This week the questions found by Annie @Tuesday 4 are all about cooking. I really do like to cook so these questions are right in my wheel house.
1. When did you learn to cook?
I honestly do not remember a time when I did not cook. My parents had a home movie of me when I was 2 1/2 stirring pudding. I was standing on a stool and my mom was holding me around my waist while I was "cooking" on the stove. By the time I was about 6 or 7 my best friend, Kathy and I played in our Mom's kitchens. They both would let us make anything we wanted to make as long as we cleaned up afterward. I can remember us sitting at the kitchen tables pouring over recipes. Mock Champagne? We made it. The same for mousse, every kind of cookie we could think of, cakes, stuffed potatoes, etc.
By the time I was 10 I could get a simple meal on the table pretty easily and when I was 13, I made a pact with Mom. I would cook if she would sew for me. She loved to sew and hated cooking and the opposite was true for me. It was a great deal for both of us. Dad loved it too because I was a better cook than Mom and was a lot more adventurous. We kept that up until I left for college.
By the time TheHub and I were married cooking was second nature to me.
2. How often in the week do you cook?
Generally I cook at least 5 times a week, but there have been weeks that I don't cook at all. It mainly depends on what we have going on.
Order in?
We do not order in, but we do take out. If we go out to a restaurant most likely we will not do take out that week, unless are out doing things on Saturday. Sometimes we will pick up something for lunch and bring it home.
Go out?
We have started going back to restaurants, but they have to still have distance between the tables and I do not go at times when the crowds are there.
3. Which foods are absolutely necessary at a cookout?
I live in the south and cooking out can be two completely different things. It can be as simple as throwing something on the grill, and trust me, I have grilled almost everything under the sun. I have baskets to grill fish like flounder or snapper, baskets to grill vegetables, skewers, a pizza stone to toss on the grill and other grilling toys. We grill a lot during the summer just to keep the kitchen cool. So for us a cookout can be anything at all.
Now a BBQ is an entirely separate entity. It requires slow cooking or smoking pork or chicken, sauces, a bbq mop, and a lot of time. Generally with bbq we have caulitato salad (cauliflower based potato salad knock off) coleslaw, baked beans, and bbq bread.
4. Do you have a meal you are especially good at making?
I love Cuban food and make a killer piccadillo. If I make empanadas using that as the filling they are really delicious.
https://newhappeningsatthetable.blogspot.com/2014/08/empanadas.html
(cheaters note:you can find empanada pastry in the frozen section of Latin markets)
That people often request for you to make?
Son3 asks for the picadillo when he is home. TheHub regularly asks for my peach cobbler or spaghetti.
So come on and play along. Let's see what is cooking at your place!
We're not big ordering in either, but we've increased take out from non fast food restaurants. That will go away likely over time.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if the take out from traditional restaurants will stop or not. I figure as long as it adds to their profits they will continue it. A few restaurants here have it down to an art form now and their businesses have boomed. Even now that people are eating in them, they are continuing to offer delicious take out meals.
DeleteThank you for setting all those Yankees straight that a BBQ is not grilling out.
ReplyDeleteYep, but I forgot to mention that cooking burgers or steak on the grill is NOT a bbq. It is just grilling!
DeleteMy mother had me participating in cooking from a very young age, also. However, I was not allowed to use the oven unsupervised until I was 9. One of the first times did, I burned my finger because I didn't fold up the dishtowel right that I was using for a potholder. All during high school, my sister and I were responsible for getting supper on the table every night because both of my parents worked long hours. While I don't dislike cooking now, everything else just seems more interesting, so we struggle sometimes on what to have for dinner.
ReplyDeleteFor me food and food prep is my canvas. I really do love to cook and play with flavors. Mom taught me to use the oven when I was very young, and let me cook on the stove top even younger, as long as she was right there.
DeleteWe’ve been concentrating on plant based meals this week. We did eat out yesterday and went at 3 o’clock so we were only one of three there and they were spaced out very well. I enjoyed reading about how much you liked cooking while growing up. That is so neat that you and your Mom traded sewing for cooking. You must have many fond memories of that.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed cooking and got a lot of cute clothes in the process.
DeleteI love Cuban black bean soup but I haven't made any in a long while now. Now that I am thinking of it I will get some cooking! The caulitato does sound interesting for sure. I do like cauliflower crusts for making pizza better than the bread kind! Thanks for joining in.
ReplyDeleteWe are beyond soup weather now, but I did buy some beautiful peppers at the produce market. After writing this post I decided I really do need to make picadillo. Friday one of the stores near me is having ground chuck discounted ,and that sealed the deal!
Delete1. I didn't learn to really cook beyond heating something up until I was a young adult. Oh, I wanted to cook as a kid, and pored over cookbooks. My mother didn't allow it, though. She would cook an early dinner (5ish) for us kids, then another meal much later, 8 (ish) for her and my father. That was enough activity in the kitchen for her. I would, however, on the weekends, try to bake cookies or something like that.
