Kitchen

[gardensla]

Oh, I can cook and I do cook (really simple things) but I don't enjoy it. I hate the shopping, chopping, and clean up. My BF is often away, it's just me and cooking for one is more challenging than it looks. When I do get all virtuous and buy a bunch of ingredients with the intent of cooking a few meals, I usually end up tossing them. When I leave work after a 14 hour day, the last thing I feel like doing is coming home to broil or even reheat something! It's just easier to swing by Whole Foods and pick up some sushi. 

[151949]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

I can cook but I don't cook because I won't cook.  I don't enjoy cooking, I don't hate it, it's just not somethig I like to do.  I'm 55, both my girls are gone and it's just hubby and me.  We both work fulltime.  We both make good money.  So, just as I hire someone to clean my house, I have others do the cooking for us.  Meaning, we eat 2-3 a  times a week and  we order take out meals.  When I say takeout, I don't mean Dominos or the local Chinese place.  Although we occasionally do have a pizza delivered.  Most real restaurants in this area offer delivery.  Delivery is the big thing around here.   It's healthy, delicious, chef prepared food and  the portions are generous.  So, we usually have enough leftovers for lunch.  Today, for dinner, I am ordering lasagna and a salad for hubby and my favorite chicken caesar salad for myself.  We do make our own breakfasts; oat meal, English muffins, bagels, boiled eggs, smoothies, frruit.  But if we  want waffles or pancakes or omelets on the weekends; we go out for brunch.  I'm not sure what there is to understand.  Surely everyone knows about restaurants and delivery. 

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I don't know any restaurants in our town that deliver food, except pizza. Even the chinese restaurant you have to pick up.Not everyone lives in the city. We go out to breakfast Sunday AM after church to the Elks with friends from church. About once a week we go out to lunch and on a rare occasion we go out to dinner. However - I would say 80% to 90% of our meals are cooked at home. I don't mind cooking but sometimes the cleaning up is a Pain in the neck.

[151949]

gardensla, I know what you mean - when my DH travelled for his job and I was home alone a lot I would stop and get a sandwich in the hospital cafeteria on my way out the door or I would pick up something like a Wendy's chili on my way home. I think the staple of my diet those years was wendy's chili and french fries.Amazing I am still here.

[Havarti]

I would say I fall into that category - it is more a matter of language. While I always leaned toward the simple approach, I used to use more convenience foods – boxed mixes, frozen, packaged, starter bags, etc.) I left those behind for a healthier approach and now I just “fix food”. I do not use recipes, rarely mix multiple ingredients into one dish and tend to have basic favorites I repeat often. I simply make stand-alone items, like a steak, baked potato, asparagus, or chicken with a vegetable &  tossed salad, or a grilled pork chop with wild rice &  chunky cinnamon applesauce - simple individual items that go together to make a meal. I do not make casseroles, or fancy things like beef bourgeon, etc. I do not spend hours in the kitchen cooking or planning. A meal is just quickly and simply prepared (yet it is “cooked”) but the process is not involved like cooking a holiday dinner. Hope that makes sense. It is a more a matter of perspective.

[gardensla]

@Havarti

Exactly! Well said.

[Sooner]

I made an infrequent trip to our area's biggest grocery store last week, and had time to wander through.  I usually buy produce and milk at a local small natural grocery store or Whole Foods, and mostly cook from scratch.

As I went through this big store, I had the thought that you really don't need to know a lot about cooking or to actually cook much now.  There are so many pre-cooked meats, chicken and seafoods, great packages of frozen veggies that simply reheat, all sorts of breads available, and a whole new world of simple-to-fix!  It's great!

I am a very fast and efficient cook, having done it since 14 and it is a love, interest, hobby, and way to keep us healthy.  Mark Bittman has a new cookbook that outlines just how I cook--FAST! Great book by the way.

But nowdays with such busy lives, so much to do, and so many activities, I think people will be "cooking" as we know it a lot less.  We don't eat out any more than my parents did (we were sort of atypical about that--because we loved to eat out even though mother was a wonderful cook), but at least now there are healthier choices eating out.

Those beautiful kitchens?  Goodness why not have one even if you don't use it often?  It's still one of the most used rooms, where friends gather (no matter where the food came from) and the heart of the home!  Make it as pleasant to be in as you can and can afford!  

[gmkb]

I cook, not because I like to, but because my husband likes to eat well.  He is not fussy about what it is, as long as there is meat/fish, starch, veggie, salad and bread. We usually eat out once every 10 days or so.  I'm not a big eater, so whether I am eating in or out makes little difference to me.  

I play bridge with a woman who lives on TV dinners primarily.  She recognizes this is not good, but dislikes cooking more.  

[Kcubed]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

I can cook but I don't cook because I won't cook.  I don't enjoy cooking, I don't hate it, it's just not somethig I like to do.  I'm 55, both my girls are gone and it's just hubby and me.  We both work fulltime.  We both make good money.  So, just as I hire someone to clean my house, I have others do the cooking for us.  Meaning, we eat 2-3 a  times a week and  we order take out meals.  When I say takeout, I don't mean Dominos or the local Chinese place.  Although we occasionally do have a pizza delivered.  Most real restaurants in this area offer delivery.  Delivery is the big thing around here.   It's healthy, delicious, chef prepared food and  the portions are generous.  So, we usually have enough leftovers for lunch.  Today, for dinner, I am ordering lasagna and a salad for hubby and my favorite chicken caesar salad for myself.  We do make our own breakfasts; oat meal, English muffins, bagels, boiled eggs, smoothies, frruit.  But if we  want waffles or pancakes or omelets on the weekends; we go out for brunch.  I'm not sure what there is to understand.  Surely everyone knows about restaurants and delivery. 

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I am in your same age range, and I 100% agree with you.  My kids are gone, and my husband and I are both working.  We eat out a lot.  I enjoy working, but I don't enjoy cooking and cleaning.  I don't have someone to clean my house, but DH and I were just talking about that yesterday.  We are still putting my youngest trorough college, so I don't feel that I should splurge on house cleaning just yet, but when she is on her own financially, I certainly will. 

I hope to enjoy a nice day at work, working hard and earning enough money to pay someone to do the things I don't enjoy.  I can enjoy a delicious meal with my husband, and then go home and relax.  I won't need to clean up a kitchen full of dishes, and I won't need to vacuum or dust, or clean a bathroom.    I can just enjoy life.  I will throw a few items into the washing macine once in a while, but other than that I will enjoy my time off. 

[Desertdi]

I am able to "create" any type of meal.    However, everyone else is gone now, and it's just Kitty and me.     I enjoy perusing the deli for something that someone else cooked.   

[Texasmouse]

I believe it boils down to whether or not one ENJOYS cooking. To some, as David Veneble says, cooking is "joyful," while to others, it's a chore. There are so many choices of prepared foods now, to fit every need and budget. While I enjoy baking, occasionally, I can't say I love to cook. In fact, given the choice between cooking and cleaning up, I'll always choose the latter.