Tools of the Devil
Oct 30th 2008
Julia LondonOn Writing!
This is a picture of my kitchen. You would think that someone with a kitchen like this would be into cooking, but I’m not. I’ve tried, believe me, but I can’t get into it. If meal prep is going to take more than about a minute, I am irritable and surly for the rest of the evening.
This week, I wanted to store something. Look at all those cabinets. Tons of space, right? There are cabinets under the island, and where I stood to take the picture are even more cabinets. But when I went to store my stuff, I found my cabinets were full. How can that be? I don’t even cook! Because my cabinets are full of stuff I don’t use.
I have a big toaster. I don’t need a toaster oven because I don’t toast. See that blender on the counter? I actually listened to Nicole and Claudia talk about their protein shakes and thought I’d do that, too, and bought a blender. But the protein shake preparation takes more than a minute and the clean up is way more than a minute. I’ve made maybe two protein shakes, and the last one was many months ago.
I have lots of bowls and serving dishes that have been passed down or given to me as gifts, but I don’t serve. I rarely host Thanksgiving or Christmas, and when I do, I have it catered. My mom once told me she was going to leave her china to me, and I had such a knee-jerk reaction that she said, “Fine. I just won’t leave you anything,” and flounced off. But come on, Mom, what would I do with china?
I have a coffee maker that I never use. Every so often, some house guest will want coffee and I can’t convince them to go up the road to Starbuck’s, so I have to get the damn thing out. It’s another item that takes too long to use and clean, and I make sure my house guests know it.
Lest you think we are starving, we’re not. I am very good with a microwave and easy stuff like salads and broiled chicken. But casseroles, or fancy dishes that require spices or butter are not served here, and God forbid you want something baked. That’s what restaurants are for. I was at a birthday party recently, and I asked the lady where she got the cake. She said, I made it! I said, you MADE that? And her ten year old daughter snorted and said, “Did you think she BOUGHT it?” Well yes, as a matter of fact, I did, because that is where I get my cakes.
What’s your kitchen like? Do you toss stuff you don’t use, or let it pile up? Are you a cook or a whiner, like me?
70 Comments »
70 Responses to “Tools of the Devil”
Ayse on 30 Oct 2008 at 2:06 am #
You’re so not alone. I hate the kitchen! Usually when I’m in it i burn or drop something. The only thing I can make that’s somewhat difficult is Lasagna or anything with pasta everything else I usually dose off and burn. I don’t even like to bother heating certain foods because I get bored stirring… drives my mother nuts
Whats weird is that I also love to buy stuff for the kitchen. I never use any of the stuff I buy, except my popcorn maker, but still I like to decorate
Most things sound nice in theory, but then you find out that cleaning it takes more time than making something with it.
I totally sympathize with the not wanting to make coffee. Especially since most people who come over to my place expect me to make tea (my family owns tea fields so people think I must have great tea). I may have tea fields and a kettle and a double teapot thingy (may actually have 2), but I can’t/won’t make tea. I don’t even like tea!
Ohhh did I mention I had a boyfriend of 2 years break up with me because “he can’t see a future with somebody who doesn’t cook… he ended up in a job where he has to cook for himself…
Julia London on 30 Oct 2008 at 2:11 am #
I broke up with a guy once because I saw no future with him if he didn’t cook
. Seriously, Jack London swore to me he loved to cook and would do all the cooking. Ah, young love! What great hopes we have!
He NEVER cooks. But he has proved handy with the cleaning.
dee on 30 Oct 2008 at 3:06 am #
hey (you say), I use up all my patience on my writing. hmm?
dee on 30 Oct 2008 at 3:07 am #
I only have a kitchen as it came with the house
Sweet Jane on 30 Oct 2008 at 3:28 am #
I’m personally a bit of both. When I have tons of time, I love to cook (though success of the recipe is not guaranteed). But as soon as I’m tired, I’m quite incapable to get myself to prepare so much as some dressing for a green salad. It’s quite tragic. I dream of having a lot of stuff in my kitchen (probably when I’m settled down), but I cannot tell how often I’ll eventually use it… I guess I’m relying on the future family (husband and kids) I really want to have to turn me into a full-time cook. My mom started to cook for real when my sister and I were born, so I guess that happens.
cail on 30 Oct 2008 at 6:54 am #
i LOVE LOVE LOVE to cook. I make everything i can think of… I was on a break kick this summer when I wasn’t working… made a different batch of bread every Monday. I can make my own pasta and ravioli, and have done so with great success!
my current obsession is making cheese. I’ve got a batch of fresh ricotta in the fridge that I made on Tuesday.
I make dinner most nights because I get home first and love it. When I want the DH to cook, I make sure I get meatloaf meat (ground veal, pork and beef and sometimes some lamb to throw in) since he makes a mean meat loaf.
I think I’d probably be happy if I could sit at home, making cupcakes, cheese, bread and dinner for the rest of my life. Well, maybe not quite that extreme, but man, i LOVE to cook!
Kari on 30 Oct 2008 at 7:30 am #
You’ve got a beautiful kitchen, Julia!
