Why I Can't Cook

So I've never liked cooking. I wouldn't say that I hate it, more so that I felt indifferent to it. I never gave it thought to learn cooking, simply because I've always lived at home and I never felt the need to when my parents do all the cooking for us. So why now? Why do I start to cook now when I still have the luxury of staying at home? Because I'm a picky eater. "Beggars can't be choosers." If you're not the one cooking, you eat whatever the chef (my mom) makes you. When I was little I'm pretty sure my parents were more lenient on cooking things we like so that we would actually eat something. Now that we have grown up it's time to get us on the healthier track. Don't get me wrong, we were never the pizza and fast food type of family, but whole grains and everything steamed or cooked with barely any (chemical) seasonings is a little too healthy for my taste, and my parents are not about to spoil us furthermore by cooking to order. And just so happens that I'm one stubborn cow that I would rather starve to death than to eat something I don't like. So the day my mom got sick and tired of cooking for people (me) who refuse to eat is the day I picked up that cutting knife and frying pan and learned to cook for myself. Correction. I'm not that stupid to allow myself to starve when I still got two hands and is capable of learning.

Cooking doesn't come natural for me. I can handle a knife and turn on a stove, but being in the kitchen is far from heaven for me. No wonder they call it hell's kitchen. Now, I realize there are techniques of cooking like holding the knife against your knuckle while cutting to keep things safe and efficient, but I don't feel safe and efficient cutting it like that! And I'm always scared of the sizzling oil burning me or overflowing boiling pots. I don't really know how to tell whether something's cooked or not so I can't cook anything to perfection, especially meat products, they're often undercooked or overdone... Now you might say I could always ask my mom (the chef of the house) for tips and advise, but I find that learning homestyle cooking is not as easy as following a recipe. Most of the moms have been cooking for years and they're used to cooking. They know how certain dish should taste and how to prepare them and they follow recipes by heart! "Oh just sprinkle a bit of this then let it sit for a few minutes." How much is a bit?!!! My bit is probably very different from your bit! And how long is a few minutes?!! A couple minutes and ten minutes can make a huge difference and I wouldn't even know it.

I've started learning by following a few simple recipes. Just to get the gist of basic spices, how they taste and what food goes well with what. And then sometimes I just try to be creative and see what I come out with, which's always fun. So I hope you will enjoy this blog as much as I do updating it and following me on a journey of no return.... wherever it may lead me.