Cooking is fun! Look how happy I am! (Perhaps this old girl just needs a chef's hat?!)
Cooking has been on my mind a lot lately. My aunt Helen is compiling a family cookbook for our Horton reunion this summer. Some of the people I blog-stalk have posted delicious-sounding recipes. Neal has expressed interest in me going into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator more than once per month. I have truly, deeply, honestly intended to become more domesticated during this Spring Break of mine.
So I’ve started looking up recipes online, getting out some old meal planning documents I’ve acquired at some enrichment meeting or other, even checking into some free sources for cooking lessons (see here). But then I am always hit with this undeniable truth…I hate cooking! I don’t want to go into the kitchen!
I think I’m seeking some feedback here because 1) I’m not an extremely lazy person and 2) I actually like to learn new things. But for the life of me, I cannot get interested in cooking/baking/food preparation of any kind. I would rather clean the toilet, mow the lawn, or wash the car (none of which I actually want to do either).
So if you were in my shoes, how would you start? Has anyone who reads this little blog ever hated cooking and been reformed? And if you’re of a more therapeutic mindset, can you diagnose this extreme aversion (try to avoid being too Freudian)?
List me as one of the “hated to cook but been reformed” people. When I was a kid, my mom told me that I’d never get married until I learned to cook. I promptly informed her, “Then I’m never getting married.” I was of course very delighted to find a husband who likes to cook (he likes the “creative process”), and who cooked dinner every night. It was one of the nice things about him being a student while I was working – he got home at 3 and had dinner ready when I got home at 6:30.
I finally learned how to cook when I started staying home when Summer was born (she just turned 3 over the weekend), and it took until just the past few months or so before I started feeling competent in the kitchen.
The change? Well, I still don’t particularly like to COOK. The hot kitchen, just standing there all that time is hard on my ankles, etc … But I do like to EAT. I like good food. Stuff in a box or the freezer section at the grocery store is revolting (not to mention ridiculously expensive and unhealthy). So I’ve attacked the “learning to cook” deal with – WHAT DO I WANT TO EAT? And then I learn how to make it, and thankfully, it’s not as hard as it seems. Also, if you learn proper techniques, like how to use a chef’s knife, it goes a lot faster than if you don’t know how.
And now I’ve even started a recipe blog: weneedmangos.blogspot.com – GOOD LUCK!
Comment by treen — May 13, 2009 @ 6:27 pm
I don’t know if I ever hated to cook but I was definitely afraid of the kitchen and didn’t know where to start and was just overwhelmed with the thought of having to be a mom who had to cook for a family someday back in college. I’m not creative, the thoughts of yummy meals don’t just pop into my head and I can magically make them appear on the dinner table. It takes work for me but the more I’ve worked on it the easier it has come. Meal planning is my key to success. My mind is blank as to what I can make with flour, milk, butter, noodles, etc until I sit down and make a meal plan and it all comes together. I don’t make fancy food but learn more and more yummy foods that work and aren’t too much work. But it’s taken a lot of time and patience so take baby steps, gather 10-15 recipes you can stand to make each month and start from there. Good luck and let us know of any fun progress you make!
Comment by Margie — May 13, 2009 @ 7:24 pm
Okay, so everyone always thought I LOVE cooking, not true, at least to some degree. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE eating, therefore, I cook. And you know what? Coming up with meals day after day, week after week, year after freakin’ year can become a little monotonous. The thing is we just need to bite the bullet sometimes, or as my parents would say, find joy in what you are doing. So I got music I like and listened to it while I cook. Or books on tape, it makes the job more durable. Another recommendation; get simple recipes. They actually have a book with a different meal each day of the year and a list of the groceries you need for the week. I never did it, but others have said they liked it.
Figure out what it is you don’t like; for me I hate reading and following recipes. It seems from the past you don’t mind cooking when you get a recipe to something you know you will like so maybe you need to just start with those few simple recipes. Then when you don’t mind cooking those in a pinch you can add another recipe to the mix.
And then the last bit and BEST advice is, COME AND VISIT ME!! We will cook a bunch of foods from different parts of the world and talk about which spices you use for different foods and then you can create more from there. But come!! I’m actually teaching a another cooking/nutrition class in June for another wards Enrichment, and last time I got A LOT of good feedback so you can come and try it…. ;o) But until then just make yourself do it…with a little dance
Comment by Ishkhanoohie — May 13, 2009 @ 8:10 pm
What an exciting post! I’ve been waiting for the day you take an interest in cooking…and it has finally arrived (kind of). I’ve always loved cooking, so I can’t exactly empathize, but here are a few sensible tips.
1. Change the way think about cooking. It’s not a means to food (well, it technically is) or a chore, but an art and hobby in and of itself. It’s a way for you to try new things and release your creative energy.
2. Read inspiring food blogs. Just looking at pictures of yummy things other people make inspires me to sprint directly to my kitchen after work and start cooking. Seriously. I think it’s always healthy to feed off of other people’s passion when you’re trying to get into something. I’d start with Smittenkitchen.com.
3. Pick the foods you love the most, and start by learning to cook those dishes first. Your reward will be sweater this way.
