I am constantly surprised by women I meet who can't/don't cook...

[*lifeoftheparty*]

:iagree:

 

but it's definitely true that NOT all women enjoy cooking. I'd despise a gift of anything cooking class related and never watch food shows. I prefer cleaning the barn or something in the great outdoors to cleaning my house (written as both laundry and dishes are being washed). :D

 

My Christmas list ALWAYS contains cooking gadgets, LOL. Last year I got some AWESOME Ginsu Chikara knives! A few years before that I got my BELOVED Kitchen-Aid Mixer!!

 

This year, the top 10 things on my list are Le Creuset pots and I will FAINT with JOY if I get just ONE of them, LOL. I want them soooooooo bad!! I also added in a Potato Ricer for good measure ;)

 

I think it's great that everyone likes different things! My MIL doesn't like to cook and would MUCH rather do the dishes (which I despise), so things work out REALLY well when we visit :)

[mykdsmomy]

I can cook, I'd just rather stick rusty nails in my eyeballs than spend time in my kitchen.

 

(I am seriously trying to change this)

[kristavws]

I LOVE to cook, and make nearly everything homemade. I could care less whether other people know how to cook or not! I figure it is not everyone' cup of tea. MY boys, however, find it unbelievable that some of their friends' moms do not know how to cook. My youngest has said that when he starts dating he is going to ask the girl if she likes dogs, and if she knows how to cook. If she answers no to either of those questions, he is moving on:auto:

 

Krista

[fairfarmhand]

for me, the women that I meet who hate cooking or don't cook are the working moms. If I had to cram all my parenting in at the end of a LONG day and help with homework and give baths...I'd hate cooking too.

 

I enjoy it most of the time, but I know I wouldn't if I had to do it at the end of a long hard day.

[Carol in Cal.]

I love to cook, but don't do it very much.

 

I should really spend more bonding and cooking time with DD. She knows how to make a few things, but with her SID tendencies, her diet is so quirky that she doesn't eat most of what I cook, so I have tended not to involve her very much. She makes wonderful, varied salads and some desserts and breakfast foods plus killer toasted cheese sandwiches, but would benefit from learning how to make soups and veggies and casseroles.

 

Thanks for bringing this up!

[BarbecueMom]

Cooking can range from survival to artistry. I like my cooking to be closer to the "artistry" end of the spectrum, but cleaning up the mess ruins the mood. We go out to eat more than we should because I get so, so tired of cleaning up the crumbs, the sticky finger streaks, the "crust" on the backs of chairs. I spend close to five hours a day in the kitchen between prepping, cooking, eating, and cleaning up, with the vast majority of that being "cleaning up". It doesn't help that the kitchen is the entry way from the garage and ends up being a stuff dump that requires daily decluttering before I can even think about cooking.

 

We always tell ourselves we're going to stop going out to eat, and by the end of the week we're willing to leave a nice, fat tip and let someone else vacuum up half our toddlers' meals.

[stephanier.1765]

I am not a cook. I cook because we have to eat but (1) I don't enjoy it (2) I'm not very good at it (3) and if I never had to cook another meal in my life I would be over the moon thrilled about it.

[WarriorMama]

I think a lot of can'ts are really don'ts, as in they don't want to. It always amuses me when someone says, "I can't boil water" as if they were proud. You can't boil water? Really? Well then you must be really stoopid. :D

 

:lol:

 

When people proclaim, "Oh, I can't cook!", I always want to say, "Can you READ?!"

 

Really, it's not that hard to open a cookbook and follow basic instructions. If you can read, you can cook SOMETHING. ;)

[lisabelle]

It doesn't really surprise me. My mom didn't like to cook, she was terrible at it when she did, so my dad and I did all the cooking growing up. I happen to enjoy cooking quite a bit, though I go through spells where the menu planning seems like such a bother--I feel uncreative and NOT IN THE MOOD for my usual fare. Finding new recipes on the Internet usually helps.

 

The one person who surprised me was my husband's cousin's wife. Cousin has always been a foodie. In his medical career (he's a gastroenterologist), he's moved around quite a bit--medical school, residency, a few shorter practices before settling in. Dh and I loved to go visit him because he always knew the great places to eat. And when he came to visit us we'd eat out some (because he'd always research restaurants near us and have places he wanted to try while visiting), but he also was very appreciative of the meals I prepared for us at home.

