Do you like to cook or bake?

[boygirlboygirldesign]

I love to cook and bake. Do you? Mysisters and brother do some cooking but they do not enjoy it. They do it because they have to and they eat out a lot. My husband and I rarely eat out. My grandmother, who I adored, taught me. It almost seems therapeutic to me.

[boygirlboygirldesign]

Ugh! Should say "like" in the title.

[Artbesico]

OH I just realised that I can actually do this . . . I've changed the "lie" to "like" for you now. 

I didn't know I could do this =-O

[boygirlboygirldesign]

Thanks Art!!

[Artbesico]

No problem bgbg, glad I could help =]

[Lionfishvintage]

Not any more. Too much of a chore! I do it anyway but very simply and the easier the better. I use the crockpot in the winter. 

I made corned beef with cabbage , potatoes and carrots for St. P. Day and boy did I learn a lesson.

I was looking for the cheapest one and I should have bought the organic one. It was about 3 lbs and after cooking it overnight in the crockpot, I realized it was mostly fat. And it didn't smell that great either. After trimming away the fat, I was left with about a lb of meat.

Never again. 

[boygirlboygirldesign]

I love cabbage and potatoes. But I grew up on it as we are Slovak. I've never done corned beef but have thought about it. It is dissappointing when things don't turn out as you hope they will.

[GatheringCharms]

I used to, before I started a business.  Now days it just feels like too much of a chore.  Too time consuming, etc. 

But, once upon a time when I wasn't running my own business and had lots of free time?   I LOVED both cooking and baking.

[psych62]

I love to bake. Pies are my specialty. I haven't baked a pie in at least a year, though. Our oven has been dying, and I fear it conking out completely before I get my tax refund. I can't wait until I get a new one. I told hubs, that the first pie I'm going to bake is a triple-berry pie, although one of my best is also coconut cream, made with freshly grated coconut. The coconut cream is a bear to make, but the results are super. 

[boygirlboygirldesign]

I like pie Too!  And coconut is one of my favorites. Sometimes my custurd or pudding doesn't set up very well. Still good though.

[psych62]

I find the most challenging thing about cream pies is making the filling lump-free. You really have to stir constantly and watch the mixture carefully, don't have the heat too high. There have been times where I've goofed though, I just put the filling in the blender and put it back on the stove to continue thickening if it becomes lumpy. It works.

[Artbesico]

I've never baked, I love the smell of baking though =]  Sometimes when I crave for some apple crumble with custard, I have to buy the ready made ones and they are never as good as the home baked. I'm not much into desserts or cake/bread but I love the smell of baking cake/bread.

[psych62]

Any dessert tastes better with custard! I love strawberry tart with custard, yum-yum.

[Artbesico]

@psych62 I find eating a dessert with custard is comforting especially on a cold Winter night =]

[Lionfishvintage]

My latest obsession is key lime pie. I don't bake though. I only buy it!

[boygirlboygirldesign]

Just a side note. I really do know how to spell. I need to proof read my posts for sure. So many errors.

[Artbesico]

I had to go back to edit mine too, I typed "now" instead of "know" LOL Must be too tried, fingers are not receiving mind signals fast enough LOL

[BreezeOnTheLake]

I hate to cook. :(  It just feels like a chore to me. I know people actually find it pleasurable and creative - which it is - but I just feel it's like any other chore I just want to get it over with, a necessary evil. I also hate the mess and try to keep everything to minimal steps and minimal utensils and things used.

I used to enjoy baking a tiny bit more, but only when I felt like it, and only simple stuff like cakes/cupcakes. I don't bake anymore because I don't even have an oven anymore.

[Artbesico]

Sometimes I feel like that too Breeze and when I do, I just make something simple and fast so I don't have to spend so much time preparing and cooking it =]  I sometimes also cook a pot of something, like soup that can last me a few days so I don't have to cook for a few days HA >=]

[Artbesico]

Chicken sandwiches today, no cooking HA =]

[Lionfishvintage]

At this point in my life where I get so tired of cooking that I'm thinking of just buying the premade salads at the organic store. 

Doing the dishes is the worst , though. No dishwasher. 

[Artbesico]

There is a type of barley salad that I like, can't remember the name of the barley now, they are kinda bigger than regular barley and round. I've also bought quinoa, attempted to make salad myself but not trying hard enough, not very successful. I need to look up for recipes for salad. 

Used to have a colleague from New Zealand, she made a big jar of some mixed barley salad and she just ate it with a spoon from the big jar every day at lunch time. I think that's a good idea, if say I make a jar then maybe that will do for my week's lunches? 

[Lionfishvintage]

Art- sounds like the greek farro grain salad I used to buy at whole foods. It has lemon, dill and cucumbers in it.

[Artbesico]

Oh I remember it now... it's wheatberries, loved that salad =D

[boygirlboygirldesign]

I probably wouldn't cook or bake as much as I do if I didn't have a dishwasher. Never used to have one and didn't mind doing dishes. When we moved into the house that we live in now it had a dishwasher. I didn't know how to use it and didn't think I needed it so I didn't use it. My step daughter came to visit and she used it. Now I love it.

I taught natural foods cooking for many years so I am familiar with the grains you are talking about. I like them all. I started working in a natural foods store back in the 1970's. (Yes I am an old hippie.)