Kitchen

[Nightowlz]

I used to like to cook but it's now a chore I don't care for. DH says he enjoys it so I said go for it. LOL!!! I still cook just not like I used to. At times I need to make an appt to use my own kitchen. DH does not want me in there when he's cooking?  We have tile floor in the kitchen which is not good on your back, legs, knees etc. 

[LizzieInSRQ]

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@frenchie wrote:

I despise cooking! I am old and tired of doing it myself every day. Married 61 years next month and cook supper by myself every day. Do dishes by myself. Hubby can make a sandwich, that's it. We eat out maybe twice a month or get a pizza. We live in the Boston area so meals out are expensive. Arthritis in my fingers is no help. Oh well.

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I think it would be a great idea for you to get really good high quality frozen food meals and such, and give yourself a break. You deserve it. 

[Mom2Dogs]

It's not that I mind cooking, but my husband and I are small eaters thru the work week and if we want a big meal, we will eat out.  

No one would ever call me a great cook but I do like to make desserts, I am pretty good at that!

[shoptilyadropagain]

A pleasure. It's relaxing for me and I prefer a flavorful home cooked meal over a peanut butter sandwich, microwave popcorn or something similar.

[okaywitheasypay]

It probably depends on the day you ask me. It can be both. Mainly I hate the cleanup. Even loading/unloading the dishwasher seems a chore. I like my own cooking and am the only one in the house to cook. DH is fairly good at picking up fast food. The cleanup for that is easy .

[Moonlady]

I've always loved cooking, so it's still a pleasure. But I now, for example, make rice and frozen ravioli exclusively in the microwave, so I do find that I'm loving the shortcuts! I don't want to "tend" to things on the stove, get a face full of steam, have to keep checking, etc.--that sort of thing, anymore. If I can do something with less fuss and fewer dishes, I will. As long as it tastes just as good.

I also find I'm doing hardly any baking, and I used to love to do that. Of course, I did a lot of that when I worked--endless parade of parties. Also, it's just the two of us now, so I don't need to make 36 bars, for example. I almost caved last winter, though. My recipe needed only ½ cup of flour, so I didn't want to buy either a regular size bag or even the very small bags, which tend not to "move." I'm always wary about that. (Gee, 🤔 can you bake with Wondra lol? I always have that on hand for stews and gravies.)

So I still like to cook, but to keep it pleasurable I've adapted to a different way of cooking, whenever possible.

[Danky2]

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@Moonlady wrote:
I've always loved cooking, so it's still a pleasure. But I now, for example, make rice and frozen ravioli exclusively in the microwave, so I do find that I'm loving the shortcuts! I don't want to "tend" to things on the stove, get a face full of steam, have to keep checking, etc.--that sort of thing, anymore. If I can do something with less fuss and fewer dishes, I will. As long as it tastes just as good.

I also find I'm doing hardly any baking, and I used to love to do that. Of course, I did a lot of that when I worked--endless parade of parties. Also, it's just the two of us now, so I don't need to make 36 bars, for example. I almost caved last winter, though. My recipe needed only ½ cup of flour, so I didn't want to buy either a regular size bag or even the very small bags, which tend not to "move." I'm always wary about that. (Gee, 🤔 can you bake with Wondra lol? I always have that on hand for stews and gravies.)

So I still like to cook, but to keep it pleasurable I've adapted to a different way of cooking, whenever possible.

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@Moonlady     How do you make frozen ravioli in the microwave ? How about pasta ?

                        TIA..

[tends2dogs]

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@ciao_bella wrote:

In my younger years, I truly enjoyed cooking so much and even won several cooking contests and an appearance on national tv to showcase my winning dish. 

Fast forward thirty years and, although I don't dislike cooking, I can't say I truly enjoy it or have the enthusiasm I once had.  Now, it's simpler cooking with the desire for faster clean-up and time to relax afterwards.     

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@ciao_bella  Would you mind sharing what the winning dish was?

[ciao_bella]

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@Zhills wrote:

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@ciao_bella wrote:

In my younger years, I truly enjoyed cooking so much and even won several cooking contests and an appearance on national tv to showcase my winning dish. 

Fast forward thirty years and, although I don't dislike cooking, I can't say I truly enjoy it or have the enthusiasm I once had.  Now, it's simpler cooking with the desire for faster clean-up and time to relax afterwards.     

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@ciao_bella   Would you like to share that recipe with us?  Congratulations on your success!

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@tends2dogs 

Both of you had asked if I would post my winning recipe from the contest which was back in 1990, which now seems like such a long time ago.   I dug out one of the newspaper clipping and took a photo of the recipe when I had submitted it and it was published as a recipe finalist. (I blocked out my last name and address and another person whose recipe was submitted).  Though I had submitted two other recipes in different categories, the "Sweet Potato Soup Ole", won the Grand Prize.  From what I remember, there were over 1,000 recipe entries in different catagories submitted.  At the time, Matt Lauer, interviewed me on tv where I got to demo my recipe for my 15 minutes of fame..lol   He worked at a different NYC broadcasting station at the time, and it was just prior to him being hired by NBC as a tv anchor.    

[tends2dogs]

Thank you so much, @ciao_bella , for taking the time to post the article and recipe.  That had to be exciting being on TV.  Do you make this often?  

OT I miss seeing you post on the MAFS thread on ProBoards.  I understand because it has been one boring season. 

TA