Comments on: Cooking Skills: Use It or Lose It!

By: Shelley Munro

Shelley Munro — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:03:09 +0000

Barbara – pastry can be tricky. It’s one thing that I sometimes buy to save time – not that I make many pies these days.

My husband would enjoy trying the bear meat. He actually had venison the other day.

Thanks for the post on grizzly bears. It was really interesting.

By: Barbara Martin

Barbara Martin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:35:40 +0000

My mother taught me my first cooking, but I never did get the hang of doing pastry. Kept mucking itup. Later, a boy friend taught me how to cook wild game including bear and vension.

After your comment on my blog, I posted about brown bears for you. Enjoy your trip.

By: Shelley Munro

Shelley Munro — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:30:32 +0000

Ashley – I agree it’s no fun cooking when you’re tired. We sometimes freeze meals if we have extra or make a double quantity. It’s the tired days when these come out of the freezer for dinner. During the winter the crock pot is really good as well.

Amy – yeah, the real deal, baby! We used to have instant mash when we worked in the pub in London. Not pretty. I used to go without rather than eat it.

Estella – I remember my mother cooking for the hay crews and also the when shearing time came around. Those shearers ate a lot of foood!!

By: Shelley Munro

Shelley Munro — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:27:07 +0000

Maria – I hadn’t thought of that but you’re right. Each generation acquires the skills they need to live. I prefer to hunt my food at the supermarket rather than spending the day tromping across plains and forests searching for it!

Wylie – Mostly I’m happy to cook, but I have to fight my husband to get in to the kitchen and usually end up in the sous chef role. He cooks to relax after a stressful day. Since he’s a great cook I never go hungry.

JK – I guess we’re all in such a hurry these days that “fast foods” are a time saver. Personally I think it’s just as quick to do my own veg, but judging by the contents of shoppers’ trolleys a lot of people don’t agree.

Leah – I’m trying not to laugh about the lentils and dumplings. I probably shouldn’t laugh since when it comes to anything technical in the way of machinery I’m hopeless. We all have our strong points!
I’m a vegetarian mostly, although I eat the odd bit of fish. My husband loves meat and can’t imagine life without it.

Michelle – I love going out to dinner as well but agree you can’t beat a homemade family dinner. Hubby and I have several favorite recipes we make that we can cook and have ready to eat in 20mins to half an hour. We’re all about speed during the week.

By: Estella

Estella — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:25:40 +0000

I learned to cook at an early age, too.
I had to help my Mother cook for a haying crew almost every day during the summer.

By: Amy W.

Amy W. — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:51:36 +0000

I personally love to bake and think home made jellies and jams are tastier than stuff from the store. (Plus I like plum jelly and that’s a toughie to find in the shops.) Additionally anyone who eats mashed potatoes that aren’t from scratch looses respect in my eyes, I love potatoes in any form but all those preservatives make them nasty. I want the real deal baby! Sadly I’m not too great at making a whole meal. I do salads, breads, appetizers and desserts well but entrees and side dishes just aren’t my forte. Oh and I make a mean breakfast. So while I love being in my kitchen I too take part in the take-out or premade foods. Mostly I hate doing the dishes. Sigh.

By: Ashley Ladd

Ashley Ladd — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:22:40 +0000

I taught myself to cook when I was first married. I used to love to cook. But then I got a full-time day job and was also writing on my “off” hours and running kids to softball games, karate, etc. I don’t enjoy cooking when I’m tired after a long day of work. However, I enjoy it if I’m rested.

By: Michelle Lauren

Michelle Lauren — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:32:42 +0000

Hey Shelley,

First: thanks for stopping by my blog. I envy you the 6 week vacation.

As for cooking, I enjoy making things I like to eat, especially desserts. I can bake cakes from scratch though I haven’t done that in ages; due to work and time constraints, I usually put cooking on the back burner for the modern convenience of fast food and easy cook meals.

Yes, I think younger generations don’t view cooking as a necessary skill but I think it is. It’s a way to show warmth and love for your family, to give them nourishment. Now, I love McDonalds and Olive Garden but they don’t hold a candle to a home cooked meal that I’ve received from my mother.

By: Leah Braemel

Leah Braemel — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:13:13 +0000

I can make beautiful desserts and cookies, but when it comes to the main meals, I’m a disaster. My Mom was the same – totally unimaginative – fried pork chops, boiled peas, and mashed potatoes – I swear that’s all we ever got for dinner other than her stew. And that was AWFUL, it was more like a watery soup that my sister and I refused to eat. If we smelled that horrible smell when we came home from school we knew we’d be going to be hungry because it really was awful – lentils and dumplings that sat on the bottom of the pot. Yuck.

And for myself, I’m married to a vegan who eats like a rabbit while I love my meat. Plus until the last couple years my kids wanted completely bland foods – nothing spicy (I love spicy foods) so I wasn’t encouraged to be inventive.

Dinner time is always a challenge for me. If I ever win a lottery, first thing I”m doing is hiring a cook to have someone ELSE deal with all the pickiness in the house.

By: J.K. Coi

J.K. Coi — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:54:36 +0000

I know exactly what you mean, Shelley. Although my husband does most of the cooking, I can’t imagine buying any of the pre-made foods in the grocery these days. I mean, honestly…steamed vegetables in a bag for the microwave? Does it really take that much more time to steam vegetables yourself? And don’t get me started on all the transfats and preservatives…

At least I know that my son will learn the value and importance of home cooking, and not just so that he’ll grow up to be a multi-talented, independent young man.