Jan 22nd 2013 08:20 am Too Many Cooks
I don’t share Arlo’s pique. I think it would be a good thing if everyone did cook at home more, from basic ingredients. I try. I know others who do. However, I’m afraid home cooking is far from ubiquitous, or even a fad. I remember my mother’s meals when I was a boy. Of course she aimed for tasty and beneficial, but it’s not like she had to strive for it. Her meals were naturally healthy by virtue of the whole food she prepared. Given the diet-related problems we have, I don’t see anything wrong with getting back to a little of that. As I said, I try.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
48 Responses to “Too Many Cooks”
JDS on 22 Jan 2013 at 8:54 am #
I used to like to listen to NPR, but then it started to get way to political for my taste. The only program on NPR that I listen to now is Car Talk. But then my cooking skills are limited to Kraft macaroni and cheese with tuna fish.
John in Richmond Texas on 22 Jan 2013 at 9:06 am #
With a retired wife, I benefit from a lot of home cooking, and we both do try to keep it healthful. Sure, she makes goodies some time, but we get our veggies, steamed or oven roasted on a cookie sheet with olive oil sprayed on them and we have a meal of cleansing pinto beans with some onion and tomato once a week. and when some strange cake recipe she saw in the paper doesn’t taste the exact way she thought it would, my co-workers get to enjoy her “mistakes”
David in Austin on 22 Jan 2013 at 9:11 am #
Home cooked can be home grown. It’s time to start planning the spring garden. The way to have wholesome, fresh, food is to grow it yourself! Lettuce and leafy greens are super easy. Beans, peas, squash, cucumbers, corn, peppers and tomatoes are all also uncomplicated. If you’ve never grown anything, start small. Buy a couple of tomato plants at a local nursery or a big box store. Find a sunny spot in a flower bed, dig a hole, plant, and water occasionally. If you don’t have a yard, you can use containers on a patio. Once you’ve started popping fresh cherry tomatoes from the vine to your mouth, or have the first fresh sliced tomato of the season on a sandwich, you’ll be hooked.
Before long, you will be eating all sorts of fresh garden produce, and saving the extra for later by freezing, dehydrating, or canning. There’s nothing like knowing exactly what chemicals were or were not used on your vegetables. By growing at home, you can pick and eat everything at the peak of ripeness and flavor. The grocery store will probably always be cheaper, but not nearly as satisfying as something that you grew yourself.
Symply Fargone on 22 Jan 2013 at 9:28 am #
As some of you folks who caught my post know my Mom died on Thanksgiving and I am reminded of her cooking at all times. My sister and fiance’ are on a cruise right now(the one Mom went on every year for the last 5 or so) in remembrance of Mom, I did nto go as last time I did my weight went up by 15 lbs in two weeks and it took me 2 years to lose it. That said, I have been cooking for myself(and Hannah when she is home, the fiance’s daughter for the first time in years)…..I am still good with this, but the issue is I guess I make more fattening stuff than I usually eat. i am up 8 lbs(170#) and she has only been gone for a week! What am I going to weigh by Feb 2nd when she returns 200#?
Food is really life. I grew up with home made soups and everything from scratch, the only cans in my parents house were tomato products and canned corn, everything else was fresh. Trying to reenact those days here and now….but they are Symply Fargone
Bookworm on 22 Jan 2013 at 9:29 am #
My Mother who would have been 90 this year rarely cooked fresh food. She absolutely loved canned foods, lunch meats, take-outs, and those new-fangled frozen foods. TV dinners were a family favorite. I’ve had to learn to cook real food on my own. I envy those of you whose mothers cooked!
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 22 Jan 2013 at 9:38 am #
My mother is a good cook, but the first thing I think of from her kitchen is cakes. She made a point of regularly cooking a cake of one sort or another. Every school lunch included a slice of cake and my after school routine always started with another slice of cake and a glass of milk. Probably why to this day pastries are my Waterloo when it comes to dieting.
