law doesn't add salt (or any seasoning) to her dishes when she cooks. As food cooks, it needs salt and other seasonings throughout the process or else the flavors don't develop. I end up over-salting her food and it just tastes like salty bland food.
These guys make me look like Julia Childs. Or maybe they are just smart; being purposefully bad cooks they are never asked to prepare anything.
I am 48 and I am just learning the basics. I wish I could take a class on the important stuff like chopping, not cutting on the same board after chicken, when to salt, etc. I never had kids until I married my husband, who came with two teenaged girls. By then, they had a routine of spaghetti, pizza, frozen dinners, macaroni & cheese, ramen, hotdogs/hamburgers, and one night out.
When I started trying to cook for them, we called my garlic bread "garlic brick" because I always left it in the oven too long. I overcooked pasta til it was mushy. We got through it.
Now that we are empty nesters, I've started learning to cook.
I just made devilled eggs for the first time on Super Bowl weekend and it was a huge mess and took forever, but they were delicious.
I have finally figured out the quickest way to cook pasta, and made my best-ever angel hair pesto last weekend. Of course, the pesto was jarred, but my method of cooking the pasta has evolved and I just figured out to add some pasta water back to the dish so the pesto will stick instead of sliding off into the bottom of the bowl.
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