I don’t mind cooking at all. That’s not to say I do it a lot but when I do, it’s not too bad. I’m like Ayse and like to buy things for my kitchen but only use them about once a year. Even worse, I have a food processor that was given to dh and me for a wedding gift that I’ve used 2 times. Our wedding was 8 years ago. Same goes for this nifty bagel cutter. I would use it more if the bagels I buy weren’t pre-cut.
Cail, I had no idea you could make cheese at home. Seriously. That is too cool.
Deb Marlowe on 30 Oct 2008 at 7:34 am #
I like to cook, too, Cail. But it gets harder and harder to find the time. We are in the taxi years–running kids to practice and lessons, so I’m getting good at quickie dinners.
The challenge at my house is 3 picky eaters who are all picky over different things. I swear, it’s almost killed my joy in cooking.
But just a couple of days ago, my youngest said plaintively, “I want to stay home and eat one of your good dinners, Mom.”
That made me feel better.
Margaret on 30 Oct 2008 at 7:53 am #
What is your address, cail, and what time are you serving? I want to be sure I’m early. Heck, I’ll even clean up after dinner. That’s what kind of guest I am. You make pasta and cheese? I am beyond impressed!
I used to be a good cook. Even made puff pastries. I enjoyed reading cookbooks. Still do, come to think of it. Most of my recipes are ones I get off the Internet these days. Easier to hunt for than paging thru a cookbook. I’ve given most of books away to various grandkids.
Cooking for one is the pits. It takes too much effort. Find a recipe, go to the store (ugh), tote the stuff home, chop/dice/mince/parboil etc, cook it, and eat it. By which time, I don’t care anymore. Then, there’s all the dishes to clean. I don’t have a dishwasher. Oh well. Maybe cooking is like having babies. Only the young should do it.
So, why am I overweight?
Margaret on 30 Oct 2008 at 7:53 am #
I forgot to mention that eating out is my favorite meal.
Lisa H on 30 Oct 2008 at 8:20 am #
Cail – you make cheese???? Wow!
Julia, first of all, I have counter top envy. Your kitchen is gorgeous. I like to cook without children. I like to chop up my stuff and put them in little bowls on the counter like they do on the cooking channel. I like to wipe the counter as I go and put the little bowls in the dishwasher—but alas, my three year old wants to always help and it turns into a major contruction zone. Stuff all over the floor, dishes are carried in the living room to show to Daddy and stuff like that! If I am alone, I do like to prepare a nice meal.
But—I hate to bake! I like to get my cakes from the store too!
Kay on 30 Oct 2008 at 8:32 am #
Julia, what a lovely kitchen. My kitchen has new appliances (a great sale 4 years ago), a counter top I would love to replace (along with the cabinets) but we can’t right now. *sigh*
My DH & I both LOVE TO COOK. I made fresh cranberry sauce for a pork roast, and low-fat mashed potatoes, sauteed brussel sprouts, and a fruit and yogurt parfait yesterday for dinner. No special reason, except I found the first fresh cranberries of the season at the coop, and HAD to do something with them.
Our kitchen has lots of gadgets, but we use them. I love my rice cooker and crock pot and stand mixer. My blender just broke (it was 12) so I have to hunt for a new one. I make yogurt smoothies for the kids to have with breakfast and they’re going through withdrawal, LOL
My next door neighbor is single, so he gets soup or stew when I make it, and cake and cookies (so I don’t eat too much when the leftovers are staring at me) and he cat sits for us.
Sabrina Jeffries on 30 Oct 2008 at 8:41 am #
Ah, cail, I used to make homemade pasta. Still have the pasta cutter thingie. When I discovered fresh pasta at the grocery, it was all over (homemade pasta really is great, though). When we first got married, I loved to cook. I tried all sorts of new dishes, made all sorts of things. My husband (who not only doesn’t cook, but had a mother who was a horrible cook) was in heaven. I spoiled him. Now he whines until I cook him something. Sigh.
And now I hate doing it. Aside from the fact that he’s picky in the extreme and that my son eats only hot dogs, pizza, and any combo of cheese and bread, I’m usually trying to eat healthy and I don’t like the same foods he does. Fortunately, he cleans the kitchen (pretty much all the time) and does most of the laundry or I’d stage a coup. But every time I try to switch him to easy or readymade, he says the food has a “twang.” He only likes my cooking. It’s a very bad thing.
Meanwhile, my brother LOVES to cook, so guess who makes the turkey when they come for Thanksgiving?
Nicole Jordan on 30 Oct 2008 at 8:47 am #
Julia, Julia, I don’t use a blender to make my protein shakes! That would be way too hard and time-consuming.
I buy the kind of flavored whey protien that you just add milk and stir with a spoon. I buy mine in big tubs from an on-line store cause my dh also drinks one daily, but the brand Walmart sells is the exact same stuff in smaller packages and many fewer flavors.
And I don’t love to cook, I just love to eat! So I usually cook dinner… it’s canned soup and a sandwich for lunch, and cereal or a microwaved egg for breakfast.
But that is a gorgeous kitchen! There isn’t much cabinet space in kitchen. My cabinets are all full, plus we have a bunch of stuff in boxes in our storeroom.
Sherri Erwin on 30 Oct 2008 at 8:57 am #
HAHAHA, oh you are such a whiner, London. I like cooking most of the time, but sometimes I am just so tired of it. Mostly tired of the prep and cleanup. But, I have a family and we can’t eat out all the time, so it’s just what has to be done. And I end up being the one to do it. But do you hear me whining? Ummm– why YES!
