What do you think is the most challenging thing in cooking?

[rodentraiser]

The hardest part for me is just getting started cooking something.

I know that sounds like a snarky reply, but I've found out I really don't enjoy cooking all that much. I do like trying new recipes, though. Go figure.

But motivation is the hardest part and I think it's because I also hate doing dishes. I could never be a stay at home anything because I absolutely hate housework of any and all kinds.

But part of disliking cooking is not really having the space for it. That and the money I'd waste if I don't like what I cook. Food right now is too expensive to play around with and take chances with.

I don't know if I'd be more or less motivated if I didn't live by myself. I think I'd hate cooking if I had to do it every day but I'd definitely be doing more of it. As it is, I generally cook four times a week and the rest of the time is a frozen pizza or something I can make by throwing it in the microwave.

 

[dragnlaw]

rr - I think I would cook a lot more should I be cooking for someone. Half the fun is watching someone enjoy the food you cook. (other half is enjoying myself) Someone once told me I should open a restaurant as my food was so great. WHAT?? and have to cook on demand? No way - never!

 

[Marlingardener]

I find it a challenge, one I am not up to meeting, to cook for someone I don't like. No matter how basic the dish, how many times I've prepared it, if I'm fixing it for someone I don't like, it's a flop.

 

[Linda0818]

I find it a challenge, one I am not up to meeting, to cook for someone I don't like. No matter how basic the dish, how many times I've prepared it, if I'm fixing it for someone I don't like, it's a flop.

Why would you cook for someone you don't like? How does that situation even come about? Unless you mean you're cooking for family and there's someone in the group you're not fond of?

 

[Marlingardener]

Linda, you are absolutely right. My husband's niece is impossible--silly, self-centered, and an incessant talker. She and her husband come to visit when it's convenient for them.
I try, I really try, but my husband and I had a talk, and they aren't going to visit again. I had no idea he didn't like them either!

 

[Linda0818]

Linda, you are absolutely right. My husband's niece is impossible--silly, self-centered, and an incessant talker. She and her husband come to visit when it's convenient for them.
I try, I really try, but my husband and I had a talk, and they aren't going to visit again. I had no idea he didn't like them either!

That would be a difficult situation, for sure. I'm glad you and your husband got it sorted.

 

[dragnlaw]

burn the food, add pepper to everything, serve Kale, liver, dandelion, undercook the pasta - like just serve it wet - raw hamburger meat and call it tartare.

Be sure to eat well before they get there. Keep a wet proof napkin on your lap to scoop from your plate (unseen). Or keep the dog under the table.

edit:
or say you've gone vegan and serve warm tofu with ketchup

 

[Linda0818]

burn the food, add pepper to everything, serve Kale, liver, dandelion, undercook the pasta - like just serve it wet - raw hamburger meat and call it tartare.

Be sure to eat well before they get there. Keep a wet proof napkin on your lap to scoop from your plate (unseen). Or keep the dog under the table.

edit:
or say you've gone vegan and serve warm tofu with ketchup

Brilliant plan!

 

[CharlieD]

For me it is fallowing the recipe to the T. That is why i am not good at baking. I can fake a soup, but not a cake.

 

[Linda0818]

For me it is fallowing the recipe to the T. That is why i am not good at baking. I can fake a soup, but not a cake.

Ditto for me. These days I look for the easiest recipes possible. I'll sometimes see something that looks super good that I'd love to make. But when I go to the recipe and see that the ingredient list is a mile long, it's an immediate "nope" from me.

I love to cook, but I just don't have the patience or the motivation I used to possess. Most of the dishes I make are dishes I've made for years that I don't even need a recipe for anymore. It's all 'up here', as they say.

 

[dragnlaw]

Linda, I think I threw out about 20+ recipes the other day. Was going thru a binder on chicken (or pasta, can't remember) and I would look at the recipe and if my eyes glazed over at the list of ingredients OR saw more than 6 steps - I ripped it out and practiced my slam dunks with the wastepaper basket.

 

[Andy M.]