Don in Oklahoma on 22 Jan 2013 at 9:53 am #
I have been working on changing my lifestyle for over a year now. I am down about 40 pounds so far. It seems the key is to eat more fresh vegetables and fruits while dodging the pre-prepared processed foods. I have been using a program called Lose-It to track my eating and exercising and it seems to work for me. Since I track everything, it makes me think about what I am eating and it encourages me to eat more of the healthy foods.
Nancy in Bucks County on 22 Jan 2013 at 11:10 am #
Over the holidays, our daughter and family joined us. They have gone Vegan. We managed 3 weeks of meat-free meals together. And I lost 3 pounds! We are back to meat eating again, though much, much less. Feeling more energy and love the challenge of finding new recipes. Made a delightful minestrone soup last night. Even had success with ‘no fry’ fried rice and baked eggrolls.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 22 Jan 2013 at 12:34 pm #
David in Austin:
It is 7 degrees and minus 10 wind chill factor. I think even the internet is frozen, so it might be a while to plan that summer garden.
I love the Food Network show “Chopped” as contestants have to utilize the food that is in the basket. Some of the items are off the wall, but for the most part it reminds me of the way that my Mom cooked. With 7 kids, it was hard to manage to have food on hand and some of her meals were very creative.
She eventually would work nights and my Dad would work Midnights, so each kid had to learn to cook. I did it for the longest, about 4 years. I was not a fan of cooking, but enjoy it immensely today. I have gone to gluten free bread and noodles and just trying to keep that out of the diet has helped me to lose weight or as in the past few months not gain weight.
Ursen on 22 Jan 2013 at 1:11 pm #
Mom is a great cook, but now that she is cooking for one it is hard for her to adjust amounts. She started at the age of eight, and was cooking for the field hands by the age of ten. With a tight budget when we were little she fed us well. Only 3 of the 6 of us have learned to cook at all. One of my sisters can barely boil water, and was complaining to Mom recently that she taught everyone to cook but her. Which doesn’t make sense because only half of us ever learned to cook, and that by emulation not direct teaching. But I am lazy, I would rather cook with a $10.00 bill at Mc D’s rather than to cook like I really can.
Ghost Rider 6 on 22 Jan 2013 at 1:22 pm #
There are some excellent, science-based diets out there, and there are some that are irrational dreck. So caveat emptor, y’all. And don’t depend only on the diet; regular activity, if you are physically able, is just as important a part of a weight-loss regimen.
The math is simple…3500 calories equals one pound of body weight. Cut your caloric intake by 250 calories per day and increase the number of calories you burn per day by 250 (or some combination thereof), and you should pretty consistently lose a pound per week, or 50+ pounds per year. (Don’t crash diet…the weight tends to come back just as fast as you lost it. And don’t do starvation diets…your body’s metabolism will shift into low gear to protect you from starving, and you still won’t lose much.) At the same time, try to make sure the calories you do take in are nutritious ones, especially from fresh fruits and vegetables. But don’t cut out too much protein. (Meat is not the only source of protein.)
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 22 Jan 2013 at 2:16 pm #
Ghost: You speak a lot of sense when it comes to dieting. However, I am still not sure why I lost 30 lbs and have stopped losing weght for about 11 months. I guess that I need to reconfigure. But dieting IS hard and I am living proof of it.
When I got out of the hospital for my hip, I was about 15 lbs heavier than when I entered. My left leg was the size of Nebraska. I continued to drink plenty of water ( an important fact that you left out in your post on dieting) and made numerous trips to the bathroom. I ended up losing about 2 lbs a day, which was really neat to see and I was below my weight that I was when I entered the hospital.
I have gotten back into walking. I was doing 3.3 miles a day just before the surgery. I have been walking a mile a day since I returned to work on the 2nd, using the cane to steady myself. With the 10 below windchill today, I think that mile should be more like 1.3!
sandcastler on 22 Jan 2013 at 2:20 pm #
Ahh, food and cooking. Have a large pot of homemade bolognese sauce simmering. It will top pasta and be overdressed with fresh mozzarella for our evening feast. Good cooking can be learned at any age; find a style of cooking you like and a good teacher who can show you the correct basics.