4. Make cooking (and eating) a social activity. Most people don’t like to slave away over a hot stove alone. Cook with Neal and treat it as a fun activity you do together. Or, have friends over to cook together.
4a. Come to DC and we will sushi and ice cream and all kinds of homemade treats!
I’m dying to hear how this grand experience turns out. Good luck, and have fun!
Comment by Andrea — May 13, 2009 @ 8:34 pm
I can give you a few really easy, healthy, delicious recipe ideas if you like Italian food.
I enjoy cooking because I like to eat good food, share it with others, and be creative. I consider cooking to be an art.
Comment by mcp — May 13, 2009 @ 8:48 pm
I only started to like to cook when someone told me it wasn’t absolutely necessary to use a recipe. It made cooking more free like I was creating. I don’t know if I had to cook for a family I would like it as much. Love ya. And I think you’re a great cook, ps.
Comment by Audrey — May 13, 2009 @ 11:14 pm
Ya, I’ve got a cooking tip for you. Keep eggs in the house. That way when you go to bake something, it’s not a big last-minute hassle. Not that I’m still bitter or anything.
Comment by Elizabeth Harris — May 13, 2009 @ 11:41 pm
I don’t like cooking…and I just gave in. James is so much better at it than me, so why should I even try?
Comment by Nikki — May 14, 2009 @ 4:43 am
Start with the good stuff, cookies, brownies, cakes, pies, those kinds of things and then I pretty much stopped after that. Personally, I think it is more exciting that you are going to a Horton reunion. Is the entire family tuned to hear the cries of the Who?
Comment by Kirsten — May 14, 2009 @ 8:47 am
I love to cook. This is relatively recent (within the last 5 years)for me, though I knew the nuts and bolts of it. I understand the pressure and the guilt to prepare and provide for your family that way. And though one should avoid ethical/moral judgments and reflections based on the topic, it’s not a bad thing to learn and do. The change factor in my experience was cooking shows. Ridiculous, I know, but I got into America’s Test Kitchen on PBS. What they made looked SO GOOD, and they talked about such interesting things, tested equipment and ingredients, and opened my eyes to such a clear gradation of quality and flavor that I really got in to it. Finding different cookbooks at the library is a fun thing for me to do. There are so many different styles of cooking–and cooking shows (and their accompanying cookbooks) really bring that to light. Giada diLaurentis annoys me, Rachel Ray is okay (but really, really good if you want a low pressure, 30-minute approach to things). There is a woman named Sandra Lee (Foodnetwork) who makes things “partially homemade” that would be a really good starting point. And then there is Alton Brown’s Good Eats show. Hilarious. Bill Nye the Science Guy in the kitchen. So it’s entertainment, education, a really good recipes. If you are looking for a starting spot, it’s a fun place to look. If you don’t get Food Network in your home you can get many, many recipes online, as well as show segments.
My current routine is to look up all the grocery store ads online every Sunday afternoon and make a list of what is on sale that we will eat. I typically get main dish ideas from the meat and veggies that are on sale. Then I go to cookbooks or online (allrecipes.com allows you to search recipes based on ingredients you want to use) and find things to do with what I plan to buy. It really streamlines the process. And you learn by doing. I’m faster, better, more relaxed about it now because I have had several years of doing it every day. And my palate grows snootier as time goes on…
Comment by Aislin — May 14, 2009 @ 9:11 pm
The hardest thing for me is knowing what to cook and then having all the ingredients on hand. Some day I’ll get around to menu planning and grocery listing. It also helps if I’ve made the dish before. After I’ve done it a couple of times, it doesn’t feel so tedious and I don’t have to have my nose in the recipe. I think taking a cooking class would be a lot of fun and inspiring. It would help learn some new recipes too. Good luck figuring it out!
Comment by Stacy Clark — May 15, 2009 @ 2:45 pm
It’s always nice to know I’m not the only one! For me, I think my distate for cooking goes back to my freshman year of high school when my mom was on bedrest/had my twin brothers and my dad and I were responsible for getting some kind of dinner (lol) on the table every night. It was such a stressful time that I think I created a negative association with a lot of food preparation in general. I don’t think that’s too Freudian, and I thought maybe it’d give you ideas about your situation. At the same time, the times I have enjoyed/not minded cooking have usually been when I know someone really needed it. So, maybe once you get some initial confidence up, if you start by making meals/treats for someone who really needs it and will appreciate it—a tired mother, a busy student, a stressed out husband. It helps if you find someone who knows that their job is to oooh and aaah and say thank you a lot. I bet you could get Neal to do this if he knew that it was all for a good cause!
Oh, and if I’m doing something more complex, it helps me to split up the work. So if things need to be chopped or mixed, doing some and then taking a break and coming back to it later makes it feel like it isn’t as much work.
And then there’s the mess. I hate the mess that cooking makes, and I think it’s totally appropriate for the non-cook to take the lead on clean up (although I’ve been pretty good at getting out of both responsibilities for the past little while!).
Comment by Vickie Blanchard — May 17, 2009 @ 8:39 pm
I know, I know! I will cook for you and you can come and clean my toilet, wash my car, etc. :O) I despise those things and often pass them off to my husband…so cooking is a much better option to me. :O)
Comment by Meg Romney — May 19, 2009 @ 5:49 am