This Week's "off Topic" Topic (21/05/12)

[Ludwig Venter]

By her own admittance..... my wife just cooks because we have to eat. There are set recipes and they are followed to the T.... When I get home and it is curry & rice.... Then I know it is Monday.... when it is Macaroni & Cheese.....I know it is Tuesday etc. etc.....

Absolutely no experimenting in front of the stove.... a little of this and add some more of that etc... My kids used to love it when I cooked at weekends.. I played around with spices and various combinations of seafoods and other unusual dishes...

The question this week... are you (or your spouse) just an ordinary day to day cook "because you have to eat" or do you go for the fancy stuff right up to decorating the plates with your own mouthwatering gourmet creations??.... (also..... who does the cooking in your house)?....

 

[Akasha72]

Good Morning Mr Venter! (or what ever it is in South Africa )

I'm starting to like your random Questions of the week threads so to add my response to this weeks I have to say - It depends what mood I'm in.

I have a few food intollerances so I've become used to supplimenting the foods I'm sensitive to for something else (mainly dairy but there a few others too)
I often get a recipe and think it sounds nice and then set about eliminating things, replacing things. It still turns out okay!

But then there are days when I really can't be bothered and have something out of the freezer because, as your wife says, I have to eat.

I have to say I grew up in a household that sounds very similar to yours. Monday it was cold meat and chips (using up the meat left from the roast on Sunday) Tuesday would be some kind of meat (mince, pork chops etc) with veg as the butcher did his rounds on a Tuesday so it was a case of what he had on the cart. Wednesday would be 'What you catch' as my Mum used to say! In other words what she could be bothered with Thursday chips again with fried egg maybe. And so it went on. It never got boring though, not sure why.

 

[kudos1uk]

Im banned from cooking in the Kitchen, I use evry pan and impliment we have and end up with a huge pile of washing and the kitchen looks like a bomb hit it.

Only washing up for me now!

 

[FishFanatic04]

Oh I like this one. My husband has been encouraging me for awhile to go to culinary school. I have a passion for food and cooking. When my kids are older and start school, I want to take some classes and get some real training. Where we live now, I am lucky if I can get a hold of a Leek or fennel, and if I do, it is no where near fresh. Odd, when you find out I live in TX, which has vast farmland.

I am experimenting a lot lately with Mexican flavors, but my passion really lies in Italian, courtesy of my gene pool Tonight we are having a vegetarian lasagna. Zucchini for noodles and Béchamel sauce. {We are not vegetarian's but eat 2 or 3 meals a week without meat. Eggs accepted.} I also cook a fantastic can of spaghettio's with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

My husband can cook: basic tacos, mac n cheese, and grills a mean steak. He wants to retire, open a restaurant and be the front man, while I slave away in the hot kitchen.

Fun one Ludwig!

 

[Man of fish]

It all depends what were hungry for that night. If you don't pick anything, mom doesn't go to the store and you're stuck eating out of the freezer (burgers, lasagna, leftover soup etc.) usually my mom or I cook. I make a pretty mean rib!!! I made my own recipe, and it's delicious!

I like to cook BBQ and Italian, but usually I'll venture into Mexican. I like spaghetti tacos. That was an experiment of mine once and my whole family liked it so we usually have them once a month or so.

I usually do the cooking 2-4 times a week then mom does the rest, but if I'm alone it's experiment time as well I've made some cool desserts that way!

 

[Ps3Steveo]

The missus and I share the cooking, she says she's a better cook but I was once a chef lol, if I can be bothered then I do like to mix things up a bit but having 4 kids sometimes makes it difficult to do so.

 

[FishFanatic04]

The missus and I share the cooking, she says she's a better cook but I was once a chef lol, if I can be bothered then I do like to mix things up a bit but having 4 kids sometimes makes it difficult to do so.

Yeah, the kids do tend to lead us toward sandwiches more often in the week then we used to have. Are yours young too?