I have cooked some surprising meals overseas on what could be procured at a local market and prepared with a microwave or hotplate. Successful cooking is about how you combine the ingredients, not what tools your kitchen is equipped with.
sandcastler on 22 Jan 2013 at 2:21 pm #
Ahh, food and cooking. Have a large pot of homemade bolognese sauce simmering. It will top pasta and be overdressed with fresh mozzarella for our evening feast. Good cooking can be learned at any age; find a style of cooking you like and a good teacher who can show you the correct basics.
I have cooked some surprising meals overseas on what could be procured at a local market and prepared with a microwave or hotplate. Successful cooking is about how you combine the ingredients, not what tools your kitchen is equipped with.
sandcastler on 22 Jan 2013 at 2:21 pm #
Ahh, food and cooking. Have a large pot of homemade bolognese sauce simmering. It will top pasta and be overdressed with fresh mozzarella for our evening feast. Good cooking can be learned at any age; find a style of cooking you like and a good teacher who can show you the correct basics.
I have cooked some surprising meals overseas on what could be procured at a local market and prepared with a microwave or hotplate. Successful cooking is about how you combine the ingredients, not what tools your kitchen is equipped with.
sandcastler on 22 Jan 2013 at 3:08 pm #
Yikes! I’ve been triple posted.
Bryan on 22 Jan 2013 at 3:32 pm #
LOL sandcastler. I just thought you were reallllly proud of your bolognese!
sideburns on 22 Jan 2013 at 3:43 pm #
I’m also a fan of Chopped. Recently, the desert basket contained D’Anjou Pears (Spelling might be wrong because I LOATH pears.), Honeycomb cereal, Soy Sauce and Cocktail Franks. Watching the two remaining contestants try to work the franks into their dishes was interesting, to say the least.
sandcastler on 22 Jan 2013 at 3:49 pm #
Hmmm, crush the cereal, purée a pear, add soy and make a batter. Dip franks in batter and deep fry; does that qualify?
Robin in FL on 22 Jan 2013 at 4:04 pm #
Bookworm
Our mothers went to the same cooking class!
GR6
Yes, exercise is good but not necessarily for weight loss. Often it makes you hungrier. Does me.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 22 Jan 2013 at 4:21 pm #
sideburns:
I’ve seen them all, but don’t recall that one. However, if you treat the franks like bacon, you can incorporate into about anything. One thing that I have learned from all of these contest shows on the Food network is that when in doubt, throw some bacon in it. Even the most sophisticated palettes, maybe especially the sophisticated, LOVE bacon.
Ghost Rider 6 on 22 Jan 2013 at 4:22 pm #
It does me, too, Robin. But the trick is that regular exercise cranks up your metabolism so that you burn more calories, not just while exercising, but while at rest. Plus the cardio and stress reduction benefits.
Steve, sounds as though you had some edema problems, which are common after many surgeries. But yes, drink lots of water, especially before you eat. Helps make you feel more full, while eating less.
Mindy on 22 Jan 2013 at 4:25 pm #
Nancy, GOTO http://www.meatoutmondays.org and sign up for free vegan recipes each Monday [yes, Ghost, that's why it's meat out MONDAYS]. We’re not vegan but a lot of good recipes and referenced sites come across in that weekly newsletter. Had not bad experiences involving spam or anything related to the site, either.