I was looking for something new and different with chicken for dinner yesterday. I checked by 'Cookbook' folder under poultry of all the recipes I had made and we liked. Nothing inspired me. Then I checked the new recipes to try folder. Found one that looked ok, was simple, and I had all the ingredients on hand. It was pretty good and worth doing again with some tweaks. Sometimes you get lucky.

 

[Linda0818]

Linda, I think I threw out about 20+ recipes the other day. Was going thru a binder on chicken (or pasta, can't remember) and I would look at the recipe and if my eyes glazed over at the list of ingredients OR saw more than 6 steps - I ripped it out and practiced my slam dunks with the wastepaper basket.

You sound like me

I literally just can't be bothered anymore making recipes that take hours to make or have way too many ingredients.

 

[Badjak]

I like SE asian food and that generally has a lot of ingredients.
I don't mind it at all, but to the people above that do:
You can quite often split a recipe and make the paste before, and make a bit more so you can do several meals with it (think Thai curry pastes, Indonesian, Malay etc bumbu's (spice pastes))
Or you can, of course, short cut and buy them ready-made

 

[dragnlaw]

Thanks Badjak, in fact I often split recipes when I can. sometimes it is the only way in which I ever get to do them. Example - day before I made the batter for the crepes, it's waiting in the fridge. The asparagus has been cooked. This afternoon I wlll combine in a dish for upstairs to enjoy as an appetizer when they get home from work.
Mis en place can be done in the mornings. Vegies can be prepped the day before, etc.

That's another reason I purchased the Bread Machine and the Rice Cooker. I've already learned how. Now I sit and enjoy someonething else doing all the work, while I get the benifits.

 

[pepperhead212]

I like SE asian food and that generally has a lot of ingredients.
I don't mind it at all, but to the people above that do:
You can quite often split a recipe and make the paste before, and make a bit more so you can do several meals with it (think Thai curry pastes, Indonesian, Malay etc bumbu's (spice pastes))

I agree, and I rarely make the actual dish calling for those ingredients - the curry pastes, or masala powders - at the same time I make them. And I usually make at least two of those at a time - this way, I can measure/weigh out many of the things twice at a time, which speeds things up, when you consider time/recipe. Recently I did this with those two masala powders I made, and each had 19 ingredients, many the same. And it doesn't really take that long to make, but once already made, it saves a lot of time, numerous times, when making dishes.

 

[GotGarlic]

I agree, and I rarely make the actual dish calling for those ingredients - the curry pastes, or masala powders - at the same time I make them. And I usually make at least two of those at a time - this way, I can measure/weigh out many of the things twice at a time, which speeds things up, when you consider time/recipe. Recently I did this with those two masala powders I made, and each had 19 ingredients, many the same. And it doesn't really take that long to make, but once already made, it saves a lot of time, numerous times, when making dishes.

I've also done that with taco, fajita and Lebanese seasoning mixes. And I have several seasoning blends from Penzeys Spices that I use as shortcuts when cooking. Sometimes I cut ingredients one day, marinate them for a day or just a few hours, then cook. Either way, staging the prep helps a lot and I have blends ready for another time.

 

[Jade Emperor]

I think that oftentimes it can seem daunting when you have lots of ingredients and numerous steps, but I find that once you get going and into a rhythm, the process becomes much more manageable and before you know it, you have the results.
It’s just getting that motivation to get started.

 

[taxlady]

I think that oftentimes it can seem daunting when you have lots of ingredients and numerous steps, but I find that once you get going and into a rhythm, the process becomes much more manageable and before you know it, you have the results.
It’s just getting that motivation to get started.

That's how it used to be. I simply do not have the energy and stamina that I used to have. Now, I would rather make something with less effort that still tastes good. As it is, I have to stop and sit more frequently than I prefer. But, if I don't and just push through, it will take much longer to regain energy.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Some days even the simple recipes seem daunting.

These days I take a page from my grandmother and do as much prep work as I can in the morning when I’m puttering around the kitchen.

My grandmother never heard of mise en place but she was a master of it. She did as much of the peeling, chopping, measuring, etc… as she could early in the day and was able to pull it all together quickly at meal time.

I’m sixty-nine and just learning to cook!