Who taught you to cook? (1 Viewer)

[Linda]

As I read an article about some hospitals teaching patients how to shop and prepare healthy meals, this question came to mind. Where did we get our knowledge about cooking?

I first learned about food from my parents and grandparents. My Mom was a modern housewife, using all the "seal of approval" products, which meant a lot of prepared items. Many of us will recall casseroles with a base of canned mushroom or cheddar cheese soup. I'm not complaining about my Mom because she was following the most up-to-date info. It was from my Grandmother that I learned that cakes and biscuits could be made from scratch. I learned how to make biscotti from a friend's Italian grandmother.

So the trend of letting big businesses do the food selection for us started a long time ago. In my college days, I was part of the hippie group, which meant going to food co-ops and fixing meals with fresh ingredients. I even had community gardens on vacant lots with neighbors. When family and work responsibilities grew, I fell back on prepared and fast food when time was in short supply. Yet, for special meals, I cooked from scratch.

Fast forward into recent years where I began learning about all the junk in our food supply, my shopping and cooking habits changed. At least I knew something about how to cook, but people who've had little or no exposure to cooking basics don't know what to do.

Cooking programs are a bit helpful, but intimidating because the cooks are so different from "regular" people. Also, the availability of wholesome food is a barrier for many people.

So, what can we do?

I actually think about this a lot when I'm in the grocery store and notice what people are putting in their carts. I will say this about our local grocer (HEB) - they are making a serious effort to put more healthy alternatives on their shelves. The little "non GMO" stickers are all over the place.

I'm aware of a program in one of our high schools for students who've not succeeded in other schools that uses gardening as the pathway to English and math. Our neighborhood elementary school has a community garden for the students. Programs like these help kids understand and appreciate where food actually comes from. Also, our city has a program for people raising chickens for eggs.

How did you all learn to cook?

Do you know of other ways to reach out to people?

 

[Lila]

I was sous chef to my mom for many years, chopping, go-phering (going to get ingredients she needed) and generally being an extra pair of hands, so there is no doubt I absorbed lots of cooking concepts from her, though not much interest. I started actually cooking, however, when I wanted to eat more dessert, so I made some. This was appreciated by everyone and, though it limited the scope of my initial cooking forays, it was also a good introduction to making what one could out of what was available.
There was one point in my life when dinner had to be ready within about 10 min because I was so tired from working all hours that I'd probably be asleep if it wasn't! Lots of salads and prepared foods found their way into my meals during that period, lol.
Like you, my grandmas cooked from much more basic ingredients and I found it fascinating to go out to the garden or local community farmers markets to source those. These made a lasting impression, particularly in my loving to have my own garden.
My grandfather and most of my uncles were also always to be found in the kitchen cooking their special meals when they were requested. One of these uncles also enjoyed hunting and fishing for the perfect ingredients so much that he once scared the #$*&^ out of us by suddenly swerving the car and shouting 'Got him!' as he ran down a hare for a delicious dinner that night... always a hunter, even when the only available hunting tool was a car

 

[Pucksterguy]

Basically me. I'm Italian I speak it as well, most of our customers didn't speak English.) and grew up in the family grocery store. After a long ans often grueling day My Mom would of leave to cook dinner. Frozen foods were verboten we always had fresh ingredients. Dinner was often a tomato sauce and pasta. Roasts figured in as well be it chicken, lamb or whatever with the veg and potatoes roasting in one pan. TG I got my Mom to show me her tomato sauce, very simple and delicious. My cooking is still very basic and simple. I do all the cooking at home here and most of the cooking with my ex and kids. I Love it!! I experiment a lot with different flavors and spices and grow my own herbs.
The reason I do all the cooking here for my Lady(She too is Italian) is because of my tomato sauce....When i first met her about 10 yrs ago I made her a few meals. She was sick one night so i made her a chicken soup. Over time we cooked each other a few meals and all went well till I made her my tomato sauce. She loved it and complained that mine was better then hers. So she said from now on you do the cooking so I do. I'm grateful that she is willing to clean my mess so it works just fine. I Love to throw something together for friends.....

 

[Linda]

We learned from family, but the interesting thing is that we are known for special things we cook (me - pies and pink velvet cake, which is red velvet without the red dye).

 

[Angela]

I've mostly learned from myself. I picked up tips and ideas from my parents, but they had a very specific diet that no longer worked for me. When I was younger I had a field day playing with spices initially. And I enjoy cooking with my husband and i loooove trying out new things anyway, i have no fear of playing around. I wouldn't even necessarily say I'm very good at it. But that doesn't bother me. The meals that come out great are fantastic to experience.

So most of it has been, i can eat x foods, so what can I make. And I try to be creative.

I love making desserts. Not even to eat. Just yo make. Heheh my husband loves those times. Haha

 

[Snowmelt]

I left home around my 17th birthday, and one of the first meals I learned to make was spaghetti bolognese (from scratch). I had a deep metal pan with a wooden handle, and as I went to serve it to my friends, the handle wobbled loose and the meal went topsy turvey! I cherish my original copy of the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen (recipes from the Moosewood Restaurant, Ithaca, New York) which are all vegetarian. The frontis piece of the book states: Compiled, Edited, Illustrated, and Hand-Lettered by Mollie Katzen. I learned how to make a lot of vegetarian basics from that book. Everything is made from scratch, and with love. I also learned from lots of hippy people I hung out with, and the start of most meals was chopping and frying onion, garlic and ginger, as a basis. I learned how to make home-made sesame crackers, and home-made humus, borscht, vichyssoise, and lots of other things. Later on, I went back onto meat on doctor's orders, but the spinach and lentil curries etc still continued. Today, my favourite cook-up is rice in the rice cooker (too easy) and a vegetable and meat hot pot of some sort (catering to a fussy daughter's taste and overcoming her anorexia did change the way I used to cook for myself when I was single). I rely on many more kitchen implements now than I did in my early days!

 

[Linda]

I can feel the love in all these responses and want us to get together some day for a meal. I finally have a pretty decent kitchen, so we can gather here.