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tell me i’m not alone
By heather | September 16, 2008
I’ve come to the startling conclusion that I hate to cook. I want to like cooking, the same way I want to like skiing and camping and amusement park rides. But I just don’t.
I hate to bake, I don’t know the difference between saute and fry, in short…any type of culinary creativeness just makes me feel tired.
Not only that, I am BAD at it. I get distracted and burn stuff. One by one I trashed an entire set of pots. I ruin things that practically make themselves. I set off the smoke alarm on average once a week. I melt plastic bags to the top of the toaster oven. I once forgot the eggs when making muffins…from a mix where all I had to add was water and eggs.
And man was I burned (bad pun get it?) when I had to waste money on a new oven. That I’ve now had for 3 months and have used approximately 4 times. Twice for frozen pizza. Once by my mother-in-law who was so appalled by the poor showing we made last time they visited that this time they trucked an entire roast and all the ingredients for dinner from Pennsylvania. Once to make frozen french fries. Which set off the smoke alarm when I decided that broiling them on high would make them crispy like Mickey D’s.
Why then, am I obsessed with recipes?
I think it’s for the same reason that I love office supplies. Office supplies are about potential. It’s not about actually being organized, it’s the mere idea that if everything were filed and tabbed and highlighted then life would be so much simpler.
So too, with cooking. I read recipes imagining thier tasty, homemade deliciousness and the mouth-watering smells. Envisioning my dinner guests raving over my gourmet cooking that I made in my fabulous kitchen while my children played quietly by my feet.
My excuse has always been that I didn’t have the time, so busy with work was I that by the time we’d get home it was too late to make a meal. But I would love to if I had the time! Alas…
The past few months of staying home have proven that even when I’m here all day, I rarely get around to chopping and dicing and mixing. By the time I get the kitchen clean, usually around 2pm, the last thing I want to do is mess it up. And Law & Order is on then.
So as much as it pains me to admit it, my name is Heather and I subscribe to recipe blogs purely for the food porn. I will never make any of these dishes, just like you will never do it on the copy machine at work. I like to eat, but I want someone else to make it and clean up.
I feel a great weight lift when I tell you..I hate to cook. Tell me it’s not just me.
Topics: deep thoughts...or not, food | 5 Comments »
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September 16th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
You arent alone. I suck at cooking, which makes me dislike it.
Miss’s last blog post..For a good time call?
September 16th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Dream Dinners…Super Suppers…there’s got to be something like that around there. The lady who lived here before us actually ordered gourmet food from a catalog. We’re still getting the catalog.
My advice: start small. PB&J. Then move to grilled cheese and tuna salad. Once you master the sandwiches then move to the salads. Work on those for a while and then move to casseroles. Slowly work your way to meats. Mexican is a whole eating philosophy that is pretty hard to mess up.
Vicki’s last blog post..Open Letter to the Voice Prompt Systems
September 16th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I may like to cook, but I wish I could cook like it *appears* the rest of the world cooks. And I too, have a hopeless addiction to googling recipes that I will never live up to.
And I often drool over this website:
http://foodgawker.com/
Phew.
September 18th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
I try to make easy stuff….meals that are easy. That was a prerequesite to staying home was that I had to cook at least 3 times a week. I like to do it, but I have to plan and it is hard to do with a toddler.
September 19th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I’ll one up you, I love to cook, I collect tons of recipes and most of the time… never make them. Most of the time I’m too busy or I don’t prioritize my time to make really adventurous things. so mostly it’s the same ole, same ole.
Feel better?
skiplovey’s last blog post..AP reports youth and husband managed to survive for 48 hours without Mom.