JJ, I hate to say this but my mother was a very limited cook. Her fried chicken and pork chops were great, so were her dumplin’s and pinto beans and cornbread, but she really didn’t do a whole lot else that was really memorable. My Dad, now, that was a cook. Unfortunately, Mom got all irate and chased him out of the kitchen a lot. It’s been said, and I agree, that MOST of the great chefs are male. John is a great cook, and I say that because it’s true, not just to lure him into the kitchen. With us, “home cooking” is a way of life and we have no desire or intention for changing that. A hint for health conscious non-vegans…Hebrew National Franks for the best hotdogs around even microwaved and French bread sliced thin instead of white bread buns. No, I don’t own stock…
Mark in TTown on 22 Jan 2013 at 5:10 pm #
Mindy, my opinion why chefs are mostly male is simple, they chose to do it because they have an interest in it. For women, on the other hand, it seems to me it would be the busman’s holiday. They do it all the time, why make a career of it?
Rick in Shermantown, Ohio on 22 Jan 2013 at 5:58 pm #
Jimmy:
The strip of 01.22.13: I am having trouble deciding if my wife has patterned herself after Janis or if you used my wife as the model for Janis.
TruckerRon on 22 Jan 2013 at 7:37 pm #
GR6, what explains the plateaus I’ve hit when I’ve been consistent in what I eat and how I exercise? I’ll lose 5 pounds over a month, hold at that weight for a few weeks, then start losing again.
Charlotte in NH on 22 Jan 2013 at 7:45 pm #
Mindy, Hebrew National Franks sure do taste good. Used to, anyway, for I haven’t bought any for 20 years probably. Remember, one reason for their tastiness is, lots of fat. Also lots of salt, and those pesky nitrates and nitrites, which all frankfurters have, of course. Yummy they are, but healthy they’re not.
Steve in Royal Oak, I keep being surprised at the difference between your left hip surgery and mine. My left femur broke when the dog … someone else’s … pulled me over and I hit the ground hard. I was holding her leash in my left hand. The surgeon seemed to think it was pretty routine, no complications. The end of the bone got replaced, but the “socket” is my own original. All went OK, but where you went home in a few days, walking, I spent the months of June and July in a rehab facility, a long time in a wheelchair. Physical Therapy and OT every day, but not weekends. Slowly and painfully I began to take steps with a walker, and I went home using a walker.
Some of it must be, I’m a lot older than you, and hadn’t been walking much or doing any exercise (now I’m sorry). My leg didn’t swell up at all, anyway, as yours did. What do you and the other Villagers think?
Jerry in Fl on 22 Jan 2013 at 7:51 pm #
Smile, my father, at age 82, had the surgery and died a week later. It wasn’t caused by the surgery though. It was neglect by the rehab facility.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 22 Jan 2013 at 8:13 pm #
Charlotte:
I have learned thru my relatively few years (56) that ALL surgeries and bodies are unique and everyone is different. My BIL had hip replacement this summer and all was going well when he woke up one morning in great pain. His femur broke and he had to have replacement of the replacement surgery. During that time, my leg siezed up while I was walking and I finally made the appointment to see the surgeon. We did have a conversation about the importance of getting the right surgeon from my BIL, but eventually he found the right Dr. My BIL had lost 100 lbs, is diabetic and now has the beginning of Parkinson’s. He is about 65, so we are as different as two people can get.
My Dad waited to have the surgery for too long. His health declined and he had to improve it just to have the surgery. After it, his kidneys failed and he was on dialysis for 2 1/2 years until he died. He was very much on my mind as I was not nearly in the same pain as he was and yet the Dr. said it was bone on bone and marveled that I could still walk. With the swelling, I thought of how difficult it was for my Dad without the use of his kidneys. I believe that I am a very lucky man. It is never too late to eat healthier and start moving, both physically and mentally, so I advise everyone to give it a try.
sideburns on 22 Jan 2013 at 8:30 pm #
Yes, Sandcastler, that would have counted. I was expecting somebody to crush the cereal, add some butter (and maybe soy) and use it for the crust of a tart, the way you would with Graham crackers. Didn’t happen.
Nancy in Bucks County on 22 Jan 2013 at 9:30 pm #
Many thanks, Mindy. Tonight was broiled tilapia, beans and a salad. Makes up for the Buffalo wings and martinis of last night.