How does one have Thanksgiving catered? Do tell.
Claudia Dain on 30 Oct 2008 at 9:19 am #
Julia, my sister, you poor thing. Let me make this one point perfectly clear: I buy my protein shakes already made. I open the fridge, pull one out, pour it in a glass, drink it, put the glass in the dishwasher. This is the entire Protein Shake Process.
And I don’t even own a coffee maker. When I have overnight guests, they know to bring their own. And they do. My overnight guests are the friends of my heart and they love me, even without a coffee maker.
Freedom Writer on 30 Oct 2008 at 9:26 am #
I like to cook, but I do not do dishes unless it is absolutely necessary. DH does the dishes. He also cooks sometimes, but isn’t very creative in the kitchen. I don’t like it when the kids complain about what I have cooked and they wanted something different. Then I tell them to do the cooking.
RachelG on 30 Oct 2008 at 9:29 am #
People who know me think I can’t cook. That’s because I don’t cook. There is a difference between can’t and don’t. On those rare occasions that I do cook, Mr. G gets all suspicious. Like I’m about to hit him with some bad news.
I recently moved and I donated a ton of stuff to Good Will. So most of my kitchen cupboards are bare.
rachelg
Karen Rose on 30 Oct 2008 at 9:41 am #
Julia, I am a whiner. I hate to cook – it makes me surly, too. I can make three meals, and they all require Bisquick. I hate cooking because you have to prep, then COOK (dang it), then NOTHING GETS DONE AT THE SAME TIME, and then, adding insult to injury, you must then CLEAN.
If I designed a kitchen, it would have 3 o4 4 microwave ovens, so every part of my meal could be done on time, vs. putting in one meal for 5 mins, then taking it out to do veggies for 5 mins after which time the first meal is COLD.
I would have a small oven for DH to make me cinnamon rolls for the occasional breakfast treat.
Of course, DH cooks, so he does it all. Whenever I have tried, like on his birthday, he’ll get in a snit and say “Doing it myself is easier than listening to you muttering curses over there.”
Who said I’m not a smart cookie (Microwave baked of course!)?
Julia London on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:06 am #
Cail, I’d be happy to sit around and eat cupcakes and cheese, etc., all day — but not make them!
Kari — I have three apple core thingies. Three! I have no idea where they came from, and I used one once and sliced my finger. I use knifes to core my apples.
Margaret — no dishwasher!?!?! How do you survive??
Lisa H — OH NO. NO NO NO NO please don’t tell me they want to HELP. We have not reached that stage yet. YIKES
Nicole and Claudia!!! You guys left out a very important piece of information, didn’t you??
Caren Crane on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:08 am #
Oh, it’s true confessions day! I come from a long line of great Southern cooks. My mother was a SAHM until my parents divorced when I was 9. So, I know all about what being a great cooking mom is (like Deb Marlowe). I am not one.
I have never been a SAHM, ever. My son was a baby when I went back to college. We lived with my mother, so SHE cooked. Great for me, sucked for her, but she felt obligated or something. *g*
After I married my dh, I started cooking. It was a delight. Even though I worked full-time and we quickly had two more children, I loved to cook. I am a good cook and life was grand. Then the son started having all sorts of Activities. After a while all 3 kids had Activities. Before we knew it, we were a taxi service and lucky to have time to swing through and get fast food on our way hither and yon.
We have taken turns cooking in recent years. I cook now to save money. Still love it, but still have no time. I have all the gadgets but rarely get to use them!
Julia London on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:08 am #
Sherri, this is how you get a meal catered. You watch the paper. Local restaurants will offer all the fixings for 6-8 people, usually $100-$125. It is SO WORTH IT. I use Threadgills, a local down-home kind of place. Very good and everyone is happy.
Rachel, I am about to do the same. I am taking boxes of rarely or unused kitchen gewgaw to some lucky Goodwill receptacle.
Caren Crane on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:11 am #
Oh, and my youngest (14) just won a blue ribbon at the State Fair for her snickerdoodle cookies. I managed to turn them all into cooks despite my sporadic appearances in the kitchen. Woot!
Sherri Erwin on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:14 am #
Caren, that is quite an accomplishment. Kudos to you, and to your youngest. Woot, indeed! Julia, thanks for the tip. I’m not sure I’m ready to pull that one off but I get closer every year.
Julia London on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:18 am #
Caren! I am salivating now. Love me some award-winning snickerdoodle cookies!
My mom was a decent cook and she was a SAHM. But she never taught me anything and I never asked. I’m not sure why. I asked her recently about that. She said she didn’t remember why not either, but guessed it had something to do with my attitude. Hey, what’s that supposed to mean??
Yasmin on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:43 am #
I love, love to cook. The kitchen we now have is tiny compared to what we had before but still functional. We have tons of dishes in storage that we pull out for thanksgiving and christmas. We always buy different chargers or cups to update the “look”. Appearance wise my sis takes charge since she is not much a “cook” But me I love it. You have a very nice kitchen. Love the island.
