Chef de Cuisine

Post by **Daniel** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 8:24 pm

Do we have any members on the forum who are good cooks? I'm sure there are some of you amongst us!

I'm very poor when it comes to cooking. I'm not sure this is due to lack of skills necessarily, but that cooking just for yourself doesn't really inspire you to make much of an effort, and at the best of times I don't have much time of patience for cooking! As a result whereas I've had a reasonable ratio of proper meals to the easy-option ready meals, I'm finding I'm slipping!

How does everyone else find cooking? And what about the shopping too? Are you organised enough with a list in hand to go the shops and buy all the ingredients you need to pull off a nice meal? Do you have any tips to reprieve people such as myself from culinary lethargy?

Post by **Pooky** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 8:34 pm

I am not bad at cooking, although I did used to help mum out, and do a fair bit of baking when I was younger.

The difficulties that present themselves to me is not the actual cooking or the ingredients, that is all fine, it is the handling of the equipment.

Only this evening whilst draining water from the spaghetti I managed to tip loads of it down the sink

Danni · Post by **Danni** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 8:50 am

I cannot cook. It's far too dangerous for me to try, either (dyspraxia and sedating medications and cooking don't mix!). If I have to make my own food, I live off sandwiches, microwavable stuff, cereal and whatever is ready immediately (such as fruit). My partner is a very good cook, though I think he likes chips just a bit too much

Post by **Daniel** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 12:01 pm

Sounds familiar, Danni!

For instance yesterday I had a Sainsburys 'Ready to cook' gammon and pineapple meal. Although it's no doubt a good deal more pricey than buying the constituent ingredients, if I'd wanted to do it myself, then obtaining a pineapple slice alone would mean I would have had to buy a whole pineapple, and sliced it with a big sharp knife, which, lets face it, is dangerous territory, lol!

As it was the supermarket puts it together, I bung it in the oven for half an hour, and it comes out tasting far better than any effort I've every made trying to create a meal myself out of meat and other bits (which normally results in completely tasteless meat and uninspiring accoutrement.)

I don't want to be like this forever, but to be honest I lack the desire and potentially some of the skills to do much better!

fuzzy · Post by **fuzzy** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 8:01 pm

I am an awful cook- in fact, im not a cook at all; im the Queen of ready meals!!! HEEHEE!!! Its shcoking; as it costs a lot to eat microwavable stuff all the time, and it aint healthy; but im getting better on the healthy front, honest!!!! Yestaerday I had two kiwi fruits AND a cup of fennel tea!!! *nods earnestly*

Esioul · Post by **Esioul** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:42 pm

I quite enjoy cooking, although it does sometimes lead to disaster due to our rubish oven (the door is half broken off so cakes don't rise etc) and my terrible memory.

I have learnt, with much effort, how to cook a few things- I can cook roast dinners, fish cakes and rosti. Not much variety, heh. I can cook some basic things like beans on toast and soup- oh, I can make potatoe and leek soup.

fuzzy · Post by **fuzzy** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:58 pm

Wow, eisoul!! You can make soup?! In the words of Ali G, respect!!!

I was rather proud of myself tonight; I made pasta (NOT spaghttti, whoops!!) carbonara!!! OK, so the carbonara *may* have been out of Somerfield, but still- AND i grated cheese on the top of it!!!

One thing that I did forget though was to hear the sauce in the pan-

Esioul · Post by **Esioul** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 10:05 pm

Wow, grating cheese- I'm impressed, because I find that really hard and dangerous. Me and any sharp object are dangerous.

Potatoe and leak soup is easy:

You need:
a couple of leaks
a couple of medium size potatoes
- salt and pepper
- bit of creme freche or Greek yoghurt

1. Peel the potatoes. Boil them in a half-full pan of water for about 15 minutes. Then let the potatoes cool till you are able to touch them.
2. Cut up a leak into little bits
3. Put theother leak through the blender so it is mushy
4. Cut up the potatoes into little bits.
5. Put the whole lot in a pan and heat it for about 5 mintues, on a fairly low heat- say about 4.
6. Put the creme freche in. Thena bit of salt and pepper. Mix it all in nicely.
7. Heat for about 4 more minutes on a higher heat. Add a bit of
8. Eat!

nb: I find it is good to get a bit of help at hand the first few times you make this, especially with the blender and the heating.

keiraknightleyfan27 · Mon Feb 13, 2006 10:27 pm

I'm not too bad at cooking. I like to make Buffalo chip cookies (they have chocolate chips and nuts and butterscotch chips in them. I also like to make molasses crinkles cookies and chocolate chip cookies. $\:D/$

Esioul · Post by **Esioul** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:34 am

Mmmm, how do you make those cookies?

Snjstar · Post by **Snjstar** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 5:11 pm

I'm a useless cook.

I have problems with most tin openers so have got an expensive good grips one.

Mary Colley · Post by **Mary Colley** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 5:22 pm

I hate cooking and am very bad at it. I tend to shove everything in the oven or microwave. However, I have met quite a fe dyspraxics who have enjoyed it :
mary

Danni · Post by **Danni** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 7:16 pm

Esioul wrote:Wow, grating cheese- I'm impressed, because I find that really hard and dangerous. Me and any sharp object are dangerous.

Potatoe and leak soup is easy:

You need:
a couple of leaks
a couple of medium size potatoes
- salt and pepper
- bit of creme freche or Greek yoghurt

1. Peel the potatoes. Boil them in a half-full pan of water for about 15 minutes. Then let the potatoes cool till you are able to touch them.
2. Cut up a leak into little bits
3. Put theother leak through the blender so it is mushy
4. Cut up the potatoes into little bits.
5. Put the whole lot in a pan and heat it for about 5 mintues, on a fairly low heat- say about 4.
6. Put the creme freche in. Thena bit of salt and pepper. Mix it all in nicely.
7. Heat for about 4 more minutes on a higher heat. Add a bit of
8. Eat!

nb: I find it is good to get a bit of help at hand the first few times you make this, especially with the blender and the heating.

Even the first stage of that is too dangerous for me

I have made a roast dinner in the past- bung chicken in oven, add ready made roast potatoes, stick veg in microwave to steam and then put ready made yorkshire puds in the oven. Get someone else to make gravy and voila, a roast dinner

SomeT · Post by **SomeT** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:43 pm

I have learnt many ways around cooking, even though sometime I still loose concentration and burn things and I drop food quite often, but either how I can make spaghetti bolognese now, rice, chicken tonight, or anything you put on one of thise grilling machines. I am trying to figure out some more things I can cook which dont involve to many things as I can only concentrate on about two things at a time.

fuzzy · Post by **fuzzy** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:44 pm

Iv made culnirary (?!!) invention- PHILIDELPHIA PASTA!!!! Stir in philidelphia like a sauce and presto (or should I say......... PESTO har har har, im so (not) funny lol) It tastes fab and is so easy to do!