Ghost Rider 6 on 22 Jan 2013 at 10:27 pm #
Trucker, reaching weight-loss plateaus during an extended period of weight reduction is to be expected. As we reduce caloric intake, our bodies make up for the energy deficit by releasing stored glycogen from our muscles and liver. When glycogen is burned for energy, it releases water, so that the considerable weight loss most of us initially realize is mostly due to water loss.
You reach a plateau because your metabolism slows as you lose muscle. You burn fewer calories than you did at your heavier weight even when doing the same activities. Your weight-loss efforts have reached equilibrium with your now slower metabolism. That means that to lose more weight, you need to increase activity or further decrease the calories you eat.
It’s not that Mother Nature is being a biatch, it’s just your body’s survival strategy to protect you from starvation kicking in.
Mark in TTown on 22 Jan 2013 at 11:35 pm #
Charlotte in NH, actually all hot dogs don’t have the nitrites and nitrates. Look for the word Uncured on the label. That means they haven’t had those added. Even Oscar you-know-who makes them now.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 23 Jan 2013 at 1:19 am #
Charlotte/NH: When I was contemplating my first knee replacement, a then-friend (retired nurse) convinced me by relating the tale of how she persuaded her own mother to have a knee (both?) replaced when her mom was 84! That was 15 years ago, and her mom keeps on getting along – living alone, too. More power to her….
Age may or may not make things more difficult. As with SO many things, each case is different. [well, duh!]
Ginger on 23 Jan 2013 at 3:41 am #
Janis looks great in black. I bet Ghost Rider likes nothing better.
Lightfoot on 23 Jan 2013 at 4:38 am #
Where I’m from, 250 times 7 equals 1750, not 3500, and about 25 pounds per year.
Ginger on 23 Jan 2013 at 4:48 am #
Lightfoot, that was Ghost, and he has his mind elsewhere, i.e., sundresses, bathtubs, cheerleaders and/or majorettes and peanut butter and banana sandwiches…please forgive him. I know I do most of the time.
Mindy on 23 Jan 2013 at 5:26 am #
Ginger, stop using my PC! You have your own so use that one!
Robb on 23 Jan 2013 at 6:11 am #
Anyone who can afford to eat out a lot must be well off or like spoons with grease.
Mindy on 23 Jan 2013 at 6:47 am #
Robb, according to all the “IN” magazines and radio/television sources, American women with any class at all never cook, especially if they’re married and their husbands don’t wish to turn them into “scullery maids” and other derogatory terms, “demeaning” them by even suggesting that they do something as unacceptable as COOK! John doesn’t avoid taking me out by telling me that he loves my cooking; the way he eats is proof positive of his appreciation! I just happen to enjoy cooking, I think I provide meals as good as if not better than I’d find in most restaurants, and I know darned well that I fix larger servings at a much smaller cost! John, on the other hand, is a splendid cook in his own right and he loves to cook, which works out great, giving us both down time from the “menial chores” the magazines talk about. It’s really not unusual if the mood hits us for me to be in the kitchen fixing something I want while John works next to me fixing what he wants…and we generally end up sharing. He does come up with some great recipes and threatens to publish a cookbook of my favorites [and his, or course] plus a cookbook called “Husband Can Cook Too!” I bet it would sell! He just came up with two books, one copyrighted 1932 and containing about 150-200 recipes for deer and other wild game that we can’t wait to try out. [John no longer hunts for sport, says his taste for that went south the first time someone sent rounds downrange with the intention of taking him out; friends do bring us a lot of their game which definitely does not go to waste...we're having Vegetable Venison Stew today, actually!] The other one is dated 1888 and is a homemade Louisiana Cajun Game & Stuff cookbook with combinations neither of us has ever heard of! That’s going to be fun. I just hope we can find a lot of alligator and wild boar….forget the snake ingredients.
