Whose the "chef" in the household?

[Kristie]

since jessica brought up the fact that she LOVES to cook.. i was just wondering - whose the chef in your family?

it's not me... I order out or cook crap boxed meals when doug's not home... every now and then, i try to actually cook something and lately, it's been turning out really good...

like last night, I cooked up some Tom Yum soup with baked tofu, potatoes and mushrooms...with some extra basil (from my reviving garden out back - landscapers unscrewed my drip hose, lost 80% of garden) and kaffir lime that i've had in the freezer..

but normally, i get frustrated and bored quickly with cooking, unless i have all the ingredients ready to go...

like the tofu was a previously baked tofu from the grocery store, i only had to peel and cut the potatoe.. the tom yum soup was a paste that i put into boiling water.. so it was a fairly easy meal for me to cook...

my next project - Beef PHO noodle soup (minus the meat) [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

sometimes i'll try to cook dinner before doug gets home from his trip (depending on the time he gets home) and he normally beats me to the door before i'm done getting dinner ready - which typically really bums me out cuz then he feels the need to chip in or he would rather take over and here i am.. trying to learn! :?

but anyways....

[TheWife]

I am definitely the cook. Not that I am GREAT at it, and I don't LOVE to do it, but Corbin just doesn't have a whole lot of skill in that department He hates to cook too, so it works out. If I didn't make dinner, he'd eat a bowl of cereal or starve in order to avoid having to cook.

[MQAAord]

I am definently the chef here.

And Housemaid.
And Babysitter.
Errandrunner
Appointment maker
but I digress


Bill [i:c2b6f6a2ff]can[/i:c2b6f6a2ff] cook a few things. He makes a mean stir fry, and does great with steaks/burgers on the grill. But as far as the everyday cooking goes, it's all me. I love to cook, I find it fun & interesting. But I don't get to do much of my 'real' cooking these days. It's hard to concentrate on cooking something intricate when you're trying to avoid stepping on an underfoot toddler........ Not to mention the severe lack of energy due to the first trimester tireds.

[jamauk]

As Kristie pointed out, I am the cook in our house. I LOVE it! I find that it really stimulates my creative juices. I love to make new recipes. I usually start from a recipe that I find in a book/magazine/website, etc and then make so many changes, you can't even identify the origianl recipe!!

I don't cook much when Jason is gone, though because it just isn't as much fun going to all of that trouble for just me. Besides, I'm usually exhaustsed by the time I get the little guy to bed so I just heat something up or make a PB & J and go to bed (after checking in here, of course!)

Jason isn't much of a cook. He doesn't even really like to grill, I do all of it and we are both happy with the set up! When I used to work, he would sometimes have dinner ready for me when I got home, but I would find out later that he had my mom (or his) on the phone the whole time talking him through making the meal! Although I must say, he makes one heck of a boxed mac n cheese!

[lrcantrell]

I absolutely love to cook and create things! I don't cook much when dh is gone since the boys don't really eat it. The 5 year old is very picky! The two year old eats whatever I make but it's kinda a waste to make up something big for just he and I. I get all excited when dh is in town because I can be creative!!!
Rodney's the breakfast chef though. He loves to create different things for breakfast. He's come up with some crazy creations but they always end up tasting great! I guess you could say we're both the chefs of this household!!!

[jamauk]

Lisa,
HOW IN THE WORLD do you get your 2 yo to eat everything??? My 17 month old won't eat a single veggie!! Tonight I had to puree peas and carrots in the blender and mix them in with the tacos just to get some veggies in him!!! I'm running out of creative ideas with veggies!

[lrcantrell]

Jessica, my 2 year old is not normal, that child is always eating!!!! He's making up for what his brother doesn't eat. I did have the same problem you're having with my 5 year old. He's always been very picky. with him I just tried every different thing I could find and once I found something he liked I would stick to it. He wouldn't eat any of his veggies either (still won't) but for some strange reason he will eat the cut green beans in the can so....I stock up on those and give him those all the time. I would get so tired fighting with him and throwing food out that finally I just started giving him only the things he likes. I have found though that if he gets to choose what he wants then he will eat it. Also, if he helps me to prepare it, he'll usually eat it. that's hard to do with a 17 month old but maybe he could help stir or something like that.

[jamauk]

Thanks for the info, Lisa! A friend of mine got her kids to eat their veggies by growing them in the back yard. Ben is a little young for that, but maybe next summer! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I'm with you completely on the throwing food out. I've got to where I almost hate to try new things because I'm sick of throwing away all of this food! But....I'll keep trying!

He isn't talking a whole lot yet, so picking out and helping to prepare his food is tough...but I'll definately keep that in mind for future months!

[Kristie]

My sister, as she was growing up, hated veggies...she wouldn't eat a single one (except on tacos).. not even salads! and until about five years ago, she still didn't really eat them...but she's done just fine without them too..always been skinny (I dunno how she did it)

as far as the food with kids go.. my sister has some friends who started their kids early on different "types" or styles of food.. they just had a new baby and at 5 months, they're feeding the baby some salsa to get the baby's palate formed for different types of food.. they have 2 boys and both boys eat anything and everything.. octopus, sushi, thai, mexican.. whatever she serves is what they eat and if they don't want it, they go hungry for the night....I think i'd do the same thing because i'd hate having the kids say they're not eating what i put on the table and then having to throw it out and discipline is a good thing in my book (otherwise they'd get too spoiled/selfish)...

[roz]

We're all serious about cooking in our family. It began with me who hates to have repitition and likes a lot of flavor, freshly made foods with fresh herbs, etc. And Charlie was always self sufficient. Evan grew up eating this way and now works as a cook and gets to cook for the girls. We are fanatics about having proper equipment and, of course, I have enough varying dishes so that the table setting is appropriate for the meal being served. Yup, I'm a nut!