tincin
Drama Llama
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png)
Posts: 5,368
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
|
Post by tincin on May 25, 2016 14:16:00 GMT
My Mom was a from scratch kind of cook. She canned her own vegetables and made her own jam. The only thing she made from a mix was a cake. She didn't like to bake. She wasn't a gourmet cook, she was a meat and potatoes kind of gal.
Ask her for a recipe and it was always "add a little of this and some of that and if you have these just toss them in." Drove me mad at the time but now I do the same thing to my kids. If I'm cooking and don't have this then I toss in that. Drives my kids mad now.
So what kind of cook was in your family?
|
|
|
Post by ntsf on May 25, 2016 14:20:08 GMT
my mom was a plain cook..didn't really like to cook..but everything was made at home due to allergies in the family...she made all the bread, mayo, all baked goods...I think it was a big chore and she had a limited list of foods that could be made. no pork, no poultry, no fish, no spices, no eggs, no tomatoes, no chocolate, limited milk, limited wheat....and so on.
|
|
|
Post by supersoda on May 25, 2016 14:21:24 GMT
My mother was a microwave cook. She was not known for her cooking.
I'm a decent self-taught cook and a little snobbish about all those convenience foods my mother relied on. I can follow a recipe, and improvise where necessary.
|
|
|
Post by gar on May 25, 2016 14:21:51 GMT
Good basic cooking I guess you'd say....meat, potatoes and 2 veg, sweet and savoury pies, stews, shepherds pie and so on. Nothing adventurous, nothing 'foreign' ( ![:shocked:](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/JvSt42CUoZ9LG952aAaF.jpg) ) pretty much everything from scratch and especially homemade cakes ![:grin:](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/TKS2q_7siLiFtq0xPQvx.jpg) Cakes, rabbit casserole and turkey soup are 3 favourite childhood food memories
|
|
|
Post by padresfan619 on May 25, 2016 14:26:00 GMT
My mom is a very adventurous cook and she encouraged my brother and I to get in the kitchen with her. She can make something basic or do something incredibly complicated with ease. Now that it is just her and my dad at home she has scaled back on her big meals, but she still loves to go all out on Sundays for our big family dinners.
|
|
|
Post by lbp on May 25, 2016 14:30:58 GMT
I had three. My mom worked full time and my Dad worked 2nd shift, so we had homemade food, but limited in variety. Fried chicken, fried pork chops, hamburgers, spaghetti, hot dogs and hamburgers were the staples along with vegetables. She wasn't a baker at all
My Aunt Clara- who I lived with when my mom was sick was a country cook! Everything from scratch! Lot's of pies and cakes too.
My Grandma- I stayed the summers with her and everything she made was from scratch too but she was very adventurous and would try lots of new recipes, and she cooked everything as healthy as possible.
So I would say I got a complete cooking education. I love to cook and bake!
|
|
|
Post by bc2ca on May 25, 2016 14:31:59 GMT
Good basic cooking I guess you'd say....meat, potatoes and 2 veg, sweet and savoury pies, stews, shepherds pie and so on. Nothing adventurous, nothing 'foreign' ( ![:shocked:](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/JvSt42CUoZ9LG952aAaF.jpg) ) pretty much everything from scratch and especially homemade cakes ![:grin:](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/TKS2q_7siLiFtq0xPQvx.jpg) Cakes, rabbit casserole and turkey soup are 3 favourite childhood food memories This describes my mom's cooking as we grew up, especially the bolded ![:laugh:](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/Ivm7lm0DayrhoRpwvCeH.jpg) . My dad was extremely suspicious of spices because his mom had drilled into him the only reason to spice meat was to cover it had gone bad. My sister's and I are all good cooks and have embraced spices. Once I've made something a couple of times I don't really follow a recipe. The only thing my mom never made from scratch was bread.
|
|
|
Post by jeremysgirl on May 25, 2016 14:34:42 GMT
My mother was a very busy woman so my dad did most of the cooking when I was growing up. My mom had some things she made on a regular basis and it was always good when she cooked. Now that she is older and has much more time on her hands, she has really gotten into gourmet cooking. She is phenomenal. The food is amazing. I love when she invites me over.
