Jill Franks how rude

[Nora]

I so agree MK, and that applies to all chores. There is nothing worse than a man/woman who can't do the basics even if it is only in an emergency.

In our house we share most chores with me doing most of cooking but Mr L wouldn't starve if I wasn't about as long as he had access to Delia!

Mr N wouldn't starve as long as there's beans, bread and a can opener......

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

Mr L is an engineer and a Virgo so he tends to work best working to instructions and diagrams so the preciseness of Delia appeals to him but when I'm cooking he tends to want Jamie or Hugh FW

 

[May]

Lol ladies ...my hubby gets by ..if I was laid up with flu he would cope and my boys would,.......my dear dad was in the army and could cope ....i think for me roast, spag Bol and a decent casserole are a good staple lol .....and a curry of course lol ....and a decent salad ..l.....Friday we have a McDonalds ....Saturday ...I have chicken and salad and Sunday's we have throw back s
Nostalgia Sunday's ...we can have anything from fish fingers and jacket with veg to dinosaur shapes with the same trimmings .....

 

[thatu]

Can I recommend Delia's "How To Cook - Book One" for people like Mr U who, as I discovered during a recent bout of illness, can't scramble an egg. He can cook a basic meal but apparently the mysteries of egg scrambling have escaped him till now. He managed egg boiling, under instruction, and strangely omelettes weren't a challenge, but scrambling was an egg too far. Maybe I should write to Ripley - remember those "Strange But True" stories, anyone?

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

Mr L swears by Delia's boiled egg method. I don't like eggs so he does duck egg ones for his lunch

 

[Vienna]

My husband would be shocking if left to cook for himself. When I met him he was widowed and living alone. For 3 evenings in the week he ate at a nearby supermarket cafe, usually something with chips, the other evenings he ate anything he could cook in a frying pan, bacon , sausages etc and at weekends he did a takeaway every Saturday and a pub carvery every Sunday. His diet was atrocious and full of fat. When we married 3 years ago and I took over the cooking his diet completely changed but too late to undo the damage his old lifestyle had done. Forty years a heavy smoker, too many years of eating fatty food and piling on weight and a heart attack waiting to happen and it did happen. Nowadays he admits he was a lazy fool when it came to food and he has the blocked arteries to prove it. I like to think if I died tomorrow he`d eat as healthily as he does now but then reality kicks in and I know he`d soon revert to his old ways.

 

[Laura L'occitane Earle]

Unfortunately I did not learn to cook until after marriage. I was the youngest of three sisters and it was always the elder two my Mum called on. Even if she did call me, I usually didn't hear her as I had my head in a book. She once took me to have my ears checked as she was sure I couldn't hear her, either that or I was refusing to hear her!
But anyway, after marriage my DH soon realised that I was a lousy cook. Luckily he was an excellent cook and we shared the cooking, eating lovely meals that he threw together and presented beautifully on his nights, and terrible food on mine.
Many years later, I have learned to cook. However, my early ineptitude has resulted in mild panic attacks when people come to eat, a reluctance to entertain as I don't trust my food will be up to scratch and a need to have anything I have cooked turn out well and be praised by all eating it - only then can I relax and enjoy it myself.
I have to say cooking is a chore. I have got round it by cooking two nights a week and making three different dishes, normally curries and soups, that we can mix up with different accompaniments and the odd take away. It took me a long time to work out this system, and it suits me really well.
I do envy people who can take a bunch of ingredients and produce a brilliant meal with very little effort.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

LLE I can cook quite adventurous meals but tend to panic when cooking for others

Mr L says people who can "throw a few thing together to make a gourmet meal" is just one more urban myth

 

[May]

I had to learn ....children lol ......but I'm so grateful we could not afford to eat out in our early years with children ...it made me cook and I am so grateful....Mum always did .....I was lazy when we were both working and no children though .....my husbands sister ...and this is really bad....has only just started cooking for herself at the age of 50 ...my hubby's dad at the age he is has always done them for her and taken them to her house around the corner .....has a gorgeous kitchen and cooker etc .....practic practice practic ......that's all it is ...and you get an automatic feel for how much to do eventually ...after 30 years I can cook with my eyes shut lol .....not literally of course ...and my brothers ex despaired when I told her I was getting married .....she bought me a cook book as she knew I did not have a clue lol...hope for everybody :mysmilie_17:

 

[thatu]

I had to eat whatever I cooked when I lived alone in London - best way to learn. I wouldn't find it either hilarious or a compliment if someone told me I couldn't cook but I reckon if you can afford to get the caterers in, then you can also afford to laugh at your own ineptitude in the kitchen.