 

Being very focused on his career, he married pretty late in life. And he definitely wanted a SAH wife/mother. His wife is pleasant enough, but she doesn't bring a lot to the marriage. They have a maid to take care of the house, and a nanny to take care of the child. Her conversations tend to revolve around the aches and pains of being a 6 ft. 3 in. woman and the vacations that they take. And the woman CANNOT COOK! And she has no interest in cooking. To me it seems like such a simple way to make her husband happy. So they eat out just about every single night. We met them in Maui last year between Christmas and New Year's--we rented a condo together. She had made reservations for dinner for all of us for every single night. And they were foodie-type places, so dh was paying at least $200 for dinner for the 3 of us every night. After a few days of that I couldn't take it anymore and asked her to cancel my family's part of the reservations so that we could cook dinner for us. I mean, I like a nice restaurant as well as the next person, but there gets to be a point where it's just ridiculous and an embarrassing waste of money.

 

She decided to make breakfast one morning while we were in Maui. Scrambling eggs and frying up sausage seriously stressed her out and I ended up volunteering to take over.

[LittleIzumi]

I didn't. I worked 2nd shift (so dinnertime) and dh loved to cook, so I didn't for years. Now I'm home while he works & goes to school so I'm learning. I've never had the knack, though. I usually have to follow a recipe, and I grew up just following basic recipes, too.

[Britomart]

out of the kitchen because I was too distracting if I was hanging around

- When my mom did try to teach me, it was her way exactly or the highway.. she just looked very stressed and nobody was having fun

 

 

I really appreciate everyone who's shared this sort of story, because it's reminding me to make sure I include my kids in the kitchen as they grow up - it is stressful to have four little ones who ALL want to "help", but I want them to grow up feeling competent in the kitchen.

 

I think cooking basic stuff is easy (you do just have to be able to read and follow directions), but it does take awhile to get good at it, to know all the shortcuts, to get a feel of what tastes good with what, which spices might work, how long something might take when you don't have a recipe . . . but I found that I could learn that with reading and practice. I knew the basics when I got married, but it took me a couple of years to consistently make really good food.

 

One of the reasons I thought it was worth learning to cook well was so that I could eat exactly the type of food I really, really like. There are a couple of ready-to-eat meals at the store that taste almost right, but mostly, I can't buy the kind of food I like, with fresh produce, good spices, etc. But I can make it. I love having that freedom. Knowing how to cook = freedom to eat the food I like best.

 

So, yeah, I am a bit surprised when I meet folks who can't cook, because I know how nice it is to be able to. But then I realize that it does take effort to learn, and you don't know how good the payout is when you're just starting, so I realize they might not be motivated to put in the effort, and then it's not so surprising.

[Crimson Wife]

for me, the women that I meet who hate cooking or don't cook are the working moms. If I had to cram all my parenting in at the end of a LONG day and help with homework and give baths...I'd hate cooking too.

 

I enjoy it most of the time, but I know I wouldn't if I had to do it at the end of a long hard day.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

I love to cook but when I was an employed mom we ate mostly Crock-Pot meals and/or quick-prep stuff like pasta, sandwiches, & salads during the week. They were home-made but not the kind of meal that I tend to do these days.

[swimmermom3]

Why are you surprised? Are you just as surprised when you meet men who can't/don't cook?

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

If one has a perfectionist mother who doesn't like messes in the kitchen, then it is hard to learn to cook. Then, if one's first apartment has a lovely pink Magic Chef range that is gas and one's mother is terrified of gas and tells you it will explode if you use it, it is hard to learn to cook. Thank goodness I worked in a restaurant during college and met a good-looking guy who was a cook. I can cook now, but not nearly as well as that guy, who is still good-looking.:D

 

Everyone's life circumstances and talents are different. It is not a comment on one's womanhood if one can't cook.

[Mandy in TN]

I'm surprised when people are surprised that a woman can't/won't cook and yet don't give it a moments thought if a man can't/won't.

:iagree:Yeah! What's up with that!

 

Same here. I love to bake but hate to cook. DH finds cooking to relieve stress. For me it's the opposite. It makes me stressed.

:iagree:Cooking makes me miserable and I refuse to spend my life doing something on a daily basis that at best makes me irritated. We will stick with simple.

 

I can read, I can read recipes, they never turn out the way they're supposed to.

 

 

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree: I HATE cooking. We do simple. Dh is a better cook than me and the boys cook once a week. When dh is out of town I don't cook. I've tried to analyze why that is over the years. I know cooking is providing for my family, I like to see them happy. I think it's a combination of things, I'll share so you can peer into the minds of those of us that abhor cooking.

 

- it's never done. Those people that I live with always want to eat. I don't like projects that never seem to be finished.

- the time involved. buy food for a meal, prep for a meal, cook it, eat it, clean up, put away the dishes.

- food allergies and intolerances have made cooking complicated. I'm not supposed to have to have this, dh should limit that, ds doesn't like this.

