Cooking Roots
Slowly but surely, my opinion on home-cooking is changing. I wondered what was the root to my strong displeasure for cooking. The most apparent explanation for my loathing for cooking has to be the equipment/kitchenware that my parents had. Keep in mind, my parents didn't cook very often as they worked six days a week but my grandmother did cook for my siblings and me until about high school just about everyday; I have so respect and appreciation for my grandmother for doing that. I don't know how she dealt with such a poorly equipped kitchen.
One thing I've learned to embrace for a few years now has to be the use of the oven. It is one of the most useful piece of equipment for cooking but didn't learn about all the things it can do since the one at my parents' place is broken. It was broken in such that the calibration seemed to be way off; it was either 200 or 450 degrees. I guess that's the mystery of home-cooking... When I first encountered a working oven in my living quarters, I was overwhelmed about the endless possibilities, mostly thinking about all the dishes on the Food Network; you may think I'm exaggerating but just think about how often they say "Prepare the oven to" (ignorance is bless). But now, I'm broiling and baking all sorts of foods (Steak Monday!).
Other aspects that may have led to my distaste of cooking at home:
The flat electric stove- 20 mins later, it's getting warm!
The dishwasher aka Matthew TW Huang- Being the youngest child, I seemed to be only one washing the dishes after my wonderfully cooked meal by my grandmother. My brother fooled me into washing the dishes with unfulfilled promises of purchasing video games as compensation. At least the sink had the water gun though! (A must-have in any kitchen) And the use of the dishwasher was out of the question since the clean dishes were stored in there... (But I am willing to be someone's dishwasher for 60k/year)
Lack of Garbage Disposal- Another must-have item in the kitchen. Do you know how to agitate a child's mind for a lifetime? Just make the child feel the food residue/gunk at the sink's strainer after washing the dishes; it's worse than cleaning hair in the shower drain.
Kitchenware- The pots/pan where pretty old and some of the handles were loose. Some of the pans would stick like white on rice... They have probably been using the same kitchen-ware since moving in (About when I was born...). I feel like most couples get their great kitchenware as wedding gifts; maybe I should get married. (I'm hoping for a KitchenAid Mixer!)
Food- My parents didn't go grocery shopping very often and I think my grandmother went shopping for groceries while we were at school to socialize with other Chinese people. It never really crossed my mind to go grocery shopping since I felt fast food was such a great deal (Time/Money). And I lived nearby copious number of delicious restaurants. Rhode Island has quality and quantity, in terms of places to eat.
I think one aspect of cooking I am still having issues with is the number of ingredients some dishes take. I guess it's similar to a toolset, you just have to build it up.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention how cooking for one is terrible.
Any advice on how to enjoy cooking more? Or suggestions on what to cook?
Steak Monday!
As I was writing this, I was informed about the bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. I hope everyone's friends and family are all safe.