Kim on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:44 am #
Julia–its a good thing I love you so much otherwise I would despise you. How can you let that awesome kitchen go to waste?!?!?! Seriously? (and y’all, she really doesn’t cook. I keep sending her easy crock pot recipes and she just laughs at me.) Don’t send those gewgaws to goodwill! Send me the cool ones and I’ll send you some brownies
My kitchen is pretty basic, I don’t use a lot of gadgets but I do lust for a KitchenAid stand mixer. And someday after we move I’d love a convection oven.
Can someone explain the granite countertops to me? We watch all these home improvement shows on HGTV and EVERYONE wants granite. Why? Personally, when I have my dream kitchen it will have stainless steel everything. Cabinets, counters, EVERYTHING.
Margaret on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:46 am #
Alrighty. I looked and looked and can’t find what a SAHM is. Would someone care to enlighten me?
Caren, I love Snickerdoodles. Those and whoopie pies are quite the thing here in the Amish Heartland. I used to like whoopie pies but they don’t seem to taste the same to me anymore. My late DH’s ex-wife makes them and brings them to all family pot luck functions. They are pretty good and her kids go wild for them. I like her Monster Cookies better.
She had a stroke 24 years ago and has to be very precise about everything she does. She makes this stuff up ahead of time and freezes it. Then pops them into a carrier for parties. The hysterical thing is that she packs it up and takes it all home with her when she leaves. The kids have learned to snatch & grab. Also to stow them somewhere where Grandma Grace can’t find them. She cracks me up.
Margaret on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:52 am #
Kay, after I’ve had a lovely dinner at cail’s, I will be available anytime to visit you. Preferably at dinner time. Just let me know and I’ll bring my own bib.
Julia, I would love to have a dishwasher again. This mobile home didn’t have one when I moved in and I don’t really have a place to put one w/o losing drawer/cabinet space. After 11 1/2 years, I’ve gotten used to doing dishes by hand. I also notice that my nails are a lot strong than they used to be. I read somewhere that washing dishes by hand is good for your nails. Given my druthers, I’d rather have a dishwasher and weak nails.
Nicole, without my early morning cuppa, the world is not a big enough place for me and everybody else. Just sayin’.
Margaret on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:53 am #
I forgot, Julia. Dixie paper plates are one answer to cutting down on the dirty dish problem. I’m afraid I am not green.
Judy in Houston on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:56 am #
My kitchen is small and galley-style. The good part of that is that it makes cooking very convenient because you don’t have to go very far to get what you need. The bad part is that there’s just not much counter or cabinet space. And if you’re a gadget-hound like me, that’s bad news indeed! My countertops tend to end up cluttered with appliances – most of which I rarely use. The coffeemaker and the toaster are about the only appliances I use on a regular basis, but I somehow manage to also have a food processor, blender, and stand mixer sitting there as well!
I enjoy cooking on the weekends when I’ve got time. But I hate doing anything more than microwaving leftovers on weekdays after work. So one cabinet is just stuffed with Gladware and Ziploc plastic containers.
Yasmin on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:59 am #
Kim–I want a stand mixer but dont have the space for it.
Sherri—I know Marie Callender’s does catering. All you have to do is reheat at your house. We it bought one year and it is good but to us there is nothing like homecooked.
Here’s the link:
http://www.mcpies.com/holidayguide/
My mom is old fashioned. If we have guests at home. Then we do family style dinner, bkft whatever.
We definitely have a coffee pot. We have to. We are caffeine addicts
Julia London on 30 Oct 2008 at 11:11 am #
Thanks you guys, on the kitchen comments. It does get a lot of use, but not the right kind.
Kim, I wish I had a Kitchenaid to send you. And thanks for loving me in spite of my major shortcoming, LOL
margaret — Stay At Home Mom
Judy, I have a drawer stuffed with tupperware and assorted lids. Way more lids than I have bowls.
yasmin, you’re right, its never as good as the home-cooked. That’s why I rarely host the event.
Kathy on 30 Oct 2008 at 11:18 am #
In this incarnation, which is the fourth life, (three divorces, 4 kids. Not braggin, just ’splainin) I try to avoid cooking as I don’t enjoy any of the process. Think about it, buy it, take it home, unpack it, store it and I haven’t even used it yet.
Then there is the takin it out, the cuttin, or slicing or at the very least can-opening, pour, throw away garbage from meal preperation, but it in the oven on the range in the microwave. Then take down the paper plates, I mean dishes out of the dishwasher,, and set the table, or haul out the TV trays. Dish it up, eat it, find containers to store the leftovers, put fridge where they linger until the hair starts growin. take out the garbage that is full of cans, boxes, and paper plates and plastic water bottles. (Just for this story, I don’t recycle, cause really I do, which makes it two or three loads of garbage. It has become like washing clothes; coloreds, whites, towels etc, bottles, cans. paper please.) Then wash or lrinse and load the dishwasher. Ugh
Life two icooking was fun . I had kids at home to do the chores. Now it is me and a surly 9 year old, and just recently the ex-husband and step daughter /child number three whose 23.
So the ex is doing the cooking and shopping lately. Don’t ask. I haven’t figured it out myself yet.
So I am currently not shopping/cooking. And I don’t enjoy it when I do.