- expense. When you have a strict budget and three different preferences (not for dinner, but lunches and breakfast) it can get pricey.

- sinus issues. I have chronic allergies and I think it has affected my smell and taste buds. I can't tell the subtle differences in food like my dh can. I eat for nourishment, not for the satisfaction of a good meal.

- too many things going on at once. It has helped since ds helps with many meals, but I'm horrible about timing things to be done together, I felt like my brain is fragmented into many pieces trying to operate all at once. I work better when I can focus on one thing at a time, in anything I do.

 

Cooking holds no joy for me. I'd rather do laundry, shovel snow, anything but cook. I'm 43 and that is unlikely to change.

:iagree:I'm so joining this club- Women Over 40 Who Would Rather Do Just About Anything Rather Than Cook (Need your yard raked, someone to fold laundry, someone to take your children to the dentist, a bunch of lapbooks cut and stored ready for assembly? Call me and I'll join the party. You want to hang out in the kitchen? I'll pass.)

 

My cooking doesn't make my family happy- at least not all of them at once. dh likes spicy, spicy really upsets oldest's stomach, middle is so picky I might as well not try, youngest is more happy with a can of ravioli and a bowl of fruit than with anything I make

 

And the whole description of the family is mine as well except that dh can only cook Persian food and the kids won't eat it. :tongue_smilie:

 

I can cook, I'd just rather stick rusty nails in my eyeballs than spend time in my kitchen.

 

(I am seriously trying to change this)

I agree with the first part, but I am not trying to change it. There is nothing worse than spending time somewhere I don't like to create something that I would rather not to have and then have half my family opt to eat PB&J or not eat at all.

 

Mandy, who lists detests cooking in her profile

[Carrie12345]

Dh claims he can't cook. The truth is, most of the paper recipes in the house are written by me, for me, so they don't necessarily include all of the specific steps, since I'm too lazy to write them out when they're already in my head!

 

The rest of our frequent meals don't have specific directions or ingredients. I'll throw a roast or chicken into the crock pot with whatever is on hand in the early afternoon and count on it being ready around dinner time.

 

He, otoh, reads the instructions on the back of a box of pasta, which just annoys me for some reason. There's no great need to time pasta - just check it in a few minutes!

 

If he did it more often, I'm sure he'd get a better feel for these things, but he's rarely home before dinner is ready to be served (if then).

 

Of course, my methods don't always result in culinary delights, so I try to limit my eye rolls. Nobody specifically *taught* me how to cook, but I managed to figure out enough to keep myself and then my family well nourished without too much trial and error. If I felt they needed souffles for breakfast and fancy racks of lamb for dinner, it might be a whole other story!

 

This is why I'm frantically stocking my freezers. If I don't, I'll be stuck eating take out pizza and soggy spaghetti for at least a week after this baby is born.

 

FWIW, we've devised a cooking "curriculum" for ds, but only because he requested it. The rest of the kids get roped in to being soux chefs, mostly because it makes my life easier!

[lisabelle]

I'd also like to add that while I cooked with my dad growing up, I wouldn't call it good cooking. We were poor; my mom would not have approved of any deviations from the standard shopping list, so we ate hamburger in some kind of tomato-based sauce (Sloppy Joes, meatballs, spaghetti, etc.) 6 nights a week with chicken once a week. All vegetables came from a can except for an iceberg lettuce salad once a week and Jello was a perfectly valid substitute for a vegetable.

 

So once I moved out of the house I felt like I was starting from scratch.

 

The dh and I started dating less than 6 months later.

 

Dh's parents were both psychiatrists with busy practices and dinner at his house was frequently frozen meals. So for him, me taking the time to cook was HUGE. He was incredibly appreciative of my amateur efforts. That, in turn, gave me the desire to keep cooking and keep learning. And I have to say, even now, 24 years into our relationship, he is still very appreciative of my cooking. I think an appreciative audience is a huge factor in wanting to learn to cook.

[mykdsmomy]

double post ...sorry :001_huh:

[Amy loves Bud]

There is a long-standing tradition in my family of sending offspring out into the world with no skills to manage on their own with regard to money, cooking, housekeeping, car maintenance, etc.:glare: I intend to continue the custom with my own children. Immersion learning works really well. :D

 

Seriously, I didn't learn to really cook until I was in my early 30's. I'm pretty good at it, but I really wanted to learn. My mom was a great cook, but hated having anyone in her kitchen.

 

She didn't learn to cook until she married my dad. Money was tight and he wouldn't let her buy a cookbook. She snuck out and bought one anyway and used it to teach herself. (My sister still has it, btw. It's in tatters.) Mom just finally reached a point where she wanted to learn.

