[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

cooking backstops

[sanityfaerie.livejournal.com]

I too am in the class of people who start thinking about food only after hitting the first few levels of food dep (sometimes not even then).

I've found it useful to develop a set of quick, easy recipes with ingredients that keep, and then trying to always have those ingredients on hand. Complement that with basic, inexpensive stuff that keeps and you can pretty much handle the starvation thing indefinately, if not well.

my personal list
- juice, in large bottles
- cereal and milk
- ramen
- bread and cheese (works as a decent sandwich uncooked or microwaved. Can be fried in butter if you're feeling fancy and you learn the trick of it.)
- canned fruit
- Good Old Raisins and Peanuts (no California Golds here. Grrr...)
- mac and cheese from the box (well, hey - we have milk and butter already.
- spaghetti and barbecue sauce (cook spaghetti. Add a pat or few of butter and barbecue sause to taste. Should color but not cover. It's a little wierd, but it works. Also works well with egg noodles.)
- hard salami (lunchmeat version) and canned pineapple. Plus bread makes a sandwich. Again, a little wierd, but I like it.
- tuna fish (you can do fancy things with tuna. i usually eat it straight out of the can with a fork.)
- One-a-day vitamin pills (not that you neccessarily eat one every day. Just sniff them every day or so and take one if you crave it.)

The idea here is to provide the basics, quickly and easily. Nothing takes longer to prepare than "cook pasta, mix stuff in." Personally, I use the thinnest spaghetti I can find, which means that the most prep time on the list goes to the box of mac and cheese. It's got a small amount of meat/fish/peanuts; plenty of pasta/bread/cereal, a fair amount of dairy, and some fruit. On top of that, you have the one a day pills to make sure that you don't short yourself on anything too badly. You have the fruit juice there in case your body gives you the five minute warning. Everything on there is cheap and decently healthy. You can use it as desperation food, depression food, or the blood sugar boost you need to do actual cooking. It's also boring enough that you'll still have a motive to find other ways of sustaining yourself every once in a while. Finally, except for the bread (and, potentially, the milk) everything on the list keeps like the dickens, so you can buy in bulk and stash it away until you need it.

Just some thoughts

thew Sanity Faerie

Re: cooking backstops

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Huh! Fascinating. You know, I should make a similar list for myself, since I have some of this already (all the time), but not all of it. And having fewer things around the house would make it easier to make a decision and actually _make_ something.

Neat! Thank you!