Cooking is something I used to enjoy as a child. The basic kind of cooking though, like making pancakes on Sundays, or cukcakes for the school fete to sell. Burning my finger while "testing" the toffee we were making one day (to see if it was hot enough on the stove - what was I thinking?!) never deterred me from the fun of creating something from scratch and being able to eat what we made afterwards, although most of this cooking was usually under the watchful eye of someone older and more experienced.
When taking Home Economics at school, it was not so much to learn the fine art of cooking, but moreso a reason to take a class that would allow me to eat what I made at the end. After cooking one creation with a whole capsicum, not realising that you had to de-seed it first, I knew that I was definitely a cooking novice and was probably not going to become the next MasterChef anytime soon.
While they say anyone can learn to cook, I think there also has to be some kind of motivation there as well. Whether that be cooking to try and impress someone, cooking as a communal task in a share house or living environment, cooking as a family responsibility, cooking to save money from eating out or just cooking for the love it. As someone who chooses to live alone, I dont find that any of the above reasons motivate me to cook. I also dont see the point in dirtying multiple fry pans, plates and dishes to create a delicious home cooked meal for one. This would only result in a lot of unnecessary washing up afterwards.
So given that cooking is really not my forte, I found it interesting when I started mapping the contextual reality of the simple act of cooking and while it started with the basic, obvious answers, the list soon grew and grew. And with those possibilities came a lot of risks, which are probably not consciously considered when cooking. This made me think that perhaps the act of not cooking for an inexperienced, unskilled person like myself is the safer option. Maybe down the track, I will find a reason to start cooking and will endeavour to learn the task of it, but for now I am happy to survive on microwave meals in between eating out with friends.
Hi Jules,
ReplyDeleteI hear you! I think that perhaps cooking requires a genetically mutated gene.. one I certainly did not inherit! As a 38yr old mother of 4 I am still waiting for the inspiration to start whipping up scones, basting roasts and pickling tomatoes!
Last year I attended a Tupperware party with a room full of crazy cooking women ga-gaaing over plastic egg-flip thingies and containers that could keep their wonderful creations fresh for eternity! (which quite frankly seemed to detract from the point of making them?...) When asked by the Hostess why I had not used some dishes I had purchased some years prior, I responded "because I don't cook!" The collective gasps of horror were palpable! LOL
So from one Masterchef failure to another I say embrace it! Tell yourself that it is people like us who keep bake sales alive and McDonald's workers employed!
Ironically by virtue of desperation my sons have all become awesome chefs! I am however stock-piling TV dinners for the day they leave home :)
Tammy.
Hi Tammy,
ReplyDeleteSo true about the Tupperware party. I was talked into attending one last year, and while contemplating and wondering what to buy and when (or if) I would ever use anything that I bought, my other domesticated friends were debating over which pieces they couldn't live without and proclaiming the wonders about the pieces they already owned. In the end I purchased the onion slicer and dicer item, which I have only used on several occassions so far, but am hoping a reduction in onion tears will by worth the lifetime-warranteed investment.
Enjoy the home cooked meals while they last. :)
Jules