I can nuke with the best of them, and Karen’s Idea to have 3–4 microwaves is brilliant. I am going to go bby another one. Happy Trails to you.
MarieW on 30 Oct 2008 at 11:20 am #
I cannot cook! In fact, when I first married my husband and moved to the States (from UK), I attempted a Thanksgiving dinner. We sat down he took one bite of the turkey, got up, put the fork into it and proceeded to open the sliding glass door and throw it into the yard. I stook in shock, while he told me “You will be lucky if the Racoons eat that”. This was my husband’s way of telling me that the Turkey was dry! What did he expect I am a vegetarian! It took me three years to attempt another Turkey, I found the trick, stick it in a Turkey Bag! However, the only time I cook is thanksgiving and Christmas.
Suzanne Enoch on 30 Oct 2008 at 11:39 am #
Julia, your kitchen looks a lot like mine, except that I haven’t been sucked into buying a blender yet. I NEVER cook. My sister comes over and cooks for me once a week (we then watch “Ghosthunters” together — it’s known as “Buffy” night, but that’s a long story *g*), and I go to my parents’ house probably twice a week for dinner.
At the moment, my sink is filled with ants. No dishes, and my cleaning lady was just here yesterday, but the ants don’t care. I’m going to finish this post, and then I’m going to get out my vacuum (AGAIN), and suck them up into a little whirling hell.
SheridanLA on 30 Oct 2008 at 11:43 am #
See, this is just not fair.. I LOVE to cook – always have. I love making big elaborate dinners, trays of appetizers and nummies, baking fabulous desserts, making homemade ice cream, I rarely even use my microwave, I don’t eat frozen dinners and I have thousands of recipes that I have collected over the years… I totally enjoy the whole process
and I have the tiniest, crappiest kitchen you can imagine. Ok, it is bigger then a kitchenette, but I have a 40+ year old stove and oven, no counter space and no room to move.
I am lucky in that I can come up to work and use the huge kitchen here.. but I would prefer to be holding dinner parties and things at my home..
*sigh* maybe one of these days.
Becca DuBose on 30 Oct 2008 at 11:47 am #
Julia, I’m drooling over your CLEAN KITCHEN! And the cabinets! And the spacious counter-tops. I like to cook, but health issues preclude me from standing for more than a minute or two, so I understand getting surly if it takes longer. When I had my baby (now 28) I was a SAHM for 7 YEARS. It pinched the wallet, but was wonderful: Icould bake bread Mondays and cook wonderful meals. The kid never ate jarred baby food; I made it mostly by grinding whatever we were having). Then I went back to school & work and that ended the homemade everything.
When I went to work full time I insisted on both my son and my husband cooking at least one dinner each a week (they both got home before I did and regretted the “What’s for dinner?” as soon as I walked through the door), I cooked on the weekend and we ate out at least twice. Now the kid’s long moved out, the DH retired 3 years ago and I retired 1 year ago, but can’t stand up to cook anything that requires any attention… the DH does most of the cooking, but almost NONE of the cleanup. It seems you can clean in one to two minutes spurts…
Yasmin on 30 Oct 2008 at 11:59 am #
MarieW—A good trick to keep the turkey moist is to inject it. I usually do butter and O.J. but you can do anything, just dont do pineapple juice it taste nasty one year because we substituted. You can put chicken broth and then use the drippings for a great gravy.
Julia London on 30 Oct 2008 at 12:02 pm #
Kathy, your life sounds like it would make a great blog, LOL. Wondering if your ex hires out?
But your remind me of another reason Oprah bugs the crap out of me. During her diet phases, when she preaches about eating healthy and portion control, blah blah blah, I am always struck by the fact that I, too, would eat salmon and sauteed greens every day if someone made them and handed me a plate! Try dieting and eating right when no one wants to eat what you eat, and you can’t help but swipe a chicken nugget or a bite of mac and cheese here and there!
Karen Hawkins on 30 Oct 2008 at 12:15 pm #
You can MAKE cheese? I thought it just happened. Like eggs. And milk. You want it … and there it is. Like manna, only not so well packaged.
I cook. I try to cook. And sometimes I cook well. But I’m not a NATURAL cook (like Kathy, who sounds like she has The Gene). I can’t taste something and go, “Oh! Needs oregano!” My tongue doesn’t work like that. But I can follow a recipe and, once I’ve made something once or twice, I’ve found that I can make it myself without using the recipe card, which is a HUGE deal for me.
Btw, any of you guys ever seen that Paula Dean? CAN you cook with that much butter and cream? Wouldn’t you just keel over after the first few butter-stuffed flapjacks? Explode from a heart-blockage after a few sausage-encrusted butter dumplings? Sheesh! I get fat just WATCHING that show!
Karen Hawkins on 30 Oct 2008 at 12:20 pm #
And Julia, you’re spot on about Oprah and her weight — I could lose weight, too, if I had three meals a day prepared by a health guru/chef.
Life’s not fair, DARN IT! I DESERVE my own chef!
colinfirthfan on 30 Oct 2008 at 12:36 pm #
I agree about the personal chef and trainers. I too could lose wt.
I hate cooking but love to bake. I have baked all sorts of cakes for my kids birthdays and frosted them. I have made trains with carriages, a truck standing on its cookie wheels, dinosaur, Pokemon, bunny rabbit and this year it is going to be a plane.