But to hello with the “IN” group! I cook because I love to and I do NOT feel like a Kitchen Slave or Scullery Trollop. Anyone who says otherwise can kiss my oh, I do with she snow would go away and the temperature would rise!
John in Virginia on 23 Jan 2013 at 7:05 am #
There are times when Mindy can be a trollop or a scullery maid or…well, it’s all good in my opinion and I’ll not betray her secrets, nor her sometimes fetishes. Oh, I realized just now how much trouble I’m in if I am stupid enough to click SUBMIT COMMENT and
Ghost Rider 6 on 23 Jan 2013 at 7:45 am #
“Cut your caloric intake by 250 calories per day and increase the number of calories you burn per day by 250 (or some combination thereof)…”
250 less intake +250 additional burn = 500 calorie per day decrease. Do the math.
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 23 Jan 2013 at 7:55 am #
I started cooking when I was about 7 years old and a great-aunt gave me a play cooking set and I found out that with care I could scramble an egg in the little skillet. I truly believe that in my teens I continued to learn (and began collecting cookbooks and reading cooking magazines) because my mother had embraced the tv dinner so wholeheartedly that we should have been given stock in the Swanson and Banquet companies. Then I found that I really enjoyed cooking, and still do, so I am the main cook in the family. Husband also enjoys cooking, and is quite good at it, so he does occasionally help or takes over and gives me a night off. We both believe in fresh over processed, and have cut down on the amounts of meat, whether beef, chicken, or pork, and are trying to eat more fish. We also love venison, but since the local deer population got thinned out by the new golf/tennis club-no deer poop on the 18th green, thank you!-we have not had any for a while.
Right now I am heavier than I should be, but not from overeating or a poor diet. I have spent the last 12 years on steroids for a lung condition, and that has affected things quite a bit. Now I am off them and hopefully can stay off. Also, this afternoon I will have a bit of knee surgery (arthroscopic removal of some torn tissue) and moving around will be easier I hope, so I can get rid of the extra poundage.
We are having to move our garden because the trees around the house have grown and shade patterns are different. Don’t know what we’ll end up with, but as long as I can have fresh tomatoes I’ll be happy.
David in Austin on 23 Jan 2013 at 8:07 am #
Steve in Royal Oak,
The cold of winter is the best time to plan the spring garden! Looking at the seed catalogs (or websites) and dreaming of warmer weather can help to sustain you through the long cold nights of January and February. After all, it does take some time to order and have the seeds delivered.
Try these websites:
http://www.johnnyseeds.com
http://www.tomatogrowers.com
http://www.territorialseed.com
https://www.superseeds.com (Pinetree Garden Seeds)
http://www.totallytomato.com/
[Lots of links, so hopefully this will be released from moderation]
Robin in FL on 23 Jan 2013 at 8:07 am #
Mindy
FL is having a big python hunt. Maybe you could get one of your friends to come down and bag you one so you can include snake.
Would have to be a half crazy friend though. The worry is that a great many amateurs will be sending rounds not only downrange but every which way.
sandcastler on 23 Jan 2013 at 8:09 am #
Ruth, eat at the classy dinners, their utensils are always plastic wrapped.
nickchick on 23 Jan 2013 at 8:17 am #
Love today’s strip. Its like all of those commercials pushing “something” that you must do to change your lifestyle. It would mean alot more if the company behind it didn’t have their own agenda. I wish the local news would stop reporting all of these new “findings”. The results are always determined by who is doing the looking.
phil in Missoula, MT on 23 Jan 2013 at 8:25 am #
Jean, good luck with that surgery. My wife and and I have both had it (tennis) and the recovery is not too bad. It’s a couple of hours and they send you home. My wife walked (hobbled) into the house without the crutches. She was back to playing tennis in 4-5 months.
My wife is a good cook, but after cooking for mumbledy-mumble years, she sometimes gets in a rut and can’t think of something new. I like to go through recipes on the web and think I’m a pretty good cook, but some years cooking as a single parent make me appreciative of anything anyone sets in front of me. Except okra.