Can you cook?

[OldFred]

Do you consider yourself a capable and competent cook?
Do you enjoy cooking?

Yes I can, in the sense I can follow recipes very easily and do actually enjoy doing it for the result!! But I'm not some expert who can cook things on the spot. I really love baking with my children as well

@ShowerOfShites

I'm not on this thread to make you personally feel better.

I know, but equally you don't need to tell me what I have said about my ability is wrong, as that will ultimately make people feel worse. I hate being misunderstood and not listened to.

I'm on this thread for the same reason you are, and that's to discuss what the OP has asked.

I'm not telling people who say they can cook, well or otherwise that their opinions are incorrect though. I respect what everyone tells me about themselves, I have no reason not to.

You said it "I don't need to cook".

I don't; I wish I could though. It would certainly make my life a lot easier, but it's true that nobody needs to cook, we have options, alternatives- none of them are ideal though, yet for some of the time it's what people do when they can't cook. Im very fortunate that I have DH who makes the vast majority of meals fresh, but sometimes I rely on other methods of he isn't able because I can't do it.

I think that's the basis for most people who claim they can't follow very simple recipes.

I'm not claiming that though, which was my original comment about respecting what I tell you about myself. I cannot do that. Why do you need to suggest otherwise? Why can't you just read the comment and accept it?

I’m a good cook not a gourmet cook. I bake also but mostly special occasions. I use recipes. All my family are good to very good cooks men and women both right down to my uni age son. However I despise the theatre of dinner….planning shopping preparing cooking cleaning up. A whole second job waiting for me after work. My 3 least favorite words…what’s for dinner? DH doesn’t cook st all.

No. I loathe it. I'd much rather go to 'spoons every night than prepare food, eat it grudgingly (it always tastes shit) and then wash up and put everything away afterwards. I genuinely can't see how anyone can enjoy it.

I bought a few cookbooks & when I’ve got time at weekends I’ll make something from one of them, then portion the rest of it up for the freezer. It’s also improved my repertoire for when I’m hosting.

I think the big disclaimer here is that since it’s just me & the cat, I only have to cook when I’ve got time & I feel like it. Otherwise quick & easy stuff - pasta & pesto and tofu or bean stir fries.

In that I don't follow recipes but can assemble a tasty meal from whatever ingredients we happen to have in the fridge, yes.

How do you afford to go to Spoons every night?

I can cook. I’m not an incredible cook, but I’m good enough. I don’t enjoy it as much as I used to; cooking day in, day out for years on end does get tedious after a while.

I can cook but I don't enjoy doing so though as, to me, it's just a necessary chore.

I won't accept it because I believe that any NT person without disabilities that may prevent them, can cook.

They can move a bit of mince around a pan, add a chopped onion and a few other bits for example and boil a pan of pasta.

And if they're not sure how to do that, they can follow one of the millions of internet tutorials out there.

My ex husband claimed he couldn't iron clothes but he soon learned when he realised I wasn't falling for it.

I think there are different standards of “can you cook”.

I think almost anyone can follow a recipe and turn out something edible. Although a few people do struggle for some innate reason (a bit like driving).

There is a second level which is being able to create a decent meal from the fridge without a recipe, also to make something really tasty - knowing what flavours go together and cooking techniques/temperatures to get the best result.

Then there’s a third level which is being able to do delicious fancy food for entertaining and enjoying experimenting with new ingredients and recipes.

I’m broadly second level but definitely not third. I find performance cooking very stressful.

Like many things it is all about practice.

Aren't we lucky that we live in an era where those of us who want to cook, can, and those who don't, for whatever reason, have many lovely alternatives (assuming an isolated location isn't a hindrance).
Ready meals, pre-prepared components, takeaways, restaurants and pubs, gusto type boxes where all prep and thinking has been done....
I don't attach any value whatsoever to how someone chooses to feed themselves and their families. I just do it my way because I'm a fussy old bugger and cooking is fun for me.