I love making desserts (b’coz I love eating them).
Unfortunately, I mostly make regular food and my DH has completely stopped cooking. So in the interests of keeping my kids alive I do the bare minimum cooking. When I do cook I make a large batch and freeze it so I don’t have to cook for awhile.
Julia, my cabinets look sort of like yours.
Lisa H on 30 Oct 2008 at 12:57 pm #
Kim – the reason I lust for granite is simple. I like shiny things. Ditto on the jewelery.
LOL Karen H – Paula Dean is like a goddess to my 12 year old son. “Mom, why don’t you make biscuits like Paula or mashed potatos like Paula? Man, with that much butter and sugar, you could be eating tree bark with fungus and it would be delicious!
Julia London on 30 Oct 2008 at 1:07 pm #
Hahaha, Lisa H!
I’ve never seen Paula Dean. I guess it goes without saying that I don’t watch cooking shows, either, LOL.
Paula on 30 Oct 2008 at 1:08 pm #
I enjoy cooking but don’t always seem to have the time to be elaborate. It can get depressing when I try a new dish and my sons turn up their noses and say ‘it’s horible’ and that is (sometimes) before they have tasted it!!
Marie, if you are cooking a whole turkey try cooking it upside down as in breast down for 3/4 of the cooking time and then turn it right way up to crisp and colour up the breast. This always seems to work as the juices run down into the breast meat thus keeping it moist.
Julia love the kitchen!
Dilimis on 30 Oct 2008 at 1:23 pm #
Wow Julia! Your kitchen is so similar to my Mom’s that it’s almost scary. I just spent a couple of minutes just trying to figure out what the differences are. Her’s has a bigger island, two ovens, and two dishwashers…it’s the result of a big family and a love of cooking. I love her kitchen because it’s so much fun to cook in! I think I inherited my cooking love because both my parents like it. There are some nights where we are all in the kitchen. It’s a great family time and the results are so tasty! I’m looking forward to cooking with my Mom this Thanksgiving — lots of good treats!
Janae on 30 Oct 2008 at 1:24 pm #
My mom was a mediocre cook at best when I was growing up, so she didn’t really teach me much of anything. When I went to college, I really learned how to cook and that I am good at it.
I really, really enjoyed it until I had kids. First, my son was diagnosed with food allergies – no dairy products or eggs. It’s hard to cook without using milk or eggs. There are allergy cookbooks out there, but it’s weird food. Then, my daughter was diagnosed with the same food allergies about a year after her brother outgrew his allergies. They’ve outgrown their allergies, now, but they’re picky eaters. My daughter is the pickiest one. That’s why at 5 she weighs 33lbs and 40″ tall (only because of a recent growth spurt, too).
These days I cook more for myself – what I want to eat as opposed to what they will eat. I always include something that I know that they will eat, too, and encourage them to try what we’re eating. It doesn’t work on my daughter.
Julia London on 30 Oct 2008 at 1:59 pm #
marie, I would have tossed Jack London out right after the turkey! ohmigoodness!
Becca, that kitchen is not clean! Look at all the crap on the counter tops!”
Dilimus, I bet your mom’s fridge is full, too. That’s another thing that is never properly stocked in my house — it’s empty right now, save some fat free pudding. Gotta have your fat free pudding supply.
Janae, I was not as industrious as you. Actually, tho, if I had time, I think I would like to try some cooking. But I don’t, so I won’t
.
Paula, the Cutest Baby Ever is already getting picky, and he just turned two!
Claudia Dain on 30 Oct 2008 at 2:06 pm #
I used to wish for a personal chef, too, then DH looked me square in the eye and said, “You have one. You’re looking at him.”
If I had any shame at all I would have turned red. As it was, I just laughed. It was a victory laugh. I have a personal chef! And he’s FREEEEEE.
Julia, seriously, about the picky child phase, don’t give into it. We had the 3 bite rule. The kids had to eat 3 normal sized bites of whatever was served. That was DH’s idea. My idea was you eat what’s served or you don’t eat. I’m not going back into that kitchen! Noooooo!!!! *g* No one is going to starve to death from a 3 bite meal. But I might die if I have to go make a pb&j after I’ve just made a full meal of something else!
Kathy/Cookiedough on 30 Oct 2008 at 2:43 pm #
I LOVE to cook!! baking gets my happy going too!
I’d kill to have a nice big kitchen. I justhave a galley kitchen that is filled to the brim with all my fav gadgets, two HUGE cookie jars full of cookie cutters. For Xmas every year I take graduated star cutters and cut gingerbread dough to make 45 cookie tall Christmas Trees to give aways as gifts.
I have two mixers but sadly my dream of having a kitchen aid stand mixer has yet to come true.
sigh.
Kathy/Cookiedough on 30 Oct 2008 at 2:49 pm #
I went into a client’s home yesterday and they wanted Hermits. out comes their 1945 cookbook and I proceed to make them.
During this my elderly client tells me when they were first married she tried making coffee cake. the recipe called for 1cup of coffee. she measured out one cup of ground coffee into the batter. When it was baked, they couldn’t eat it.
(the recipe was calling for one cup of brewed coffee).
