peaname
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,390 
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Post by peaname on Nov 8, 2022 0:54:33 GMT
I just saw a thread where someone said, “I don’t cook.” And I wondered what that means. Surely most people are capable of putting together a meal even if they don’t enjoy it. It isn’t the same as, “I don’t drive” is it?
If you frequently say I don’t cook and don’t mind my asking what do you typically eat?
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Nov 8, 2022 1:05:06 GMT
I cook for me. Nothing beyond simple. Chicken in batches too warm up as wanted. Bacon, egg+ for breakfast or oatmeal. Defrost a hamburger once in a while. Baked potato. Light salad..
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Post by leannec on Nov 8, 2022 1:06:45 GMT
There are people who live in their mum's basement and never have to cook ... There are people who live on takeout ... I couldn't imagine ... I cooked very little until I met my ex and we moved in together but I could at least make macaroni.  |
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Post by originalvanillabean on Nov 8, 2022 1:07:25 GMT
What it means to me is I won't routinely make a meal that requires multiple pans.
I am not able to just "throw something together". If there is no recipe, I'm struggling.
It is not a priority to me to meal plan and have ingredients available for a week of meals.
We eat a lot of chicken breast and salad and we eat out a lot.
It isn't that I can't cook, I just don't enjoy it so it isn't a norm in our home.
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Post by ntsf on Nov 8, 2022 1:16:59 GMT
my parents had a rental.. and the renter never used the kitchen in 20 yrs. he ate out all meals. there are quite a few people in my town that do that.
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Post by Merge on Nov 8, 2022 1:19:40 GMT
For some lucky people, it means their spouse or partner does the cooking. My husband could easily say “I don’t cook.” He can put some meat on the grill but only if I prep it and give him specific instructions. It’s generally easier to do it myself.
In return, I don’t do laundry. 😊
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Post by busy on Nov 8, 2022 1:20:46 GMT
A good friend and his partner and they literally don't cook. At all. Ever. They have a local meal service that provides a portion of their meals - customized to their specifications, made fresh and delivered every few days. They require no preparation besides reheating per the instructions on each meal. The rest of their meals they either order in or go out to eat.
I think they're kind of outliers but most people who say they don't cook either mean that someone else in their family does, or that when they eat meals at home, they don't require any real "cooking" - more like assembly and/or reheating. Like maybe buying a rotisserie chicken and then using it to make a salad or sandwich or something like that.
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Post by myshelly on Nov 8, 2022 1:22:06 GMT
My dad doesn’t cook.
My BFF doesn’t cook.
They literally buy food prepared by someone else for every single meal. That may mean they get fast food. Maybe take out. Maybe a restaurant. Maybe already prepared foods from Costco or the grocery store.
Sometimes they just put together snack plates. Like cheese, crackers, veggies, hummus.
If I could afford to not cook I 100% would do that. I despise every moment of anything related to food shopping and preparing.
When I no longer have kids in my home I will not cook. It’s not because I am not capable. It’s because I hate it, so if spending a little more money means I can spend my time doing something else instead, that’s what I will choose.
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Post by epeanymous on Nov 8, 2022 1:22:10 GMT
That was probably me, and I don't. If it is just me, I generally make myself a salad or a cheese plate or something like that.
I literally can cook. You give me a recipe, I can follow the recipe; I also do some baking and used to make all of my own bread when I had the time. I just don'r enjoy cooking at all, so I don't. My husband likes cooking and is happy to do it.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Nov 8, 2022 1:27:42 GMT
A friend with an older house had her kitchen gutted and remodeled. It was beautiful. We had a gathering there almost a full year after the kitchen was completed. Someone turned the oven on to heat their appetizer back up and before long there was an awful smell as the kitchen filled with smoke. That’s when we discovered she had never even taken the packing materials out of the oven. A year later. Now that’s someone who clearly never cooks.
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Post by katlady on Nov 8, 2022 1:30:30 GMT
I remember an artist I used to follow that never cooked, and her kitchen was her art studio. The cabinets had art supplies in them, she stored things in the oven and dishwasher. I don’t remember if she had a refrigerator, but I assume she would at least have that.
When someone says “I don’t cook” I assume they mean that they don’t use a stove. Everything is either cold, take out, or maybe they microwave to heat up something.