 

[May]

My sons friend is 27 they both are and he is a better cook and even she says this ....she has a month off work whilst my son starts his further uni studies and she wants to cook ....they spend so much out eating it really rankles me ...such a waste I tell them ...it all adds up .....food drinks etc ......they were even talking of travelling at one point ....but as the old,saying goes Have Money Will Travel ....but they haven't any and won't unless they pull their belts in......her dad does a lot of the cooking .....am I mad to be worried about this it is cheaper to eat at home isn't it? Or have I lost touch with everything ......

 

[May]

My sons friend is 27 they both are and he is a better cook and even she says this ....she has a month off work whilst my son starts his further uni studies and she wants to cook ....they spend so much out eating it really rankles me ...such a waste I tell them ...it all adds up .....food drinks etc ......they were even talking of travelling at one point ....but as the old,saying goes Have Money Will Travel ....but they haven't any and won't unless they pull their belts in......her dad does a lot of the cooking .....am I mad to be worried about this it is cheaper to eat at home isn't it? Or have I lost touch with everything ......

Girlfriend I meant to say ......and they have been an item for 7 years .....Lovley girl ......and it's standing joke that they will have nandos cater for their wedding lol

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

May, stop worrying and wasting your breath as they will never listen to you and you will be the one losing sleep not them.

Plus each generation has different ideas as to what are essentials and what are luxuries - my mum despaired of me and I dispair of the current generation.

When I had very little income the bills were paid first and if there was anything left maybe, just maybe, there might have been a treat but my gran always took x amount out for a rainy day (in fact she wanted it for her funeral!) and lived within what was left. She worked well past pension age on a very modest wage but always put the weekly amount away no matter how frugal that meant the food on the table was.

I think it stems from knowing that there wasn't any benefits if you were laid off. She was terrified that she would be left destitute as the days of the workhouse was a shadow from her childhood and the thought of a paupers grave haunted her.

Now socialising, tetchy stuff, travelling around the world for a year is taken for granted and if it all goes belly up someone else will pick up the tab.

Mind you they all seem to get on ok which makes you wonder if we are the stupid ones!

 

[May]

May, stop worrying and wasting your breath as they will never listen to you and you will be the one losing sleep not them.

Plus each generation has different ideas as to what are essentials and what are luxuries - my mum despaired of me and I dispair of the current generation.


Yeah it does make you wonder

When I had very little income the bills were paid first and if there was anything left maybe, just maybe, there might have been a treat but my gran always took x amount out for a rainy day (in fact she wanted it for her funeral!) and lived within what was left. She worked well past pension age on a very modest wage but always put the weekly amount away no matter how frugal that meant the food on the table was.

I think it stems from knowing that there wasn't any benefits if you were laid off. She was terrified that she would be left destitute as the days of the workhouse was a shadow from her childhood and the thought of a paupers grave haunted her.

Now socialising, tetchy stuff, travelling around the world for a year is taken for granted and if it all goes belly up someone else will pick up the tab.

Mind you they all seem to get on ok which makes you wonder if we are the stupid ones!

One minute they have plans on the wall for travelling and the next ...(after hubby and I expressed our concern) ..they've gone on a two week holiday ....and she is going to make is sandwiches and said no more Meal Deals .....thank goodness we expressed our concern ....mainly because I saw that the girl friend had written ....mum and dad ( meaning hubby and I) ...£1000..our money saved for his keep ...to go to travelling ...should be uni though ..red rag to a bull ....I was very upset and my son picked up on it immediately ....I could hardly look at them and as she had written this out herself I was very concerned .....I wanted to tell her what the beep beep ....etc...but I couldn't as I promised my husband I wouldn't mention it ....he had seen the wall and wanted to sort himself ...he did ....and I didnt lose my rag like I normally would ......to this day I don't know I didnt ......I am still wary .....I told my son Our concerns and how I began wondering if she was after our money but it all calmed again so far ......Goodness thanks for listening .....I'm still wary since it all .....I'm. Not perfect and I have no doubts there are things that rankle about me but I just feel that sometimes people think we are earning money for their benefit ......I'm menopausal too and very forthright just lately which doesn't help .....it is worth counting to 10 and calming down sometimes which I have ......feelings of entitlement come to mind and being spoilt by your family and thinking it works that way with us too ....it's draining ....sorry for the rant ...Kids!! ...

 

[Julius]

Slow cookers are amazing for people that don't like cooking. You just throw in all the ingredients and then several hours later......BAM! A casserole! Delicious. Argos do a small onefor £10. Has a 1.5l capacity.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

On the subject of slow cookers -,what is the general opinion on whether to brown the meat first or not?

Part of the reason I don't use it as much as I should is that I brown the meat first which is a bit of a faff. I don't like grey food so I always think I this means browing is required.

 

[May]

On the subject of slow cookers -,what is the general opinion on whether to brown the meat first or not?

Part of the reason I don't use it as much as I should is that I brown the meat first which is a bit of a faff. I don't like grey food so I always think I this means browing is required.

I just quickly brown it to make the appearance more appealing that's all... Does t really take too long at all