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on May 25, 2016 14:44:12 GMT
My mom was a lot like yours tincin in that she made just about everything from scratch, but my mom loved to bake as well and was good at it. She did use box mixes for the convenience and only made bread from scratch for holidays but pretty much everything else was homemade. She also had a backyard garden and did a fair amount of canning too. There were lots of things that she made so many times she never needed to look at a recipe anymore. I'm like that myself now, but only with those recipes that I know very well.
|
|
Dalai Mama
Drama Llama
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png)
La Pea Boheme
Posts: 6,985
Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
|
Post by Dalai Mama on May 25, 2016 14:48:17 GMT
Pretty much everything from scratch and very adventurous. We grew most of our own vegetables and did a lot of foraging as well.
|
|
|
Post by auntkelly on May 25, 2016 14:53:57 GMT
My mom had many talents, but cooking was not one of them.
My father died when I was young and my mom opened a women's clothing store to support my brother and me. She didn't have time to cook and she didn't enjoy cooking. We ate out a lot.
I love to cook and make a lot of things from scratch. I learned from my grandmothers who were both excellent cooks.
|
|
AmandaA
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,502
Aug 28, 2015 22:31:17 GMT
|
Post by AmandaA on May 25, 2016 14:55:02 GMT
I had a made from scratch mom (except no canning) but the noodles were always made from scratch and the mashed potatoes were REAL potatoes. I never understood the kids who got excited and bought seconds on mashed potato day at school... For instant potatoes. YUCK! My husband grew up with a mom who cooked (but hated it and complained) but isn't a good cook. It comes out of a can whenever possible and is usually pan fried in vegetable oil. It has set the bar pretty low for impressing him with meals ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/MNrJDkDuSwqIMVw33MdD.jpg)
|
|
|
Post by Merge on May 25, 2016 14:55:57 GMT
My Mom was a from scratch kind of cook. She canned her own vegetables and made her own jam. The only thing she made from a mix was a cake. She didn't like to bake. She wasn't a gourmet cook, she was a meat and potatoes kind of gal. Ask her for a recipe and it was always "add a little of this and some of that and if you have these just toss them in." Drove me mad at the time but now I do the same thing to my kids. If I'm cooking and don't have this then I toss in that. Drives my kids mad now. So what kind of cook was in your family? Mine was almost exactly the same when I was young (under ten or so). Big garden, lots of canning, etc. She made a lot of jelly, too - often from elderberries or choke cherries we picked from the side of the road, which I guess counts as foraging. Mine did like to make pies, cookies and candy from scratch, but most cakes were from a box. Dinners were simple and almost all from scratch. She was also a "pinch of this, smidgen of that " kind of cook and I'm the same way, but I use a much wider variety of ingredients than she did and make a lot more ethnic-inspired foods.
|
|
johnnysmom
Drama Llama
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png)
Posts: 5,682
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
|
Post by johnnysmom on May 25, 2016 14:56:39 GMT
Not good. Dinners were things like spaghetti (jarred sauce), banquet frozen chicken, etc, on occasion a roast in the crock pot. She jokes that of 4 kids all of our spouses are the primary cooks in our houses (at least whenever possible due to work schedules). It's not really that funny, more sad.
|
|
schizo319
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,030
Jun 28, 2014 0:26:58 GMT
|
Post by schizo319 on May 25, 2016 14:57:24 GMT
My mom roofed houses by day and went to college at night when I was a kid, so it was a miracle she was able to get dinner on the table at all. Our standard dinner was meat, starch and a veggie - veggie was usually from a can and starches were often from a box (rice-a-roni, mac & cheese, au gratin potatoes, hamburger helper, etc.). We also had quite a few crockpot meals that included cream of crap soup and she frequently made spaghetti with jarred sauce. She really was/is an excellent cook though and on weekends or special occasions when she had time, she'd make German food like rouladen or sauerbraten.
|
|
River
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,526
Location: Alabama
Jun 26, 2014 15:26:04 GMT
|
Post by River on May 25, 2016 15:02:17 GMT
My mom and dad both were always in the kitchen. My dad's first job was a cook at a private college. He loved to cook and would get adventuresome. He also did the big meals for Thanksgiving and any other holiday. My mom did the baking for those events. She was a great Southern country cook also. We always had 5 to 6 course meals for supper.