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Post by myshelly on Nov 8, 2022 1:31:48 GMT
A friend with an older house had her kitchen gutted and remodeled. It was beautiful. We had a gathering there almost a full year after the kitchen was completed. Someone turned the oven on to heat their appetizer back up and before long there was an awful smell as the kitchen filled with smoke. That’s when we discovered she had never even taken the packing materials out of the oven. A year later. Now that’s someone who clearly never cooks. My oven has been broken for 7 years and I haven’t bothered to replace it. Put me in her camp 🤣 |
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Post by quinmm14 on Nov 8, 2022 1:37:59 GMT
I hate to cook, I can do it but I say a lot of swears when I do.  I'm not really good at it and if it was just me I probably would eat out every single meal. I also hate to grocery shop, and I hate meal prepping. I also hate the dreaded "what's for dinner" question from dh when he basically *is* the cook around here and makes whatever he wants anyway. |
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Post by lucyg on Nov 8, 2022 1:48:39 GMT
When I say I don’t cook, what I really mean is, I don’t cook unless I have to. These days, I have to a lot.  Left to my own devices, I might make a pot of soup or a casserole or a roast once a week, and eat off of that all week. Or cheese and crackers, or scrambled eggs, or salad with good things in it, or Costco chicken, or takeout. I do like making a full Thanksgiving dinner once a year, but I don’t really want all those people in my house  so I do it some other time or not at all. I feel like that statement “I don’t cook” means something slightly different to everyone who says it. |
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Post by lisae on Nov 8, 2022 3:03:02 GMT
One of my stepdaughters truly does not cook. I tried teaching her a few things but it never took. She bragged once to my sister-in-law that she had learned to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Stepdaughter married a man who cooks. He cooks all their meals, even packs her lunch for her. She knows she is spoiled.
In keeping with the story about the unused oven, my mother redecorated her kitchen once in February. She turned on the oven for the first time the next August. Her favorite joke was "My husband thought about just selling our oven but he keeps it because it is such a good place to hide my Christmas presents." My mother did cook when I was growing up but she never enjoyed it.
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,798
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Nov 8, 2022 3:06:55 GMT
I "don't cook" because I don't enjoy it and I don't like spending time required to make a proper meal. Thankfully my husband LOVES to cook and will cook all the meals for us. If I were in charge of cooking, we'd have lots of breads and pastas and cookies and cereal and sandwiches. DH makes meats and veggies and all that healthy stuff for us. I CAN cook. I read and follow recipes well. I'm not creative enough to just throw stuff together but I also don't care to do that. I much prefer to bake. DH and I make a great team because he doesn't bake. |
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Post by buddysmom on Nov 8, 2022 3:20:06 GMT
My husband doesn't cook. Before we retired, our job responsibilities were about equal, I did more kid stuff/shuffling, I did the financial stuff, made every meal (that we didn't go out for), but he did cut the grass and take out the trash...
Can you see my vent... DD and I went out of town once for two weeks and he had me buy him a dozen frozen lasagnas!
He uses the microwave for canned soup, leftovers and the toaster over for frozen waffles. That's about it!
We have lived in this house for 30+ years and he has never once turned on the cooktop.
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Post by bc2ca on Nov 8, 2022 3:24:06 GMT
When someone says "I don't cook" it usually means they don't cook. Not necessarily that they have never cooked or aren't capable or able to learn to cook, but they have no interest in cooking and don't need to, so don't.
I know people that pick up food or eat out daily. They are mostly empty nesters and are happy to have the daily cooking drudgery behind them and never enjoyed cooking for fun.
When I don't have to feed anyone else, I don't cook. I still eat though. It will usually be something simple like cheese, crackers and fruit. Or take out sushi or Thai.
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Post by Crack-a-lackin on Nov 8, 2022 3:30:41 GMT
This has always fascinated me, too, but I think people have different definitions of cooking. Similar to people who say “I don’t watch tv” while they tell you about the shows they spent the weekend binging from their 4 different streaming services.
If someone says they don’t cook I assume that means they don’t make eggs or grilled cheese or pasta or anything. They have someone else make literally everything they eat. To me, cooking doesn’t mean making elaborate dishes. It just means preparing food at home.
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Post by Zee on Nov 8, 2022 3:33:53 GMT
I can cook but my schedule means I don't. I either eat fast food or in the cafeteria or packaged meals or we get Uber eats or go out, on the 2 nights we have together over the weekend.
My other day off is during the week and I actually have recently made that the one day I cook dinner. So, I typically cook once a week now.
When I wasn't working, I cooked almost every night to save money. I kind of enjoyed it, the meal planning and trying new recipes and things. I don't have time for that now.
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Nov 8, 2022 5:07:47 GMT
I can cook, but I don't enjoy it. For me, cooking is a chore.
I cook because I have to. I can't afford takeout daily or eating out daily.
When I make something, I make a lot of it, so I have can freeze multiple meals.
I usually one cooking session a month and freeze everything, I will make several items during that session.
I also have frozen things like pot pies, and baked potato's. Rolls and honey ham.
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pilcas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,147
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Post by pilcas on Nov 8, 2022 5:21:39 GMT
A friend always says she doesn’t cook, she prepares food. In other words, boiling pasta and adding a jar of sauce is not cooking. Same as with other foods you put together rather quickly and effortlessly.