 

My brothers and sisters, all six of them, are fantastic cooks. Again, my mother didn't want them in her kitchen. They figured it out on their own, in their own kitchens.

 

I guess my point is if someone WANTS to cook, they can learn. So these people who don't cook? It's not their moms' fault. It's their own choice, a choice they have every right to make, imo.

 

DS12 has no interest in cooking. I don't force it. If he ever wants or needs to learn he can ask me or figure it out on his own.

 

DD10 goes through spurts where she wants to cook. I help her as much as she wants. She'll probably be a pretty decent cook when she leaves home.

[Mejane]

The truth is, most of the paper recipes in the house are written by me, for me, so they don't necessarily include all of the specific steps, since I'm too lazy to write them out when they're already in my head!

 

 

I recently rewrote our family's favorites in English instead of my indecipherable shorthand. :D I won't always be around, and I want them to be able to make the things they love.

[mommaduck]

I don't think it's a problem if you don't LIKE to cook. We all have our preferences (I'd rather cook than clean a barn, but I'd rather clean a barn than do dishes and laundry). I think it's a problem when a person never learned even the very basics of cooking. To me, that is a life skill. Not everyone is going to be able to live off of restaurants.

[Jan in SC]

I can't cook. I have boiled hotdogs and browned hamburger for spaghetti. I have never touched or cooked chicken, pork, or turkey. I read very well, but I have found that recipes leave out a lot if you really don't know anything about cooking.

 

I don't like boring or simple food, with the exception of a few well prepared comfort items. I would love to learn how to cook!

 

My mom is a terrible cook. She thinks she is a great cook, though and gives a lot of unwanted advice.

 

My dh can grill okay, but he's not much of a cook either.

[Mom-ninja.]

for me, the women that I meet who hate cooking or don't cook are the working moms. If I had to cram all my parenting in at the end of a LONG day and help with homework and give baths...I'd hate cooking too.

 

I enjoy it most of the time, but I know I wouldn't if I had to do it at the end of a long hard day.

 

 

I'm a mom who hates to cook and I don't work outside the home. I'll also say that my days as a home schooling mom are long and hard. ;)

 

I do know what you're saying though. I often think about the parents (not just moms) who work outside the home, take the kids to after school activities, and then go home and have to cook and kids have to do homework. I don't know how they do it.

[Carol in Cal.]

:

 

:iagree:I'm so joining this club- Women Over 40 Who Would Rather Do Just About Anything Rather Than Cook (Need your yard raked, someone to fold laundry, someone to take your children to the dentist, a bunch of lapbooks cut and stored ready for assembly? Call me and I'll join the party. You want to hang out in the kitchen? I'll pass.)

 

 

Mandy, there is actually a very entertaining cookbook just for people like you (and like my mother, who feels the same way). It is called the "I Hate To Cook Book" and I think it's by Erma Bombeck. It's fairly narrative in style, but it does have some good and simple recipes in it for families. The tuna casserole is very good, and it derives its ingredients entirely from cans, which makes it a quick and easy thing to throw together from the pantry at more or less the last minute. This venerable book is probably out of print, but was very popular in its day. I'll bet you could find it in the library or on Ebay.

[Heather in AL]

Yes, I am surprised. Not at the younger/newly married women, but ladies my age with families. Like most of the other posters, I learned after getting married. When I moved out on my own, I didn't know how to boil an egg. I learned by dropping one in the water and boiling it. Trial and error taught me how long to leave it in there.

 

Now.... can *I* cook? That depends. Define 'cook'. I can follow almost any recipe and love to bake. I pop out things like Chocolate Eclair Strawberry Tarts, Mocha Log Roll cakes, and dinners are things like Shrimp Linguine, Pasta Bolognese, French Onion Soup, Salad Nicoise, Broiled Parmesan Tilapia, and other fancy-sounding meals. My friends call me "Martha Stewart". Like a previous poster, people are astounded that we eat 'fancy' every night. The thing is, it all sounds fancy, but is very easy to make (or with the baking, just time-consuming).

 

So what's the problem? If you stick me in the kitchen with some chicken breasts, veggies, and some spices, I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't have a recipe.

 

So..... define 'cooking'. :lol: This is definitely something I want to remedy, by the way; maybe a New Year's Resolution.... learn to 'throw something together'. :D

[DarlaS]

 

No, it's not a requirement, but it sure is a great survival skill. You can live cheaper and healthier when you know how to cook. And that's a great thing during those young adult years of college/grad school/early in career-low on payscale years.

 

Yes, some people eat ramen (my dc can't due to celiac). But if you know what to do with dry (or canned) beans and brown rice you can have a meal with a complete protien and fiber and you can have leftovers to reheat. As a result you will be healthier and have the energy to devote to getting through college/grad school and your early career.