Same as a lot of people on here. Can cook but rubbish at baking. OK with say a bannana loaf but any decorating of things forget it.

Yes.

I couldn't when I left home...when we first lived together we used to go to freezer shops and buy stuff you can just put in the oven.

When I had my first baby, I bought the Annabel Karmel weaning book, because I didn't want my children to be brought up on processed food - that was what got me started tbh.

My dm then bought me a Delia Smith book so I started following recipes and over the years I've just got more confident I guess. I'm no master chef but I cook from scratch every day and am capable of throwing things together without a recipe now (it's not all fancy cooking that takes hours, just casseroles/chilli/pasta dishes etc that I can batch cook for the freezer)

@ShowerOfShites

I won't accept it because I believe that any NT person without disabilities that may prevent them, can cook.

I think this assumption might be the problem. I wonder, do I have to disclose to you my medical information before you are willing to believe what I said about my cooking ability? I don't think I should have to give anyone a full run down of difficulties before they accept what I say about myself. Why can't it just be accepted? To be fair this isnt really about cooking, is it? It's about people not respecting what I tell them, without a disclaimer containing my medical information. I'm not sure why you need that to respect what anyone says about themselves, you know there are factors that mean people are less able, so if someone says they can't do something, maybe just accept it?

I meant to add, I don't understand people who say "I can't cook". Nobody is born knowing how to cook - you just have to follow recipes and build your confidence as you go along. I still burn stuff occasionally and I'm a messy cook!

I feel I've covered the factors in previous posts.

But I think we should just park this, because I'll never accept it and we're taking over the OP's thread a bit.

I’m not a bad cook (and baker!). I have learned to do the basics well and have added complexity as I go along. (e.g. I always have home made stock in the freezer, and in the fridge).

I can follow a recipe and can definitely make something from nothing.
i can also host fairly easily.

We had roasted pumpkin and red pepper with ginger soup yesterday. It was a total success and I would have been delighted to pay for it.

…having said that I can be a messy cook- but if I clean up myself then I have to be allowed to be.

Yes, I would say I am a competent cook.

Not sure about masterchef type cooking... but definitely every day hearty food from scratch.
However, I have created a pot roast concoction, to which DH announced its Restaurant quality! 🤣

Another reason we all cook in the family is that the cost of eating out has gone up and quality is way down. I am not a fantastic cook but I can often make better food than many restaurants, or at least more to my taste..( find a lot of food bland and underseasoned).

Yes, I love cooking and baking, and am very good at it. I can decorate cakes, but it's not my best thing; so I'd never enter Bake-Off!

Yes I can cook
But I couldn't do it offhand. I have to have a recipe to follow.

Til I was maybe 30 I wouldn't have said I could cook at all. It made me nervous. I didn't try. I'd just have jacket potatoes and pasta with a jar sauce and egg sandwiches. That was the extent of it. But when my baby became a toddler that gave me the want to do it. So I taught myself. I was getting the baby magazines and they had recipes in and I just did it!
And slowly I got more used to it.

Even now 8 years later I still feel a sense of accomplishment when I've cooked a meal for us.
And I still sometimes feel proud of myself.
Even better when she likes it!

Chefs aren't tidy-they just have a lot of people to clear up after them. My Dad was a good cook, but my God, the state of the kitchen when he'd finished!

I’m a good cook but don’t enjoy it. I do however like things cooked the way I like so do most of the cooking 😂. I cooked and baked (although I hate baking) a lot with my son when he was growing up to teach him to look after himself. I have been teaching my husband for the past couple of years and he’s not bad now. Everyone in my family cooks & enjoys food so I learnt from watching my parents/grandparents and cooking with them as a child. I don’t often follow a recipe and my aim with my son was for him to be able to make all of the ‘basic’ meals without a recipe, spag bol, chilli, curries, fajitas, steaks, roast, pies, soup, stew etc