Me, I'm a horrible cook and hate cooking. Probably why I'm not very good. My mom wasn't very motherly and swatted me away anytime I would go in the kitchen while she was cooking. She liked her privacy and space. My dad taught me basics but again, mom was usually in the kitchen at the same time and fussed for me to get out.
Its a great thing that my husband is an awesome cook and loves it. His mom always had him in the kitchen with her. She carried on that tradition with my boys and they love to get in the kitchen and play.
Unfortunately both my dad and mother-in-law are gone. I really wish we'd had a lifetime in the kitchen with them.
|
|
|
Post by bigbundt on May 25, 2016 15:02:35 GMT
My mom was a basic cook. I remember her making a lot of things from scratch when I was really little because my brother couldn't have sugar or dyes but when she went to work full time, basically a meat and two veggies was our dinner every night. Through the years she progressively moved more and more to convenience items. I learned very little about cooking from her. Now that she is retired she is cooking from scratch again. Her life basically revolves around food these days and she has become an insufferable snob and condescending to those people who don't make everything from scratch. Those were fun conversations two weeks after I had my baby.
|
|
|
Post by boatymcboatface on May 25, 2016 15:03:51 GMT
When I was very young my mom cooked all from scratch everything bread pasta sauce everything she was a stay at home mom. When she got older she used more convenience foods and not as much scratch. I like to cook and know how to cook and hope my kids are learning to cook from me because I think it's an important life skill but I am not as much a scratch cook as my mom was I use a lot if pre made sauces and mixes and stuff to maximize my time and productivity since I am a working mom
|
|
Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
|
Post by Mystie on May 25, 2016 15:03:53 GMT
What an interesting question. My mom was/is a lot like your mom, tincin. A good cook, but very basic, because my brother and dad were not adventurous eaters. (My brother has changed, my dad has not.) We grew our own vegetables, so we ate a lot of canned and frozen veggies. Not fancy, but good. The favorite foods I remember my mom making are her wheat crescent rolls and potato soup. She always made our birthday cakes from scratch, or so I remember, anyway. I'm more adventurous as a cook than my mom is, but I still rely on good basic comfort foods a lot in my repertoire.
|
|
luvnlifelady
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,428
Jun 26, 2014 2:34:35 GMT
|
Post by luvnlifelady on May 25, 2016 15:11:28 GMT
From what I remember, my mom was a very basic cook. MIL was too and now I am also (when I cook, whichis rare). Poor DH. When he gets "real" food, he kind of goes crazy! Ha ha!
19 yo DD wants to try going Vegan so she's trying some recipes. I'm all for it (not for me) but she has to know that cooking means also fulling cleaning up after you're done!
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 23, 2024 19:00:46 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on May 25, 2016 15:18:21 GMT
My mom was a horrible cook. She had a drawer full of recipes she would cut out of the newspaper but she never made anything. I bet she had thousands of recipes shoved in that drawer! She made weird things she would throw together from whatever was in the cabinet. It wasn't pleasant. Because she was so bad, I never learned how to cook. I had to teach myself how to cook and I'm okay. One of the traits that attracted me to my husband was he knew how to cook and was very good at it.
