Anyone else fed up with cooking?

[HeyWayne]

We went through a spate of pre-prepared stuff and I honestly got withdrawal symptoms from cooking. I was desperate to cook - anything.

I'm back on cooking now. Love it.

[bramble]

My hubby does all the cooking now. He retired some years ago and said it was time I had more time in the garden and that he would take over the cooking as he quite likes it and I would rather be gardening.
I now get breakfast in bed every morning with the newspaper and life is so good.

[Brengirl]

Sounds idyllic Bramble but do you, like me, feel that you have been usurped at times. When my dearest OH says GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN I really have to bite my tongue.

[Newbie]

I'm feeling the same way. I do usually enjoy cooking but as OH doesn't i always end up doing it & am fast running out of inspiration. I always seem to go through the same old repetoire: mince = chilli, spag bol, lasagne & sometimes for a change meatballs. Chicken = fajitas, stir fry or curry. Pork = somerset port, pork with cider, grilled. Beef = steak or stew. Just bored, bored, bored & lacking inspiration!

[janeyo]

My hubby does all the cooking now. He retired some years ago and said it was time I had more time in the garden and that he would take over the cooking as he quite likes it and I would rather be gardening.
I now get breakfast in bed every morning with the newspaper and life is so good.

Please can you send him over here!

[Sue]

Hi
I only have myself to cook for but I'm sure if I had to cook a full meal everyday I'd get bored with it too.
What I enjoy doing is batch cooking, so I do cook every day but it might be bread or cake or making icecream or jam, a curry, soup or whatever is dictated to me by the fruits of the allotment. I always see this as a bit of a challenge - let's see I've got four beetroot, five marrows and some carrots, now what can I do with them..... and I do find some extraordinary recipes when I type my days particular combination of veg into google.

Once you've built up a head of steam so to speak (filled the freezer) then there are meals aplenty to choose from if you're not cooking a main course meal that day. As it is a sin worthy of capital punishment to let my home grown fruit and veg go to waste then cook I must but doing batch cooking leads to more variety and more experimentation - for me at least.

Sue

[Jeanied]

Maybe this is a cooking for yourself or cooking for someone else issue? I love to cook, but when I open the fridge every evening for my hourly check (what do I want to eat now?) I think - that would be nice - but I really can't be bothered just for me. Sadly I still shop for a party and eat alone - my ideas don't last long enough from the supermarket to home.
For example - latest bright ideas in the shopping bag but not translated into cooking
- pumpkin for a soup
- mango for a mango fruit leather
- celery and stilton for a soup
- tomatoes for a home made tomato pasta sauce
- mushrooms and risotto rice for a mushie risotto
- ginger for anything and a bit left over for the ginger growing experiment
My compost bin gets far too much fruit and veg - unlike me!

[annacruachan]

I need to learn to love my new(actually been here two years,but that's when I gradually started to lose heart)kitchen.Although it's a bit bigger than the old house the layout all seems totally wrong & the oven's shite AND it's North facing!

One really good way to redeem a north-facing kitchen - or any other room for that matter - is to paint it creamy yellow. That way it always look as though the sun is shining and makes you feel more hopeful and optimistic.

[annacruachan]

Maybe this is a cooking for yourself or cooking for someone else issue? I love to cook, but when I open the fridge every evening for my hourly check (what do I want to eat now?) I think - that would be nice - but I really can't be bothered just for me. Sadly I still shop for a party and eat alone - my ideas don't last long enough from the supermarket to home.

I agree, Jeanie, cooking just for yourself can be soul-destroying, but I have had the same disinclination to cook for two of us and for a family of five.

It would seem to be as much about having to do it, same amount, same time, every day. I relish the days when I've cooked enough for two days on the previous day and can occupy myself out of the kitchen until the last moment.

Of course, my new halogen oven has sparked my interest again. It's great to be able to make dishes that need a crispy top without compromising because of the expense of heating the conventional oven for one dish.

[weekendwellies]

I used to really enjoy cooking everything - meals, cakes, pies, etc. I was always keen to try out new recipes.
After 17 years of cooking things that the kids dont screw up their noses at, I am bored, bored, bored.
I also used to enjoy making up meals from leftovers and storecupboard basics.
I never seem to be able to do that now.
I dread the monthly shop as well because I never feel enthusiastic about doing even a rudimentary meal plan.
Trouble is, when you get home from work and have to get something on the table quickly enough to be eaten before everyone dashes off to evening activities, it is hard thinking up ideas.
Hopefully when I am no longer cooking for family, I will regain my enthusiasm and experiment again with new (and old) recipes. I still have plenty of recipes books, and cut outs from magazines, and now there is the internet too.

[Brengirl]

Thinking about old recipes reminded me of evaporated milk. I fancy some homemade fudge..............

[weekendwellies]

My other half seems to do most of the cooking lately, we did have an agreement that whoever gets in first starts the evening meal... I just seem to be held up at work these days, honestly.

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Lol, I like your style Fleegle

[weekendwellies]

One really good way to redeem a north-facing kitchen - or any other room for that matter - is to paint it creamy yellow. That way it always look as though the sun is shining and makes you feel more hopeful and optimistic.

It works for a south facing one too. Looking at grey skies at the moment, but the kitchen is nice and bright.

[Sprocket*]

I cook nearly every meal as the OH has the stock saying "I DON@T KNOW WHAT WE ARE HAVING" - my answer neither do I till I looke at what we have never wears with him. I have come up with a cunning plan though which he has not cottoned on to - DARLING, please can you cook this recipe for when I finish work please?

For cooking inspiration this is my favourite site:
BBC Good Food - Recipes and cooking tips

Just off to make traditional ginger bread and a roast, spiced pumpkin soup (just have to remember not to try and amputate finger as last time I made it we ended up in A&E).

[weekendwellies]

This thread has given me a nudge to spend a bit more time in the kitchen today, as it is raining and there is nothing on tv and the kids are out.... Mince is frying, potatoes are boiling, oven is on.... yep Its shepherds pie for tea.