Kitchen

[J Town Girl]

I enjoy watching many of the food shows on the Food Network but I have to say that I do not cook that way. I cook the way my Mother did, and although we lived near Amish country, we were not Amish. My mother just made simple yet nourishing meals. Very reminiscent of the way the Amish cooked.

When I watch these shows, I am always surprised by both the complicated effort and the amount of ingredients that these recipes entail. They just don't appeal to me. Neither my husband or I enjoy foods that are highly spiced. I cook for our palates.

Am I behind the times by not trying to broaden our tastes? I cook healthy meals with the ingredients and flavors we enjoy. My husband is not fussy at all.

Are there others out there like me who prefer a simpler way of life?

I don't have a huge cupboard full of spices and herbs. Roasted chicken is our favorite meal. And neither my husband or I mind having it at least once a week.

I hope I'm not alone here!

[DiAnne]

My mother was not the greatest cook but I grew up in Southern California and we ate out at restaurants a lot. We ate plenty of different ethnic food (Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Mexican, French, etc). I think you are missing some delicious food. I took a Morrocan cooking class a couple week ago. I enjoy trying new flavors and tastes. I really do not care for bland food. I enjoy spicy food but not hot food. Everybody is different. I am sure there are many people that agree with you.

[house cat]

I've never enjoyed complicated recipes. My favorites are wholesome meals with simple ingredients. I have a pretty good "arsenal" of dried spices on hand, but I use them rarely. I'm mostly a salt and pepper cook.
If I'm considering a recipe and I have to buy more than two ingredients that I don't have in my pantry, I'll likely pass it up.

I also avoid using the microwave or other gadgets. I love chopping by hand and cooking on the stovetop. I dream about having a 1950s style retro kitchen, because that's where I am in my mind. I never entered the 21st century where cooking is concerned.

[lovesrecess]

I do enjoy watching many of the actual cooking shows and trying new things...but I still keep it rather simple.....and our food is full of flavor because we eat a lot of Mexican food.

[Cyndog]

I have a retro style kitchen and my favorite meal is meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas. I love that kind of food. My husband does most of the cooking and he cooks all different sorts of meals, he's a great cook, but also loves my Campbell soup recipes, ha, ha. I like simple old fashioned recipes and he makes more sophisticated meals. I bake more than I cook.

[shoekitty]

I hear you!! I am 66. just to give you an idea of the time frame I grew up in. My mother was raised by Russian immigrants whose religion was Molakan. Molakan is very similar to Amish religion, and very insular. Plain, Plain, plain is all I can describe it. Nourishing, homegrown ingredients, and basic. All food groups had to be present at every meal. But it was meat, a starch and vegetable. The closest thing we had to ethnic food was her soup which was similar to Borsht. For some reason she never learned to cook well, or even carry her mother"s wonderful recipes. She RARELY if ever experimented with food. I think being the 2nd youngest, and the language barrier, she never learned. Her parents didn't speak english , and she spoke english.

So long story a little shorter, I never had mexican food, pizza, spicy food, or even taste salsa until I was a little over 20. We had baked chicken, roast, chops, liver, or hamburger. Then we had rice or potatoes. Usually 2 kinds of vegetables. My Mom was health saavy when it came to food prep. Garlic, onions salt and pepper were the basic spices.

My Mom was a decent cook, just plain and non experimental. We didn't know any different, unless we ate somewhere else. We ate out 4 times a year.

When I was 15 I made a tuna noodle casserole from the back of a noodle box. I tell you my Mom thought it so unusual, and sooooo good! She requested it often. Bless her!! Hahha. She is still like that! She is 93, and eats out all the time. But she eats plain American food, and she is serious about food.. She has a fit if there aren't fresh veggies on the plate, and she wants it exactly like she would cook it, but better.. We took her to a gourmet restaurant once for brunch. She wanted poached eggs. She caused a scene when she tasted a little vinegar. She wanted to know what kind of ignorant cooks would put vinegar in the water when poaching eggs? You had to be there!

I love weird, unusual food! I love to experiment, and I love ethnic food, any kind.

[house cat]

On 3/7/2014 cyndog said: I have a retro style kitchen and my favorite meal is meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas. I love that kind of food. My husband does most of the cooking and he cooks all different sorts of meals, he's a great cook, but also loves my Campbell soup recipes, ha, ha. I like simple old fashioned recipes and he makes more sophisticated meals. I bake more than I cook.

I hear ya! I cook Mexican dishes fairly often and went through a period of cooking Indian meals when we were eating vegan, but nothing feeds my soul and my belly like the good ol' traditional American comfort foods.

[chessylady]

OP, there is no reason for you to change the way you cook. You and your husband are happy and content. My Mother was a self taught cook and and would go all over town to get ingredients. She was a gourmet cook. However, she did not teach me to cook,maybe I wasn't interested. I too am a plain cook but I enjoy trying new recipes. I also enjoy trying different foods when eating out. I like cooking shows and cooking magazines. Mostly I like fresh local vegetables and fruits in season.

[camochef]

I have to agree. I watch many of the cooking shows and I do pick up a few things here and there but...as my wife says, It's too California. TV chefs,that made great Italian dishes now are to much west coast influenced. Or French cooks make dishes using statements like "the French would never"... "but I'm gonna."

While I have just about every spice/herb that Penzey's carries as well as McCormick's and many others...I use them with discretion and quite sparingly. I'm not fond of spicy hot, I do like tasty, however.

I love alliums, onions, shallots, leeks, garlic; I couldn't imagine cooking most meals without them. I've explored ethnic cooking, from Asian, Indian, to Cajan or Creole. Love Italian, French, German, and many others, including Russian and Ukrainian, or Greek or Caribbean, but I prefer to make them as Gourmet meals that everyone can enjoy without needing huge amounts of drinks to cool the palate down.

Now at 66 years of age, I look back on my childhood and being the oldest of seven children, I realize my mother didn't have the means or the time to experiment with food. It was a production line just to keep everyone fed. I'm thankful that I developed an interest in bread-baking and gourmet cooking and I learned much from my wife who happens to be a fantastic cook and baker, but most of my knowledge and inspiration comes from the thousands of cookbooks I've acquired over the last 15 years or so although I bought my first cookbook back in 1967 when I left Germany and Uncle Sam.

Must add that I cannot stand the reality cooking competitions where everyone runs around trying to beat the clock. Gooking and baking should be enjoyed at one's own pace, I know I'm certainly not the fastest cook in the kitchen, but I enjoy it as much as those that get to taste it.

Enjoy!

Camo

[sal2008]

Even though I enjoy watching the cooking shows, and do on occasion make something out of the ordinary. I mostly stick with the plain old comfort type foods that my husband and I grew up on. We love sitting down to a good pot roast, meatloaf, etc. I like leaving the fancier things to the restaurants that we go to.