My dad cooked on Sundays so at least I knew I would get one decent meal every week ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/Q_m8lDOvc_3Le3r1GKdf.jpg)
|
|
|
Post by bigbundt on May 25, 2016 15:20:36 GMT
I wonder what my girls will say about me. I'll admit I am not a great cook these days. I could be but my DH is so particular about foods and what he will eat and not eat, no leftovers, no frozen foods, nothing too spicy, everything covered in gravy, he prefers stuff like canned soup to homemade, etc. He won't discuss what to eat until half an hour before dinner so I can't really prep either. I get no pleasure or satisfaction from cooking. NONE. It is a massive source of stress in my life these days. I do whatever I can to get something in their bellies that doesn't create a lot of mess (because I have to clean up everything too). Sucks because I used to love to cook. ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/mYSUyHtG9Jrcmm_ydVcK.jpg)
|
|
Kerri W
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,774
Location: Kentucky
Jun 25, 2014 20:31:44 GMT
|
Post by Kerri W on May 25, 2016 15:32:29 GMT
My mom was exactly the same as you and yours, and I have followed in those footsteps. I don't buy a whole lot of processed food and make most things from scratch. My mom always had a huge garden and we raised our own beef and pork. I have a raised garden bed but don't grow more than a few salads worth of veggies. I do like to make jam and freeze fruit for the winter but I don't can and don't 'put up' a lot because I don't have the space right now. My mom did most of this because we had a large family, eight kids, and it was the most economical and my dad (and paternal grandmother) had strong opinions about growing your own food so you could control chemicals, etc. Not necessarily organic but leaning that direction.
My FIL was a farmer but my MIL cooks with nothing but processed foods. They didn't eat out ever so she cooked all of their meals, but her recipes are nothing but canned cream of whatever soup and the like. When we visit she always asks if we have any requests so I kindly throw "fresh foods" out there. We're up to carrots, celery and iceberg lettuce...so we're making headway!
|
|
lindas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,203
Jun 26, 2014 5:46:37 GMT
|
Post by lindas on May 25, 2016 15:33:12 GMT
Mom was just an OK I the kitchen, it was whatever she could get on the table fast when she got home from work. She never really liked cooking but she made a great meatloaf. ![:smile:](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) Her only claim to fame other than her sugar cookies at Christmas. I, on the other hand, love to cook. Must have got that gene from my grandmother who was a fantastic cook.
|
|
RedSquirrelUK
Drama Llama
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png)
Posts: 6,778
Location: The UK's beautiful West Country
Aug 2, 2014 13:03:45 GMT
|
Post by RedSquirrelUK on May 25, 2016 15:35:13 GMT
My Mum never liked cooking, but she enjoyed growing veggies. We had roast on Sundays, then cold meat with her veg and chips (Dad liked home-made chips) until the meat was used up. Pie, veg and chips. Something on toast: egg, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans. Full cooked English breakfast on Saturdays. No takeaways though, except about 6 times each year when Mum and Dad sang in concerts, and we would pick up fish and chips on the way home.
I had to learn how to cook by myself. Mum tried to teach me but there was no time to get it wrong and I wasn't interested at that age. My biggest incentive was leaving home and having time and my own kitchen to learn in.
|
|
RosieKat
Drama Llama
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_green.png)
PeaJect #12
Posts: 5,444
Jun 25, 2014 19:28:04 GMT
|
Post by RosieKat on May 25, 2016 15:36:28 GMT
My mom cooked almost every single night, especially when I was younger. Things were from scratch but not necessarily "purely" so - i.e. canned veggies, a jar of spaghetti sauce, etc. Usually pretty conventional midwest type stuff, though we had rice fairly often. When I was older, stir fry sometimes. It was always good. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/MNrJDkDuSwqIMVw33MdD.jpg) There was only one recipe I hated, but that was just a personal taste kind of thing, not that it was badly done or anything.
