To think I might be alone - I don't cook

[badbadcook]

I don't cook, or bake, or anything really.

This is not a stealth boasty "ooh I have better things to be doing" and the children DO eat well. They have porridge, toast, bananas, things like that, for breakfast. I make poached egg on toast. I bung corn on the cob in the microwave. I use a George Foreman grill for fish, I boil carrots and potatoes and broccoli and things.

But I don't COOK. I don't know, for example, how to make a roast, or pie, or lasagne - even simple fairy cakes are beyond me. I keep reading of Mumsnetters who make mince pies and biscuits for Rudolph and the like.

I'm sure I could but I don't know where to start and how do you do it with children marauding about?

Len Deighton- 50 Cookstrips

Robert Carrier- Great Dishes of the World.

Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food. It has step by step guide and a lot of helpful tips.

You can also find a lot of videos online if you are not sure how exactly something should be peeled or cut

How old are DC? Get a really easy recipe off the internet and get the kids to help. They need to read every direction to know what they're doing so it will cover up not knowing what you're doing and it'll be fun whatever the outcome.

Roasts etc just again, good Cook book and follow the instructions.

This is the worlds easiest beef stew. You basically add things, then shove it in the oven and ignore it. I find it doesn't take as long in the oven as it says
There is no browning the meat etc, just fry some veg and then tip other stuff in
I tend to add some pancetta cubes (ready chopped as I'm lazy!), chopped mushrooms, and an oxo cube
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/beef-and-ale-stew/

Also hobnob biscuits. Just involves stirring really and melting some butter. No rolling out etc
http://mymakedoandmendlife.com/2013/02/19/homemade-hobnobs/

Student cookbooks tend to be good for not assuming extensive skills.

If you want to learn then the internet is your friend, you can find millions of recipes on there.

If you don't want to learn then that's fine

Buy a slow cooker and you can cook wonderful stews just by throwing in loads of veg and meat.

No-one is born knowing how to cook. if you want to learn to do it you can do. I learnt from Delia Smiths Complete Cookery Course book and I am a v good cook now. But it's not compulsory - you sound like you are doing just fine as you are.

I'm a vegetarian!

I've got a slow cooker. It's just too, well, slow

I wondered if I was alone as cooking and baking seems to be what people do a lot?

Not alone I cook sometimes but mainly I assemble. And do easy stuff like fish with roasted veg. Sometimes I bake but maybe 2/3 times a year

You are not alone. I don't cook. DH likes it, so does it all, including bread and cakes.

You do more than I do. I have on occasion taken advice and bought some cookbooks but my DC are picky and I am not up for that fight. I make what I know will be eaten.

You cook more than I do! Fortunately my DH is a very good cook so kids eat well and have school dinners during the week so I know they're getting a healthy varied diet but pizza in oven is about the sum of my skills!!

All you need is a few really good recipe books that explain the how and the why.

Delia Smith is brilliant for this. I defy anyone not knowing how to make a meal after reading her How To Cook series of books, unless you are dyslexic.

Student recipe books contain simple recipes. YouTube is brilliant for demonstrating cooking techniques. Also, there are so many cookery shows on TV that show you how to make delicious meals.

There is also nothing wrong with using a few short cuts for things you don't have the confidence to make - shortcrust pastry, Yorkshire puddings etc.

I can cook very well humble but I can't bake for shit. I'm vegan, used to be vegetarian and I think it's easier cooking these meals as far less chance of poisoning everyone!

There's a big difference between cooking and baking - baking is more an exact science or it won't work. My kind of cooking is much more a bit of this, dash of that. Doesn't work so well when using bicarbonate of soda

You just follow a recipe, it's step by step, it's really not hard and it's how many of us learn. You can't say you can't cook if you haven't tried. I think everyone can cook, you've just got to buy the ingredients, follow a recipe and voila you cooked.

I can cook, after a fashion but I don't bake at all- I've tried a couple of times but with rubbish results, shop bought cakes and biscuits are much better than anything I could make.

I definitely think baking might be a tad beyond me, although I do love the IDEA of it!

Do you actually want to cook? I love cooking, but I know a lot of people just see it as a chore. If you want to learn, I started with Delia Smith for the basics and internet recipes once I knew what I was doing. Be prepared for some trial and error when you try a new recipe, mine never come out right the first time round!

Roast dinners look daunting, but it's literally putting stuff in the oven at the right time. Some people like to make it seem more complicated than it is

As for the children thing, a lot of people say you should get them to help, but I prefer them to stay out of the kitchen. DS1 plays in his room while I do dinner, and DS2 is generally asleep (he's only 6 weeks old). Even DH isn't allowed in when I'm cooking, but that's just me, I don't like other people in my workspace.

I can do basic baking cooking and baking but I hate crafts and can't knit or sew. You don't have to do everything. My mum taught me to make sponge cakes and pastry. She is a very good cook. A big Delia fan in the seventies. My kids aged 6 and 9 are picking up baking from me. I find it easy because I've done it since I was their age.

Well, I see that a lot of people suggest baking with the children as an activity, but don't they get bored and make a mess?

No one is born knowing how to make a pie. Just follow a recipe the first few times. It really isn't hard.

Baking is easier than cooking sometimes, as it's more precise. If you follow a recipe exactly then it will work. Mince pies would be particularly easy. Shortcrust pastry can be made in a food processor in moments and nearly everyone will use shop bought mincemeat. If you're baking with children, you do a child friendly recipe that is quick and you do the harder processes yourself as the adult. Mostly children just like to decorate and ice things though! Gingerbread men is a good place to start, as you can make the biscuit dough and they can cut out shapes and add the raisins.