 

This goes for men and women, my brother and my dh both cook.

 

 

 

:iagree:

 

Everyone over the age of 12 should have some basic skills (and by basic I mean which end of the knife to grab, and what constitutes a meal) and @ 14 or so, a couple "fancier" dishes that they can prepare really well. (That's my theory anyway.)

 

It's a necessity IMO because we all must eat.

 

ETA: I am not a great cook, but I insist on doing it anyway. :D Right now in my slow cooker is a swiss steak inspired concoction--that remains to be seen if it's edible. Smells pretty garlicky...

Edited November 24, 2010 by darlasowders

[Plucky]

My dh could cook and I couldn't when we married. He was the main chef in this house until we had kids and I stayed home. I've developed into a pretty good cook now. I'm not nearly as good as my mil or sils, but that's okay because then they can feel special. :)

 

I don't really like to cook, but it's part of my job description and I can make some yummy dishes. I used to have a requirement of no more than 5-6 ingredients, now I use many more. I'm not cooking the Thanksgiving meal and I will never be a gourmet, but I can live with that.

[myfatherslily]

It is called the "I Hate To Cook Book" and I think it's by Erma Bombeck. I

 

Awesome! I definitely fall under that category:) I just requested it from the library! Looks like the author is Peg Bracken.

[Sherry in OH]

I'm not surprised. My mother does not like to cook. She knows how, she would just rather not do it. My grandmothers taught me how to read and adapt recipes. I love cooking and experimenting with new recipes. (Sometimes my family even likes them.)

 

Per DH, his mother has never been much of a cook. He grew up on Hamburger Helper. His family is the only family I have ever known whose favorite foods are specific to stores - store x's potato salad, store y's grilled chicken, store z's bakery rolls.

 

I do not mind people not knowing how to cook. I do wish that certain relatives would stop insisting that the pies they buy frozen and heat in their ovens are homemade. When did removing something from a box and heating it become home-cooking? :confused:

[Plucky]

I do not mind people not knowing how to cook. I do wish that certain relatives would stop insisting that the pies they buy frozen and heat in their ovens are homemade. When did removing something from a box and heating it become home-cooking? :confused:

 

LOL! Hey, I bought it, opened it, and cooked it in the oven. Isn't that cooking? :lol:

[Wheres Toto]

Same here. I love to bake but hate to cook. DH finds cooking to relieve stress. For me it's the opposite. It makes me stressed.

 

This is me. I like to do optional cooking/baking. I hate the whole daily cooking bit. Planning it is even worse. Thankfully, DH loves to cook. He's a chemist, he was single for 48 years and he likes to eat well so cooking is a natural thing for him. He is good enough to cook for a fine restaurant. He doesn't go all out daily but on special ocassions - Heaven. :D

 

for me, the women that I meet who hate cooking or don't cook are the working moms. If I had to cram all my parenting in at the end of a LONG day and help with homework and give baths...I'd hate cooking too.

 

I enjoy it most of the time, but I know I wouldn't if I had to do it at the end of a long hard day.

 

Maybe this is part of where I get it from. I worked full time until 6 years ago. Although, my mother was a full time working single mother and she cooked everything from scratch. She tried over and over again to teach me to cook and nothing really worked.

Cooking makes me miserable and I refuse to spend my life doing something on a daily basis that at best makes me irritated. We will stick with simple.

 

 

I'm so joining this club- Women Over 40 Who Would Rather Do Just About Anything Rather Than Cook (Need your yard raked, someone to fold laundry, someone to take your children to the dentist, a bunch of lapbooks cut and stored ready for assembly? Call me and I'll join the party. You want to hang out in the kitchen? I'll pass.)

 

 

 

I'll join this club too. It's a running joke in my family, they even bought me Cooking for Dummies one year for Christmas. Usually I won't say I CAN'T cook, I say I DON'T cook. I can manage enough basics to not starve and eat a decent variety of healthy food, if I absolutely had to.

[QueenCat]

for me, the women that I meet who hate cooking or don't cook are the working moms. If I had to cram all my parenting in at the end of a LONG day and help with homework and give baths...I'd hate cooking too.

 

I enjoy it most of the time, but I know I wouldn't if I had to do it at the end of a long hard day.

 

You've met me :) and I am a borderline hater on cooking, that said, I do cook, because dh can't every night.... I only work one day a week (CHET)..... baking is another story, I do like to bake!

[TravelingChris]

My youngest dd met someone whose mother did not only not cook but also didn't prepare any dinners. I mean she didn't even do frozen entree, veggie, ready made salad type dinner. The poor girl ate take out (mostly fast food) every day. She was so astounded that my dd had dinners at home that didn't come from McDonald's.

