[nurishment.phsyical] Tea kettles and cooking

[wispfox]

So, um, apparently electric tea kettles are normal in Britian.

I have a stovetop one, and even _those_ aren't particularly 'normal' a thing to have. I think the normal method of boiling water for beverages is microwaving it in a cup (which I sometimes do, since I don't think there was a tea kettle in my house at all growing up).

This conversation fascinates the _hell_ out of me. Seriously! Both the conversation in the post I linked to, and the conversation in the comments _that_ post links to.

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I don't cook. Pretty much ever. I try, infrequently, but it seems to be something for which I have the initiative only rarely, which means I never get good enough at anything to do it more or less automatically. (And no, I don't count boiling water for pasta - for example - as cooking, even though I often don't have initiative or energy for _that_) And I'm _way_ too easily distracted and fairly poor at keeping track of what all I'm doing, neither of which are good for cooking purposes.

Far more likely to want to bake than cook, I am. Even then, though, it's rare.

So the fact that I have nearly as many tools/containers for cooking as I have (a decent amount - I don't tend to frustrate people who want to use my kitchen nearly as much as I could!) is mostly because I hoped I would eventually actually 'learn to cook'. I no longer think it's about learning, though, and am more thinking that I just don't really _want_ to, healthier for me though it absolutely would be. And cheaper.

I suspect this is partly the fact that I don't really understand how cooking could be fun, especially if I'm cooking just for myself, or if it's something I need to do regularly (which, since I get tired of food quickly, is usually the case). Nor do I tend to like eating for its own sake. So it's a chore, and not - for me - a particularly easy or quick one. Especially since, when I'm aware that I'm hungry, I'm probably already starting to have low blood sugar problems.

Comments

[starphire.livejournal.com]

Not just in Britain, but other Commonwealth countries too.
Australia, NZ, etc. Also, those on-demand mini hot water heaters in the kitchen - instant water for tea at your fingertips.
At first, I found it strange. But they are convenient and fast at boiling water. Also, they shut off if the water boils away, so it doesn't melt down - can't say that for the stovetop kind.
(pardon me if that's all in the discussion - I didn't read it)

re: cooking - recipes bore me, so I make cooking more interesting by experimenting as soon as I've made something once according to the recipe. Actually, sometimes even the first time.
But yeah, I'm a lot more likely to cook something when there are other people to cook for too. Taking on the role got me in the habit of it being an everyday thing. The thing is, people I cook for soon begin to say they "forgot" how to cook, which seems to be an excuse to have me do all the cooking. It's happened more than once.
Anyway, it's the experimenting that makes it fun for me.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

on-demand mini hot water heaters in the kitchen - instant water for tea at your fingertips.

Those, I've seen - if you mean the ones that are attached to the sink?

they shut off if the water boils away, so it doesn't melt down

That's helpful! But my tea kettle whistles, so I notice when it's ready. It's _not_ quiet. :)

people I cook for soon begin to say they "forgot" how to cook, which seems to be an excuse to have me do all the cooking. It's happened more than once.

Well, for me, I have - once - gotten in the habit of cooking relatively regularly, but once I stopped, I really did forgot how to cook what I cooked most often. I'd need the recipe again.

Experimenting tends to result in... not terribly appetizing food, when I do it. *shrug*

[starphire.livejournal.com]

Yes, the ones that are attached to the sink, or at least the plumbing.

I must just have a strong memory for recipes and methods - something to make up for my terrible memory of movies (I will forget the plot and/or key scenes of a movie I've seen a few days ago, it's that bad).
When I experiment with food, I follow certain principles: things like salt and spices get added very sparingly, until it tastes right; I try not to overcook vegetables, since underdone isn't so bad for most veggies; anything that gets fried in a pan gets special attention, since it can go horribly wrong so quickly. Stuff like that.