by Cindy Kirk
In the book I’m currently finishing up (it will be out in June 2013) the heroine isn’t much of a cook. I can soooo relate. I’m not a good cook either.
Actually, I’m horrible. I made Thanksgiving dinner only once, but we still laugh about it. In my defense, I never had any instruction in the culinary arts. My mother (who was a good cook) had to do a lot of cooking growing up and didn’t want me (her only daughter) to be forced into the kitchen. Plus our house was small, our kitchen even smaller so even if she’d wanted to show me, there wasn’t room for two cooks.
Once I left home, I was busy. I worked my way through college (always one job, usually two) and it wasn’t worth making a big meal for just my husband and myself. Besides, if I wasn’t in class, I was at work. Our daughter was born three weeks before I graduated from college. I tried to cook when she was small, but neither she nor my husband were very adventurous eaters. I can still remember her looking down at some kind of casserole I’d made, pushing it to the side (she was about two at the time) and saying in that high-pitched little girl voice, “All Done.”
Interestingly our little girl is now an adult…and a good cook! She taught herself and makes most things from scratch.
What did we survive on when she was growing up? Soups, sandwiches, and eating out! lol
Though I’ve fallen short in this area, I’m always interested in hearing the culinary journeys of others…so won’t you please share yours? As well as what your specialty dish is? I really would like to know. It’s another way we can get better acquainted.
ive just learned by watching my mom cook. but my speciality is my chili and meatloaf. just simple dishes
Amy,
My husband and I both love meatloaf. Let me know next time you make it and we’ll be over. lol
Great post, Cindy! My culinary journey has been a long, slow, steady one. When I was a teenager my father declared he’d been a guinea pig once for my mother, and he wasn’t about to become a guinea pig for me. Let whoever I married take on that role. (He had a twinkle in his eyes when he said this, but I still never learned to cook.) Through the years I got better at it, but I didn’t come to love cooking until about ten years ago. Now I find it soothing and creative. I have three brothers, and they are all exceptional cooks, have been for a lot longer than I have. We talk food A LOT!
Susan
Forgot to add my specialty: peach/blueberry pie. My DIL credits finally going into labor because of the effects of this pie
.
OMG Susan….you can make a PIE??? I’m impressed.
And, I have to say it gives me hope that perhaps one day I can get into this cooking thing too.
My mom was always working when I was growing up so I taught myself. When I got married, the first time, at 18 I couldn’t cook anything complicated. I remember the first time I fried chicken. It was beautiful on the outside, and bloody on the inside. My ex still tells this story to our daughter. I did eventually learn how to make things like that and my kids always asked for my potato soup and my lasagna.
Linda,
I love your bloody chicken story…because it sounds so much like a tale I could tell. lol
Potato soup—ummm perfect for cool fall nights….now if it would ever get to be fall and cool…
Cindy, great topic! I actually enjoy cooking (for the most part). I get a feeling of accomplishment from it, plus my husband is very grateful.lol I get a lot of comments on my pot roast and baby back ribs. I’ve just found a new favorite casserole that’s pretty low calorie — Mediterranean Chicken. It has chicken, brown rice, diced tomatoes, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and non-fat feta cheese. I also bake two cakes that people love — Chocolate Applesauce cake and Mississippi Mud cake. I’m getting hungry!:)
I must be hungry too, Leanne, because everything you make sounds delicious!!
I learned to cook when my mother passed away when I was 15. I wish I had payed attention when she and my grandmother were in the kitchen cooking. Both were great cooks and did a lot of German dishes. But my father had health problems and was only allowed a bland diet, so I learned to make a lot of meat and potato dishes, no spices. I’m not very adventurous when it comes to cooking, but my daughter sure loves the brownies and baked mac & cheese I make.
Both sides of my parents are of German descent, too! My one grandmother had died young and the other had eight children and not much interest in her many, many grandchildren. I always wished I had a Grandmother who would at least bake cookies with me.
Hi Cindy! My mom was a great cook, too. I used to get so frustrated when I’d ask her to give me ingredients for recipes and she never had any measurements. It made it impossible for me to make her dishes. I wasn’t very good at cooking, but I could throw a few things together for myself. When I really liked something I’d had somewhere I’d ask for the recipe and soon I had a few dishes I could make. I was lucky that my husband was easy to please and he raved about anything I cooked!
I think what really taught me to cook was the two years I was a strict vegetarian and I read a book called Diet for a Small Planet. I am no longer a vegetarian, but learning to season and try diverse ingredients during that period really helped me be more adventurous in my non-vegetarian cooking. I can’t say I have any specialty dishes, but I am a good-enough cook, and that’s good enough for me.
Lynne,
Thanks for the tip about using diverse ingredients….and the book!
Hi Cindy – I learned to cook from my mother. Being from a large Welsh family, there were always pies to make, pastry to roll, puddings to steam. And of course I got to learn how to make things like a Spotted Dick or Toad in the Hole ….. I still enjoy cooking and find it a great way to relax. Fab post.
Helen….I’m not sure I even want to know what a Spotted Dick is….lol
Growing up, my mom would cook quite often–meat and potatoes, comfort-style meals. As I got older, I wasn’t as into as rich, heavy meals, so when I was working or in school, I’d usually fix something lighter for myself.
It’s taken a while for me to get into cooking as an adult. At first, I didn’t think it was worth the fuss to make a big meal. But I’ve recently started taking my lunch to work, so those big meals now become leftovers for ‘brown bagging it’ which has helped me save money and calories by not eating fast food lunches!
I don’t know that I have a specialty, but I’ve made some pretty good soups and chilis. My own favorite recently has been mini turkey meatloaves!
Stacy,
I’d love a recipe for a good mini-turkey meatloaf! And your suggestion about using leftovers is a good one! Thanks!
As you know, Cindy, I love to cook! Believe it or not, my husband is the one who taught me most of what I know. Well, him, The Food Network, and the Cooking Channel. My mom worked as a nurse full-time + as I was growing up. She cooked for us every night, mostly meat and potatoes, but she didn’t really teach me how. I don’t know why. Maybe I never showed much of an interest then. My husband actually cooked for me on our first date and won my heart! Now, we love to cook side-by-side. It’s one of our favorite things to do. He’s the chef and I’m mostly the sous chef, but I’m the baker in the family. Most recently, I’ve been on a quest to bake bread and create the perfect from-scratch pizza. It’s a work in progress.
Fun blog!
Nancy,
I’m soooo impressed. You and your husband remind me a lot of my daughter and son-in-law….they love to cook together, too.
I’d love to get a breadmaker…but I’m a carb addict and fear I’d be eating the whole loaf.
Great blog, Cindy! Seems like I always cooked. I’m not a genius at it, but I make several family-fave casseroles, including a mean chicken divan. My husband loves to cook. So I let him do it. A lot.
Oh Christine, I’d so love to have a husband who cooks…. At least mine LOVES to clean. Seriously, who LOVES to clean?? I mean, I clean because you need to, but I don’t LOVE it.
Cindy, my dad loves to clean. He vacuums for sport.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to post. I really do love reading your responses and getting to know you better!