FRIDAY STIR FRY - Cooking

 

Are you a good cook? Do you enjoy cooking? 

I am not and I don't. I just never seemed to move past the simple fried foods, lumpy mashed potatoes, and canned veggies.  Even when I followed a recipe, it always seemed to fall short. I managed to feed my family for over 20 years but, none of my dishes have been passed down to their families. My husband was a pretty good cook, but he worked two jobs so I didn't feel right asking him to step in a lot. His mother passed her cooking skill down to him.  She could make a dirty dishcloth taste good.

I can remember my grandmother cooking on her old farmhouse stove. Throwing this in and that in, never measuring anything. And it all tasted wonderful. 

My mother, on the other hand, worked outside the home. We ate a lot of canned goods and frozen dinners. I don't blame her, but that was my training ground. My dad was a cook during WWII and would occasionally cook a big pot of chili or stew. And I do mean big. It was like he was still cooking for a platoon. And it was just mom and me. 

My daughter had a homework assignment to make an ABC book all about food. For H, she picked Hamburger Helper. That pretty much summed up my culinary wizardry. 

I think you need to have a chemistry degree to be a good cook. What spices go with this food? All purpose flour or self rising? What is the best way to cook a steak, etc? I still don't understand the difference between baking soda and baking powder. 

So, if you ever come to my house, don't expect any homecooked meals. In fact, if you want to eat, you should bring a pizza.

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Cleaning

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/779378

I admit it. I'm a horrible housekeeper. HORRIBLE.

In my defense, it's just me living here. I don't care how many dust bunnies I have or if they get a life of their own and try to strangle me in the middle of the night. Also, I spent all of my married life (24 years) cleaning, cooking, etc. I guess I'm over it.

I do keep the bathroom and kitchen clean. Sort of. I don't let trash accumulate. And I wash my clothes when needed so I don't stink. :-) But dusting is not my thing. Especially when the minute I finish, more dust particles land where I just wiped. Really?

With family coming in for the holiday I feel obligated to at least attempt to clean. My plan was to do a little each night. Have I? Not so much. Maybe I'll just put sheets over everything and tell them I'm getting ready to paint.

Do you enjoy cleaning?

Friday Stir Fry - Cooking

I don't cook much anymore. At least not a whole meal.
I used to cook. My family didn't starve. But, it wasn't my favorite task. We ate a lot of Hamburger Helper.
In fact, when my daughter had to make an alphabet picture book for school, she used Hamburger Helper for H.
Now days, I might stick a hamburger patty or a chicken breast in my George Foreman Grill and a potato in the microwave, but that's about it. Healthy, right?
In my defense, I am single and busy. And let's face facts, it's so much easier just to pick something up on the way home. Then, I realized last night, my fridge is starting to look like a bachelor's.

I picked up Chinese food before going home and as usual only ate about half of it. When I went to put it in the fridge, there was the exact same container sitting on the shelf. I totally forgot I had leftovers from a couple days ago. My bad. I stood back for a moment and assessed my food supply. Beer, ketchup, salad dressing (no salad mind you), a couple of expired yogurt cups and now 2 Styrofoam containers of Chinese food. Oh, and a few containers of questionable science experiments that I'm scared to open.

So, you may see me at the grocery store this weekend. Or, more than likely, at the drive-thru window of my favorite Chinese joint.