|
|
marimoose
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,282
Jul 22, 2014 2:10:14 GMT
|
Post by marimoose on May 25, 2016 15:39:24 GMT
My Mom was an awful cook and she didn't even know it. She burned everything, used no seasonings. We had spaghetti sauce that resembled weak chile - it was a watery mess filled with onions AND she served it over some elbow noodles. I thought spaghetti noodles were reserved for restaurants. We had hamburger patties that resembled flattened baseballs, burned on the outside and raw in the middle. I didn't even know you could have buns at home, believing hamburgers on buns were a restaurant thing, just like the pasta. Our Thanksgiving turkey was a turkey loaf in a foil pan (gagging at the thought right now). I never had gravy or cheese, unless boxed Mac n Cheese counts (which was made with half the cheese packet so she could save the rest to use on spaghetti as parmesan) until I was an adult. All the veggies were in a can or some boil in a bag thing. We didn't eat mashed potatoes but boiled potatoes served that way and those generally ahd been burned. You know burned potatoes are gross! Seriously awful cook. I should thank her because I think that is why I am so thin as I ate little and very little fat. I remember my 7yo self asking her to give me her favorite recipe for a school project and she never did, I am sure she didn't have one. I copied a spaghetti recipe from the lone Betty Crocker cookbook we had in the house.
I can cook now, read and followed so many recipes from books but in reality, I don't like cooking much these days. I do go through spurts and when I do I like to try new things. I hope my family never says I was awful and I know my one son has many favorites that I prepare.
In addition to my Mom not cooking food well, she couldn't bake, no attempts unless we refer to the frozen pumpkin pie she served once a year. I was not a kid who came home to cookies or cakes like so many of my friends had. I do like to bake.
|
|
|
Post by anxiousmom on May 25, 2016 15:40:15 GMT
A poor one.
My mom was single with two kids, an ex-husband who didn't pay his child support and was working/going to school. She did cook mostly from scratch as it was cheaper, and was a member of a food co-op (kind of like a farmer's market that if you worked, you got paid in food) was she was also a fairly adventurous cook too. She made a lot of meatless meals (again, cost savings) but she was also a real champ of what I think of a southern comfort food. Now that she has all the time in the world to cook, she is always trying something new and is really good at it.
One thing that also came out of it was that I started cooking earlier-she was always working and tired, so I took up some of the slack for her. She was always so appreciative and would give me pointers and lessons all the time. I still love to cook and bake and my kids seem to enjoy most of what I make. One thing that my mom did teach me was to not be a timid cook and to not be afraid (for lack of a better word) to try something new or to throw together whatever is available.
|
|
peppermintpatty
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1345
Posts: 3,869
Jun 26, 2014 17:47:08 GMT
|
Post by peppermintpatty on May 25, 2016 15:41:40 GMT
An amazing one. My mom had to learn very early how to cook (her dad committed suicide when she was 7 so she had to learn to feed her younger siblings while my grandmother worked). My dad is Persian so my mom learned how to cook all the Persian meals and many Persian's have told her that she cooks them better than native Iranians. I learned from her and I am considered a really good cook and love to challenge myself. My mom and I both bake a lot as well. I teach my kids that cooking is an art and baking is a science. My husband is currently learning to cook (he has to cook one full meal per week). It is teaching him how to make more than just the basics.
She used to do canning but stopped a long time ago. She is of Norwegian/Swedish descent so she learned a lot of their comfort foods as well.
|
|
|
Post by red88 on May 25, 2016 15:44:58 GMT
My mom cooked from canned anything & everything ![:sick:](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/c2qi57qoGpXKdFvBtXdt.jpg) . I was never allowed to enter the kitchen. So, my first day after I was married I wanted to make french toast for my new husband....I had to call a friend for the recipe! ![:laugh:](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/Ivm7lm0DayrhoRpwvCeH.jpg) . After 27 years & many trials I've become a pretty good cook from scratch kind of girl. I almost never have anything canned. All veggies & fruit are fresh or frozen if desperate. I taught my daughters how to cook. One is great at cooking & they are both great bakers. It's paid off, I almost never have to bake desserts any more, they do just as good if not better than me. ![:grin:](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/TKS2q_7siLiFtq0xPQvx.jpg) .
|
|