 

Everyone in my family cooks and bakes. We consider it an essential skill and all the kids like to make at least some things. Doesn't mean that we never eat prepared foods because we do. But most days at least some of the food if not all is made by us. BOth my youngest and my oldest are more interested than my middle. She can make things and does occasionally but she isn't all that interested. Both my oldest and my youngest really like cooking and baking. Dh and I like it too but none of us have enough time to do it all the time.

[mama2cntrykids]

Yes, I am. With that being said, when I was first married at 19, I had NO idea how to cook. It has taken me many years of practice to become the ok cook that I am now. My mother really doesn't cook (just the same thing week after week after week) and she never taught me what she knew.

 

Needless to say, I will be teaching my kids how to cook. Period. In fact, my almost 10 yr old ds is starting to help me in the kitchen quite a bit lately. They will also know how to clean and do laundry (which they ARE learning every week).

 

That is all.

[myfunnybunch]

This has been an interesting thread. I was a little surprised at the number of people posters have run into who say they can't cook. I talk cooking and food with most of my friends. I don't often meet people who say "I can't cook." I sometimes meet people who say they don't or don't like to cook. I like Ramona Quimby's mother's assertion: If you can read, you can cook. My ds7 and I read that chapter yesterday (from Ramona Quimby, Age 8) and he said, "Mom! YOU say that!" :lol:

 

I probably wouldn't like to cook if my husband didn't share the responsibility. I like cooking, I just don't like to HAVE to cook, kwim?

 

My children like to cook. I tell them once in a while that I expect all of them, boys and girls, to leave home knowing how to grocery shop, plan meals and prepare nutritious food. (And clean a toilet, change a tire, balance a budget.) My 10 y.o. is a great cook already and wants to be a chef.

 

Cat

[Dayle in Guatemala]

Why are you surprised? Are you just as surprised when you meet men who can't/don't cook?

 

Actually, yes. It just seems like one of those things you should know how to do! But, since the majority of us on here are women, I just posted it that way.

[fastforward]

I am not surprised at women who cannot or do not want to cook because I had some of those characteristics when I first got married. I tried making things those first few years and most things turned out horribly or were things my husband really didn't enjoy eating. I was raised by my maternal grandmother who really has no idea how to cook (she can heat, though). She relied on her mother/my great-GM and my grandfather who both knew how to "throw down" in the kitchen. My GGM always lived near or with my GM, plus she cooked for a living, so there was no pressing need for my GM to learn. When my GM unexpectedly had to care for my brother and me, she fumbled through it, but never enjoyed it. She still doesn't enjoy cooking, but she fakes it fairly well. :tongue_smilie:

 

I'm still learning, but I'm largely embarrassed that I'm not a great cook. I can make a mean southern breakfast -- grits, eggs, biscuits, some sort of meat -- but dinners, forget it. I try, though, and I can definitely read and follow a recipe. Whipping up things without some guidance is definitely out of my league.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

Honestly, I'd rather be handier with home maintenance/repairs than be an accomplished cook. Yes, I can read and follow a recipe, but I don't think it's the end of the world that I'm one of those who "don't cook." I enjoy baking occasionally but really hate cooking. Anyone can get by somehow when it comes to getting meals on the table, but being able to fix important things around the house on your own is a much more valuable skill in my opinion.

 

ETA: I just realized this sounds like I'm bashing those who are great cooks and who enjoy it. That wasn't my intent. My opinion is more of the mindset of "hurrah! for those who love to cook and are good at it", but that "non-cooks" are not inferior beings. Some people value culinary skills; others have other priorities/gifts/passions.

 

This is a whole other topic, but, my dad made sure I knew how to change a tire, do basic maintenance on a car and in the house, and handle finances. My mom wanted me to have a few good meals under my belt that I could make and learn how to budget and stretch food to make it work on a small income. I'm eternally grateful for both. It has been a savior to me!

[Soror]

It doesn't really surprise me, it seems to be fairly common for men and women these days to not know the basics of cooking. I consider it a necessity as well to be able to cook, you don't have to do elaborate meals, but one should know the basics of preparing every day food.

 

My 3.5 y.o. and 6 y.o. already are learning. Little kids have that natural desire to help, so I want to encourage that. I want it to be intuitive to them as to what spices to use, how much salt you put in, when the chicken is done, etc.

 

I cook a lot by smell, taste and sight so I try to give them those little hints as to how you know something is done or good. Of course they are just picking up bits and pieces at this age but I want it to be second nature. I want them to be able to whip up something with a random mishmash of ingredients and no recipe. My son at 6 can now scramble eggs just fine, my 3.5 y.o. can crack an egg as good as Daddy!