ReplyDelete2. I cook pretty much every day of the week. Well, I don't consider reheating something in the oven cooking. We don't order in much, as there's only one place here that delivers. I dislike going out to eat--crowds, price, stupid music always playing, less than stellar food, worse service.
3. I don't like cookouts either, but we do grill our steaks. (It's the only way we cook them.)
4. I would have to ask my family. Some kids love my cottage pie, others my baked salmon. I'm a much better baker than cook.
I don't mind the cooking outside part of it, but I hate eating outside in the summertime. It is too hot and buggy.
DeleteWhenever I am truly upset I bake. It is a mindless soothing activity for me.
That is so awesome that you started cooking so early in your life. It feels nice to eat in a restaurant after all this time with the pandemic. We were at an Easter Brunch on Sunday. It felt strange. I forgot about skewers, we love them and were on a kick for a few months. There is a lot of "yum" at your house!
ReplyDeleteMost of our meals are pretty simple, but I do add a lot of flavor most of the time.
DeleteI watched my mother cook from a very early age. I was allowed to assist with minor tasks but my mother was jealous of her kitchen. She was happy to leave the cleaning up to me but NOT the cooking. So until I left home scones/cakes were all I was allowed to make. I learnt on the fly and have been grateful that I obviously absorbed quite a bit watching. That said there have been some disasters... And also some deliciousness.
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DeleteIf someone has not had disasters in the kitchen, then they have never really cooked! I still have my share of them mainly due to inattention, but sometimes I experiment and lose!
Your mom was on to a good thing - smart lady!
ReplyDeleteIt worked for both of us!
DeleteSounds like you discovered the joys of cooking at an early age! Your empanadas are very similar to what we call "patties", except, the filling is a curry made with ground beef or fish, and we deep fry them (although, I've baked them, too). :)
ReplyDeleteI suppose I could deep fry them, but the family loves them this way so I probably will never do a test.
DeleteI have learnt to make rice pilaf when I was about 13 or so but, that was it. I did not need to cook till I was 22 and living on my own in the US. I turned out to be a decent cook over the years. I like to try different cuisines.
ReplyDeleteI like to try different cuisines also. Though I refuse to try to make haggis!
DeleteWow, you really have the cooking mojo! I wasn't allowed in the kitchen until I was about 10 and the first thing I remember making is a 1-2-3-4 cake. I really learned to cook when I was on my own, and most everything I make is very simple.
ReplyDeleteI generally throw something together at least 5 days a week, with one evening of leftovers, maybe two depending on what I made. I do order in about once a month, usually pizza. I haven't been inside a restaurant since last November, but soon.
The BBQ is only used when the weather is decent - we have had hamburgers once this spring. I cook chicken, pork chops or burgers mostly and we don't eat outside. Too many bugs for my liking. Sides are usually potato or pasta salad.
My adult children love my mac and cheese, usually served with hot Italian sausage. Simple fare but they enjoy it. I think I make a mean homemade pizza too and no one turns it down. :)
The bugs are what keeps us from eating outside very often. We do eat on the screened porch sometimes though!
DeleteI studied cooking in H.S. Home Ec, but can't say it took. Not only was our apartment kitchen tiny -- but most evenings my dad was gone to his second shift job and mother was largely disinterested. Good thing I married men (one at a time) who love to cook!
ReplyDeleteAll three of my sons are the primary cooks in their homes. Son1 and Son3 have wives who are great bakers but they don't like to do general cooking. Son2's wife is a wonderful sous chef and a fabulous cleaner! (Love you much but we all know cooking is not your forte'. )
DeleteHello! I love that you were cooking so young! My Peyton was the same. I remember her stirring brownie batter and the sitting on a plastic chair in front of the oven while they baked. She is a wonderful cook, and now that she is married, I have to start cooking again myself!
ReplyDeleteI just always loved everything about the process, from the prepping to the actual cooking.
DeleteCan I come eat at your house. That tradeoff with your mom was a great idea. My mom worked, so me cooking helped her out and I learned her great recipes. I am going to check out your link now. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can share some of your favorite recipes at some time!
DeleteI didn't start to cook until I was a teenager, then never really learned how to cook until I was in my 20s. Been nonstop ever since. :-) We've been pretty selective about going out to restaurants -- it's been very rare, whereas it used to be weekly. Definitely do weekly (often twice a week) takeout or delivery.
ReplyDeleteWe have been going the takeout option but do occasionally go into a restaurant now and then if it meets all my crowd and spacing criteria. I miss going out every weekend!
DeleteUMMMM....I want to come to your house for dinner. That is so awesome that you were in the kitchen at such a young age.
ReplyDeleteI just always have liked messing around in the kitchen!
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