Life's too short to....

[nkf]

Which things put you off a recipe? On the too much faff basis.
Mine would be:
toasting pine nuts
re-hydrating dried mushrooms.

[twoluvlykids]

skinning tomoatoes - although I do, sometimes, it's easier to open a tin

[psychomum5]

make pasta from scratch when there is no difference in taste (IMO) from shop bought stuff.

[cositjustisok]

Have to agree with twoluvlykids...been skinning tomatoes for yonks thinking they where better!!!!...then opened a tin of Napolina's..and thought why the ***..do I bother these are fab!!!

[moondog]

Nkf, those take minutes!

I'm with you on the pasta making though. wtf?
Poss. also bread making. (Suspect also would trough it all down in one go and cultivate huge arse)

[janeite]

Soak and cook chickpeas - I just buy tins.

Skin tomatoes - and also they look like bodyparts once skinned and make me feel ill.

Make your own pasta - can't see the point tbh.

I would also add - read a Delia Smith recipe: her writing is about as exciting as a dry cream cracker.

[mazzystartled]

i always toast pine nuts

but draw the line at peeling butternut squash

[cositjustisok]

Noooooooooooo...please moondog..breadmaking is the "Dogs Bollocks"...I promise you, no time at all and easier than going to the shops ...mind you I cant even eat my wares!!!..got Coeliac disease..but hubby swears by it!!!

[cositjustisok]

Toasting pine nuts takes nano seconds...no problems but dem blinking tomatoes are in "Janeite" words..like body parts...and they are!!!!, jsut never thought of it like that..

[psychomum5]

oh no, please DO the butternut squash......tis luvvly roasted with sweet potatoes, garlic and olive oil and served with roast lamb.

[mrsmaidamess]

Soak lentils. If I ever see this in a recipe I switch right off.

[mrsmaidamess]

Soak lentils. If I ever see this in a recipe I switch right off.

[fishie]

nothing is too much for me. i'll do anything so long as it tastes good. skimming peeling. hell i even topped and tailed a bag of beansprouts on thursday.

waitrose tinnned cherry toms are far nicer than my nasty hard greengrocer ones though.

[cyanarasamba]

Make puff pastry from scratch

Soak/boil beans for days then them still being hard rather than using nice soft ones from a tin

Assemble a dish in one of those cheffy round mould things so the sausages/mash/cabbage etc are piled on top of eachother in the centre of a huge white plate a la Gary Rhodes

[melpomene]

Almost anything that involves soaking pulses overnight or standing something for several hours. I write a weekly menu and then decide each night what we're going to have from it; I don't like having to plan ahead the night before.

Don't usually bother with skinning tomatoes.

[Moondancer]

Do you really ever have to soak lentils? and do you have to top and tail beansprouts? I have never done either. Am I being lazy?

[compo]

peel mushrooms

[janeite]

I don't mind the time that toasting pine nuts takes (seconds only) but I hate the smell.

[fishie]

sorry janeite but tinned chickpeas are not nice. presoaked i can happily eat as my whole meal.

lentils do not need to be pre-soaked so any recipe giving that is sus.

[Moondancer]

Lifes too short to faff on making sauces by making a 'roux' first then gradually adding milk. Just chuck everything in together and whisk while heating.

[mrsmaidamess]

Make elaborate themed birthday cakes for my children.

Whats the point in being up until 2am crying over Royal icing when you can pop to Asda and bob's your uncle?

[twoluvlykids]

Also, I avoid anything which involves wrapping sheets of filo pastry in clean damp tea towels...

[Moondancer]

Fishie - I have never seen any recipes asking you to soak lentils either.

[fishie]

beansprout trimming is bloody hellish and i must be demented but it does taste far better, less muddy.

[cyanarasamba]

oh and anything that requires straining through a muslin cloth

[Anifrangapani]

pushing tomatoes through a sieve..... thats why they make passata

But home made bread and pasta taste so much better. I would be lynched if I stopped.