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Post by mom on Nov 8, 2022 5:26:26 GMT
When someone says "I don't cook" it usually means they don't cook. Not necessarily that they have never cooked or aren't capable or able to learn to cook, but they have no interest in cooking and don't need to, so don't. I know people that pick up food or eat out daily. They are mostly empty nesters and are happy to have the daily cooking drudgery behind them and never enjoyed cooking for fun.
When I don't have to feed anyone else, I don't cook. I still eat though. It will usually be something simple like cheese, crackers and fruit. Or take out sushi or Thai.
This is 100% DH and I. We both 'can' cook, but we choose not to. I do order 2 meals from a local company that makes dinners and you can order them. All you have to do is shove it in the oven. I also get 2 Home Chef meals, but usually make sure they are the kind you don't have to do a bunch to get it ready. Then we always eat out 2x a week. The other night is usually cheese + crackers, fruit or something that really isn't a meal, but is enough to call a meal. When my boys lived at home, I cooked 3-4 nights a week (no meal services) and I hated it. I'd rather clean house all day than have to cook. I joked when we bought this home that we only bought it because it had the smallest amount of square feet in the kitchen. I didn't want to pay $$ for a room I didn't want to use. lol |
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Post by myshelly on Nov 8, 2022 5:27:51 GMT
A friend always says she doesn’t cook, she prepares food. In other words, boiling pasta and adding a jar of sauce is not cooking. Same as with other foods you put together rather quickly and effortlessly. See, when I say I cook dinner, I mean something like boil pasta and put in sauce. That’s literally the *most* I ever do. If I didn’t have to do it, I wouldn’t even do that much! |
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Post by gryroagain on Nov 8, 2022 5:50:50 GMT
Im quite a good cook, but I find it pointless if it’s just me. And partner who is here the most often is a very bland eater so my exhaustive search to find fresh dill in MX is lost on him- so why bother?
For myself i make grilled cheeses, tuna salad, pasta salad, baked potatoes. But that’s it these days- I go out mostly. Once in a while for friends I’ll cook. I guess I need it to be properly appreciated or I have a need to show off or it’s not worth it?
So for me, “I don’t cook” means I don’t due to choice not skill. That’s what I assume for most people but maybe not.
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Post by rahnee on Nov 8, 2022 6:14:32 GMT
I don't cook at all. My husband does all the cooking. If for some reason he isn't here to cook, I will get takeaway or make some toast. But I don't put a meal together. It's not that I can't. I used to. I just don't.
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Post by myshelly on Nov 8, 2022 6:20:31 GMT
We are going to have to have a spin off thread on what it means to cook because all the things peas are listing as what they make when they don’t want to cook (pasta, pasta salad, baked potatoes {no apostrophe}, grilled cheese, eggs) are the things I make on the nights I DO cook.
If I make scrambled eggs or spaghetti, that is absolutely me cooking a meal.
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hannahruth
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,688
Location: Adelaide, Australia
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Post by hannahruth on Nov 8, 2022 10:56:02 GMT
In return, I don’t do laundry. 😊 i would rather do laundry than cook! |
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Post by monklady123 on Nov 8, 2022 11:00:37 GMT
When my dh travels (which he just restarted since covid, hallelujah! lol) I emphatically do not cook.
He just got back from a two-week overseas trip and during that time I ate these for dinners:
-- thawed stew and soup from the freezer
-- oatmeal
-- already-prepared stuffed peppers from Costco which I ate for three days and then froze the rest
-- sandwiches
-- eggs
-- cheese and crackers, and fruit
-- cottage cheese and grapes, which is my absolute favorite combo of all time
-- one night I made pumpkin soup because dd was here
-- etc.
I don't consider things like oatmeal or eggs to be "cooking". Even the pumpkin soup was hardly cooking because all it was was broth, onions, seasonings, a can of pumpkin, and a can of coconut milk.
I hate to cook.
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peaname
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,390
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Post by peaname on Nov 8, 2022 11:35:14 GMT
I’m going to add that my sister says “I can’t cook” but it’s not true. When we were growing up our mom was an excellent cook but we were not allowed in the kitchen. My mom didn’t teach us basic housekeeping because she preferred to do it all herself and didn’t have the patience for our inexperience. My poor sister has all of this negativity associated with cooking because her family took on some of my mom’s joking and teased her and criticized any attempt she made to cook. They did a lot of takeout, grandma’s meals and easy prep meals. However I have eaten meals my sister has made and she’s a good cook. She hates it and won’t do it even though she’s very capable. And if my family treated me the same way that’s what I’d do.
At my nephew’s high school graduation one of my mom’s friends complained to me that if my mom was still alive there’s no way Costco burgers and hot dogs and premade salads would have been served. I wanted to tell him to go home hungry. My poor sister!
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so I do it some other time or not at all.
