Food & Cooking Community

Watching my mother started me off. But, I wanted to learn different recipes. That's when I learned through reading cook books and experimenting, Later on health concerns redirected me and I concentrated on more nutritious menus.

When I was a kid both my parents cooked but they had their specialties. It was a team effort. My mom did the frying and casseroles. Being blind, my dad did things having to do with roasing meat or stuffing fowl or anything like that, that could be done entirely by touch. I always felt bad that he had to do the butchering of the chickens and such, but my mom was way too squeamish and I was too young. And too squamish. I didn't get over that till my twenties. My mom did the pies and cakes and brownies, my dad did the breads and noodles and hard boiled eggs. My mom told him the temparature but he always got the hot stuff out of the oven for her.

I learned by watching them and by reading cookbooks, learning somewhat organically to have a rather intuitive cooking style. I hardly ever use recipes unless there is a specific chemical reaction I need, or a particular flavor I am trying to duplicate. Recipe books are good for inspiration!

My own little family is the same way. My spouse handles roasts and stir fry, I do the bread and pies and anything fiddly. We both do soups. I make my spouse handle the butchering and stuffing though I've done a little of that too. I've learned more by doing than by anyone showing me anything, and that mostly from books.

My dream is to someday learn how to stretch phyllo and strudel dough, even though I've mostly given up grain. That's almost a lost art!

My grandmother taught me to cook. She was a down-home Southern cook, and most of her food came right out of the family's huge summer garden.

She was always so patient with me, and overflowing with praise. Just what a kid needs to instill a love of something.

I wish I had more of her recipes. My mom and some other family members are trying to pull more of them together from all sorts of places.

Butterfly

No one

Unfortunately, my mom was not interested in food preparation at all. My dad grilled but didn't share his skill with my brother and I.

As a result, my brother and I both married "foodies" that rock it out in the kitchen. We've made sure that our kids are exposed to cooking so they don't end up like us!

Interestingly, although I can barely boil water, I'm obsessed with the food network show "Chopped" and "Cupcake Wars"!

S

LOL, SoCalSuz. Your obsession with food network..... Those who can, do and those that can't , watch! But I can and still watch both those shows too. There's something about food competitions that DON'T necessarily lead to eating that draws me.
kim

Ha!
I love chopped on The Food Network!
I consider myself a foodie. I eat almost everything, I cook, I love to food shop.
Yet, these judges amaze me, they will eat and try anything. I don't think I could ever be a judge on that show. Some of the food and combinations prepared, I just don't think I can bring to my mouth.

The chefs are amazing. I often wonder what kind of personality you have to have to subject yourself to such competition. I love watching it!