I cannot imagine how that cake tasted!
lol
Julia London on 30 Oct 2008 at 3:15 pm #
Good advice, Claudia. I worry so much that he’s not eating, but as Jack London pointed out, there are lots of picky toddlers running around who are healthy and sturdy.
Kathy, that is hysterical about teh coffee cake, LOLOLOL
Sabrina Jeffries on 30 Oct 2008 at 3:19 pm #
My mom not only taught me to cook, but handed over a certain portion of it when I was in high school. I cooked many a simple meal for my siblings because Mom had to be at some meeting or something. I could do spaghetti and meat sauce (from scratch), pizza, hamburger casserole, grilled cheese sandwiches, and a few other things. She was the one who taught me how to make gumbo, too.
Paula on 30 Oct 2008 at 3:22 pm #
My boys were always told eat it or go without!! They are very good at eating but will occassionally not want something. My youngest will winge and moan if I say it’s casserole or fish pie but in the end he eats it as he knows there will be nothing else til the next meal. Maybe that makes me a mean mum but he’s not a starved child.
Stick to your guns julia, another rule in my house is that I will only cook one meal. I’ve got a couple of friends that cook about 4 different meals every day as their DH’s and kids all eat different foods!!
Margaret on 30 Oct 2008 at 3:25 pm #
LOL Kathy!! You just brought to mind a couple of my cooking disasters from back in the dark ages.
I bought a small cookbook in Key West because it had a recipe for Key Lime Pie in it. When I got home, I gathered the ingredients and made Key Lime Pie. I was probably 16 at the time. Using my mother’s housekeeper as a guinea pig, I gave her a nice big slice. Her cheeks drew in and her mouth puckered up as she grabbed for her water. I took a bite of my pie. OMG! It was so sour! When I told my aunt about it, she laughed fit to kill. Who knew there is a difference between condensed milk and evaporated milk? LOL
Another disaster about the same time was when I was learning to cook. I made some gorgeous Parker House rolls. None of those brown & serve things for me. After the 1st rising, I made the dough into rolls & set it at the back of the stovetop to rise the 2nd time. ITM, I turned the oven on to preheat. The rolls never browned and could double as door stops. Why? The heat from the oven vent killed the yeast! You could have killed someone throwing those rolls!
Margaret on 30 Oct 2008 at 3:33 pm #
I feel the same way about picky eaters, Claudia. Unless they have a real allergy to some food, of course. Even there, you don’t make them eat that food. In fact, you don’t *make* them eat anything.
You set it on the table and proceed to eat. Anybody complains, tell them they don’t have to eat it and keep on eating yours. They will eventually get the message that THIS is the meal and nothing else is forthcoming. No in-between meals allowed. When they get hungry enough, they will eat. I never heard of a child starving to death of their own choice. I’m not talking teen anorexics here. You have to start when they’re younger.
When they are teens and complain, you point them to the kitchen so they cook for themselves. The kicker there is they have to _ulp_ clean up after themselves.
Kids are very manipulative and, like pets, only have one thing on their minds when we have dozens. Don’t fall for the “it’s easier to give in than argue” syndrome.
Yasmin on 30 Oct 2008 at 4:34 pm #
Talking about picky eaters reminded me of some family pics my mom has. My sis when she was little was a bad eater. She didnt want to eat period. They would make her sit in the chair till she ate everything in front of her. Well some of those times my sis cheated my mom off by falling asleep and with food in her mouth. Apparently a habit of her was to chew the food until it was practically mush and always saying “Im chewing” and mom would counter “then start swallowing”.
Santa on 30 Oct 2008 at 5:30 pm #
I am foodie from way back. It’s in me bones. But do I have a kitchen to die for? No! Not yet anyway. Someday.
I love to think up menus and then execute them. I elected myself to get the celebration cake we had in San Fran. I researched ahead of time so I’d find the best baker around. It was fairly orgasmic – the cake not the research – necessarily.
Having said that I don’t bake. I don’t have a knack for it. I baked sugar cookies for the cherubs’ Fall Festivals. I don’t think they look so great. More like an eleven year old made them. So I had my eleven year old decorate them. One sin covering the other so to speak.
And yes, I do give things away if I don’t use them. Especially since I don’t have the storage space. I’m sending one such item out this week.
Sabrina Jeffries on 30 Oct 2008 at 6:04 pm #
My mom “made” me eat mayonnaise. If our vegetable that meal was cole slaw, I had to eat it. Until the day she caught me swallowing my cole slaw whole while holding my nose and washing it down with the tea so I wouldn’t taste the mayonnaise. That’s when she gave up on feeding me stuff with mayonnaise.
Kathy/Cookiedough on 30 Oct 2008 at 6:17 pm #
when I was a kid the only thing I would eat at most meals were mashed potatoes. once I got old enough-10- I started making what i wanted for supper. by the time I was 17 I was making the meals and all the treats in the house.
Yes, we had that rule too if you made the mess you had to clean it up.
wanting food i could eat won over not wanting to wash the dishes.
Dad was in his exotic phase and choices were deer and rabbit. ick.