 

I generally really enjoy cooking and trying new things, but recently had a big long funk of not really enjoying it. Right after the babe was born until oh, maybe a month ago. As with our food intolerances and my personal convictions as to what we should eat I cooked anyway, just made nice and simple meals.

 

In my family growing up we always ate at home, it was a fair amount of boxed foods but mom did cook homemade as well= especially for holidays and she LOVES to bake. Dad always had dishes he cooked as well. Dh's family made almost everything out of a box, can and microwave. By highschool age I would sometimes be responsible for supper, things like hamburger helper and such. When dh and I got married he had no skills at all. I had those basic skills and have learned from there, trial and error and trying out various recipes= I have had to modify that as our diet has changed. Dh does cook some now, like this morning I had him cook some muffins while I was working on Thanksgiving meals. Last year he cooked our entire Thanksgiving meal by himself as I had a baby 2 days before. I just narrated from the couch mostly. He generally does a good job cooking, his only problem is that he tends to overcook food, especially meat.

Edited November 24, 2010 by soror

[Mama2Many4]

I can't cook. I was never taught and when I tried to learn I just became more and more frustrated. My DH on the other hand LOVES to cook, so it works out well for us. I do everything else that I learned on my own, how to keep house and balance the budget and everything you know? I just don't cook.

[amyinva]

I don't mean to offend or sound stoopid, but I really don't understand when someone says they (and their spouse) don't cook. What does your family eat? I feel like half my life is spent cooking. Is there another option? ;)

 

Seriously, what does a family eat if nobody cooks? Nobody really does takeout/ restaurants every night, do they?

[Jean in Newcastle]

I don't mean to offend or sound stoopid, but I really don't understand when someone says they (and their spouse) don't cook. What does your family eat? I feel like half my life is spent cooking. Is there another option? ;)

 

Seriously, what does a family eat if nobody cooks? Nobody really does takeout/ restaurants every night, do they?

 

That's why I think there is a semantics thing going on here. I count it as cooking even if you heated up the water and dumped the ramen in. Having said that, my 88 year old dad does not know how to cook. My mom was sick once and asked him to heat up some leftovers that she had in tupperware. He melted the tupperware by putting it right on the burner. . .:eek: My dad is from a generation where he literally cannot cook.

[QueenCat]

I don't mean to offend or sound stoopid, but I really don't understand when someone says they (and their spouse) don't cook. What does your family eat? I feel like half my life is spent cooking. Is there another option? ;)

 

Seriously, what does a family eat if nobody cooks? Nobody really does takeout/ restaurants every night, do they?

 

I don't like to cook but I do it 2-3 nights/week. I make it as easy as I can, no more than 15-20 minutes prep, if that. We always eat at church on Wednesday nights (except the summer/breaks, and then it's pizza night), dh cooks on Saturdays (if we don't go to friends, and then he makes what we're taking, unless it's dessert), leftovers on Fridays, and we go out on most Sundays for lunch, eating leftovers for dinner (kids are at youth or college bible study, and are fed there on Sunday nights).

[Diane1]

I am thankful for having a husband who will cook and our son has followed by example. I came home from some errands yesterday to find my 14 yo son had prepared a macaroni baked casserole dish.....I always took pictures of every dish he had prepared and made a little scrapbook.

[Daisy]

I don't mean to offend or sound stoopid, but I really don't understand when someone says they (and their spouse) don't cook. What does your family eat? I feel like half my life is spent cooking. Is there another option? ;)

 

Seriously, what does a family eat if nobody cooks? Nobody really does takeout/ restaurants every night, do they?

 

Yeah, I'm not getting this either.

 

Cooking is a LIFE skill. There is no guarantee in this life that you will be able to afford take-out and restaurants for every meal. And how horrible to be dependent upon others your entire life.

 

So yes, I'm amazed by people who say they can't boil water.

 

No, you don't have to be a restaurant chef but everyone (male or female) should know how to prepare basic nourishing meals. You may not like cooking, but you should be able to do it. It may work better in your family to have the husband cook, whatever. You still need to know how to do it.

 

If you can learn how to read, you can learn how to cook.

[Sophia]

I'm surprised when people are surprised that a woman can't/won't cook and yet don't give it a moments thought if a man can't/won't.

 

 

I meet more men who can't cook than women, so it doesn't surprise me when yet another man says he can't cook. They are for the most part older men, though, my age (46) and up.