 

[Ps3Steveo]

9 months, 3 years, 6 years, 9 years and 11 years lol yup 5 kids lol

 

[FishFanatic04]

hahaha! I think we are headed that way too. They are so cute when they are under a year that you need another. Then you find out what is really about with the 2 and 3 year olds!

 

[coldcazzie]

I've only got 3 kids (manwife says we can't have another ) but I do sometimes get frustrated with their lack of gusto for trying new things lol.

I love cooking, but I quite often batch cook and put things in the freezer so it's home cooked but easy to do - I have lots of soup, sauces, lasagnas, bolognese, veggies, etc just sitting in the freezer waiting to be used. Plus that way I can take advantage of good deals at the butchers or when the supermarket has a half price offer on meat, make them into something and then we have a stockpile. I meal plan, so I always know what we're having in advance, and have everything in for the next ten days or so, so if something goes pear shaped (usually I forget to defrost something in time!) then I've easy backup meals that can be done with minimal effort. I have about 5 weeks worth of different meals on rotation.

Manwife can cook, and he cooks well too, but usually he's not home in time to do the cooking so I do it. If it's a weekend then I sometimes inform him that he's doing it.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

I've only got 3 kids (manwife says we can't have another ) but I do sometimes get frustrated with their lack of gusto for trying new things lol.

I love cooking, but I quite often batch cook and put things in the freezer so it's home cooked but easy to do - I have lots of soup, sauces, lasagnas, bolognese, veggies, etc just sitting in the freezer waiting to be used. Plus that way I can take advantage of good deals at the butchers or when the supermarket has a half price offer on meat, make them into something and then we have a stockpile. I meal plan, so I always know what we're having in advance, and have everything in for the next ten days or so, so if something goes pear shaped (usually I forget to defrost something in time!) then I've easy backup meals that can be done with minimal effort. I have about 5 weeks worth of different meals on rotation.

Manwife can cook, and he cooks well too, but usually he's not home in time to do the cooking so I do it. If it's a weekend then I sometimes inform him that he's doing it.

As a rule, my wife cooks regular "have to eat" meals during the week (cause I'm at work), but I ALWAYS do a bbq on either Saturday evenings or early on Sunday mornings exclusively because my gardener comes in on Sundays and then I usually do enough meat to feed a family of 10 and provide a "doggy bag" for him to take all the leftover foods to spread over his week in his fridge (he lives alone).....

If ever, my wife stores prepared foods in the fridge or freezer..... and it is in there for longer than 2 or 3 days...... I will not eat it... I do not like defrosted meals heated up in the microwave.... just not the same thing.....

 

[FishFanatic04]

Ohh...try doing things that can be re-prepared in the oven maybe. Lasagna can be frozen before baking, and ready to pop in the oven at any moment.

 

[CezzaXV]

I'm not a very adventurous eater, so I'm not a very adventurous cook either. The only time I'll experiment is where an existing recipe isn't quite to my taste I'll try and adapt it to make it better, but that's it.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hmm...About 90% of the food i eat is home cooked and about 95% of that is cooked by me. My guy does cook from time to time (and i do really appreciate it as its nice to get a break from cooking every now & then) but TBH on the whole i am a better cook than he is.

Adventerous cook? Very!!
When i learn a new recipe, first time i try it i'll do it by the book. But after that i start experimenting with it based on my wide knowledge of herds, spices & sauces etc. Its all about the flavour ! I like fresh ingredients & strong flavors so there is a large emphasis on that in my cooking. I've also come up with many recipes from scratch too.

 

[FishFanatic04]

Fresh ingredients and strong flavors! perfect

I have a habit of off topic"ing" the off-topic so...My 2 1/2 year old ate a WHOLE dish of spinach today, with a FORK and not the tortilla chips provided, my hubby and I were frantically stealing a few bites before it was gone.

Then my 8 month old baby ate a freshly baked sweet potato/yam {no butter or sugar added. Just cinnamon.}

I am a happy and proud mama. For those of you in the UK or other... An American child who eats vegetables this willingly {when there are ignored fried foods on the table} is a rare thing in my experience. The whole platter of french fries that came with the meal went back barely touched. WOOT!