I also refused to eat the cows I had hand raised. just couldn’t do it without bursting into tears. my mom took pity on me and bought ground beef from the store. I didn’t care about those cows.
lol
Margaret on 30 Oct 2008 at 6:58 pm #
Oh Sabrina! That is too funny. I love mayonnaise. When I was in Kindergarten & 1st grade, my mother would pack my lunch every day. Her one stab at domesticity. LOL She was a career woman to her toes.
Every day, she would pack a very good lunch. A sandwich, fruit, cookies & a drink in a thermos. Tucked in among all that food would be a 1/2 mayonnaise sandwich. Not a whole one, mind you. Every evening, she would unpack that very good lunch and put it away. That very good lunch was always minus a 1/2 mayonnaise sandwich. She was sooo frustrated. She was embarrassed to send me to school with just the mayo sandwich for fear someone would think she wasn’t treating me right.
Poor woman. I think I broke her spirit. Soon after came the 10 cents for lunch every day. I’m not sure how that worked out. LOL
Janae on 30 Oct 2008 at 7:09 pm #
I agree with Claudia and Margaret. You just have to stick it out. Just two Sundays ago it took my daughter nearly 4 hours to eat lunch, which was just a parmesan chicken and brown rice with peas. There was, of course, a significant amount of drama, but as I tell her, ‘Crying doesn’t work.’ She ate her food. Just about every meal is like that. I think we’re experiencing the picky toddler phase late because she ate everything that was put in front of her (and still didn’t gain weight, lol).
However, put a pomegranate or grapefruit in front of her, and it’s gone before you know it.
Julia London on 30 Oct 2008 at 7:58 pm #
So tonight, the CBE said he didn’t want spaghetti. We told him that was on the menu, and that he didn’t have to eat it, but there wasn’t anything else. After a lot of crying and gnashing of teeth, he ate it. HOOORAY!
And he usually liked spaghetti, so I guess it was just a power play. CBE, 0. The Londons, 1
Kim on 30 Oct 2008 at 9:59 pm #
Thanks you guys, on the kitchen comments. It does get a lot of use, but not the right kind.
Is anyone else wandering what kind of use Julia’s kitchen gets?
Just sayin…
OMG, I SO want to be Paula Deen when I grow up. That woman can cook! I record all her shows on the dvr so I can write down the recipes. Everything has at least 2lbs of butter and a vat of mayo. Two of my favorite things. lol. Did anyone see the Throwdown she did with Bobbie Flay? It was chicken fried steak. I am so making that someday.
Julia–that’s awesome!! Score for the Londons! I do think that sometimes it is just a power play. Just to see if they can get away with it and he is 2. We’re pretty lucky with Anthony. He’ll eat pretty much anything. Sometimes its kind of scary what he eats.
evlqn on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:17 pm #
My grandparents owned a service station and cafe for about 40 years so we all had to take a turn at helping. I come from a large family, 78 first cousins, and we all did basic training at grandma’s. The boys at the station and in the fields and the girls at the cafe and the house. Yes is was VERY sexist. But we all learned to cook at an early age. I really like to whip up a meal from scratch even at lunch time. I used to cater private parties in Colorado and in LA.
Until recently we had a one-butt kitchen. Whoever designed our kitchen had never actually cooked in one. They put the island with the sink and dishwasher in front of the refrigerator. You could not open the door to one if you were in front of the other. And you had to have a one-way traffic flow or risk running someone down. When we replaced the floor due to a leak we moved the island to the outer wall and we can all be in the kitchen at the same time.
Julia can I have your unwanted gadgets and stuff???
evlqn on 30 Oct 2008 at 10:27 pm #
When my sons were younger we had a picky eater and the way we solved it was to have a “hate” list. Everyone in our house put one thing from each food group that they hated on the list. We posted it on the cabinet door and no matter what if the food was on your list you did not have to eat it. However if I made something that was not on the list you had to at least try it. You could only change an item on your list once a month. In all the years we had the list posted no one ever changed anything on it. There was no way my sons were going to be obliged to eat liver or for me to eat salmon.
Susan Renee on 31 Oct 2008 at 1:34 am #
Julia ~ What a great kitchen you have! My first thought was that the islands countertop would be perfect for rolling out dough and crusts. I’m a baker… love to bake breads, pies, cakes, cookies, cinnabons…you name it from scratch. However…i’m a *meh* cook. I can follow a recipe, but if I make something thats bland I can’t figure out how to fix it.
I am a gadget and appliance collector. I have drawers overflowing with baking doo dads and when I bought new appliances last year I picked out the oven because I could proof breads in it (I think my eyes glazed over when the salesperson showed me this feature).
Cail….how do you make cheese? Did you learn by a cookbook or a class?
Kay in Bama on 04 Nov 2008 at 8:30 pm #
Julia, I love the kitchen. I want one. Mine is way to little. I need elbow room.
I have beencooking since I was 8. We grew everything we ate. There wasnt much that we bought at the grocery store. So homemade cakes, cookies, pies, bread, etc is all I was raised on. Mind you, I am not my mother. I do bake, can veggies, make jellies and jams; but I dont like it! I would go hungry if everyone depended on me to kill our meat. That is not something that I can do.
Needless to say, I cook ALOT but I dont like it!
Kay in Bama on 04 Nov 2008 at 8:31 pm #
well, that just sounded stupid!!!! Sorry ya’ll.