[Cindyz]

I don't cook. I am a self employed business owner and work full time and I do most of my son's home schooling. My husband does all of the cooking. I don't really enjoy cooking but if I had my choice about things, I would be the one to cook and stay home with my son cleaning house and doing lessons, and my husband would work full time. That's just not how things worked out for us. We enjoy that we are able to spend most of our days together since I work mostly from home.

 

I find it annoying that I am still expected (by those on the outside) to be the one who cooks full time. People are surprised when we show up to Thanksgiving and other dinners with dishes prepared by my husband and not me. It's because I was working to bring home the money and he had the time to do the cooking that I didn't have. I often feel judgments by other moms when the topic comes up and I mention that I am not the one who cooks at our house. It's almost like they feel that I am not as good as they are because I don't do the cooking. Yet, they know that I'm the sole financial provider for our family. So they think that I should work full time and do all of the cooking and house work too. I don't get it. :glare:

 

When I do cook (rarely), I do ok. I can read and follow a recipe. I don't know how to make adjustments or put my own touches on things and because I don't have the practice, things don't always turn out as good as they could have...but I can cook. I just don't.

 

Btw, not only does my husband cook all of the meals, but he plates and serves them to me at the table. He fills my drinks at my desk and brings me snacks while I'm working. :D Oh yea and he does all of the laundry and does most (not all) of the cleaning. Does that make me less of a woman or him less of a man? Hardly, it's just the way things work out best for our family.

[Daisy]

I don't cook. I am a self employed business owner and work full time and I do most of my son's home schooling. My husband does all of the cooking. I don't really enjoy cooking but if I had my choice about things, I would be the one to cook and stay home with my son cleaning house and doing lessons, and my husband would work full time. That's just not how things worked out for us. We enjoy that we are able to spend most of our days together since I work mostly from home.

 

I find it annoying that I am still expected (by those on the outside) to be the one who cooks full time. People are surprised when we show up to Thanksgiving and other dinners with dishes prepared by my husband and not me. It's because I was working to bring home the money and he had the time to do the cooking that I didn't have. I often feel judgments by other moms when the topic comes up and I mention that I am not the one who cooks at our house. It's almost like they feel that I am not as good as they are because I don't do the cooking. Yet, they know that I'm the sole financial provider for our family. So they think that I should work full time and do all of the cooking and house work too. I don't get it. :glare:

 

When I do cook (rarely), I do ok. I can read and follow a recipe. I don't know how to make adjustments or put my own touches on things and because I don't have the practice, things don't always turn out as good as they could have...but I can cook. I just don't.

 

Btw, not only does my husband cook all of the meals, but he plates and serves them to me at the table. He fills my drinks at my desk and brings me snacks while I'm working. :D Oh yea and he does all of the laundry and does most (not all) of the cleaning. Does that make me less of a woman or him less of a man? Hardly, it's just the way things work out best for our family.

 

I have absolutely no problem with this. At least you know how to take care of yourself and can cook when necessary.

 

I think there is a gigantic difference between I don't cook (because I don't have to, want to, need to) and I can't cook (even if I need to, want to, have to).

[The Girls' Mom]

It amazes me too. When I got married I basically knew how to prepare hamburger helper, and warm up things. (Because growing up that's mostly what we ate) But I taught myself how to cook real food. And I must say, I'm pretty good at it now! (as evidenced by our waistlines..lol)

 

What gets me tickled though, is how people look at my dh in amazement when they find out that delicious dessert they just ate was made by him. :confused: He's an awesome baker and I usually enlist him to make things we have to bring to church, etc.

[DarlaS]

 

Cooking is a LIFE skill. There is no guarantee in this life that you will be able to afford take-out and restaurants for every meal. And how horrible to be dependent upon others your entire life.

 

 

:iagree:

 

I did learn some of those other life skills once upon a time, but AAA road service is WAY cheaper than daily restaurant meals or take-out. I have never changed a tire and don't ever plan to. It's a very realistic skill to NOT have. Who wants to crawl under a car on the side of a highway?

 

Cooking is *far* more necessary since we eat daily--and it's not (usually ;)) dangerous.

[Sherry in OH]

I don't mean to offend or sound stoopid, but I really don't understand when someone says they (and their spouse) don't cook. What does your family eat? I feel like half my life is spent cooking. Is there another option? ;)

 

Seriously, what does a family eat if nobody cooks? Nobody really does takeout/ restaurants every night, do they?

 

I think many people eat most meals on the go. I know people who go through fast food drive-throughs three or four nights a week. On nights they are home, they rely on foods from grocery store deli counters and salad bars. At most, they re-heat. Canned soup, frozen dinners, and just add-water meals (ramen, mac and cheese, and instant soups) are as close to home-cooked as they get. My kids love visiting those houses, all the junk food you can eat and instant mac and cheese to boot.