some random thoughts on cooking and whether it's gender related...

[Marianne]

We've had a couple of threads lately that discussed gender specific roles. Cooking was one of them.

Personally, I don't see cooking as a gender specific role, it's one of those things that you either enjoy and are good at, you simply do because you have to, or you avoid as much as possible and rely on the good old microwave.

I'm a fairly good cook, and I do take a great deal of pleasure in cooking a meal for others from time to time. I have a reputation for being able to prepare a viciously hot curry and one of my friends once reacted to my leek and parsnip soup (which has cayenne pepper in it) by leaping up from the kitchen table and putting her head under the cold water faucet, mouth turned up into the cold water...

My own 'style' is to use whatever I have available when I'm cooking for myself tho, and I haven't had to throw much away in a long time.

So, last weekend, I came up with this...

http://elawyn.homestead.com/files/omelette.jpg

I was actually quite surprised at how good it turned out.

A baloney and blue cheese omellette. Something I've *never* seen on a menu anywhere else!

[Julie]

I'm passable with things like roasts, curries etc... I am though no good with pastry, luckily these days you can by it already made up.

The best meals though are those that you experiment with by using different ingredients, they always taste that little better, to me at least. :)

Cooking is definately not gender specific (although there are some thick heads who'd say it is)

Julie J

[babe4life]

That actually looks pretty good :).

Love,
Vicky

[Marianne]

Hey try spam next time! ;)

I would have done, but the baloney was fresh. The spam can wait until I'm *really* running short.

(Spam, sliced, diced, battered and deep fried, with a side of mango chutney, some basmati rice, freshly dicedcoconut and all smothered in a light curry sauce... mmm)

[Marianne]

The best meals though are those that you experiment with by using different ingredients, they always taste that little better, to me at least. :)
[/FONT]

I agree with that. I can follow a recipe if I have to, but mostly I just make do with whatever happens to be sitting around unused at the point where I get hungry.

[Glenda]

Every meal for the whole week and then just microwave what I've cooked. I can't see spending an hour in the kitchen every night. Life is too busy these days.

[Dana]

I'm an outstanding cook and baker! Professionally trained! There's nothing I can't cook! There's nothing I can't bake! There's not a cake I can't decorate! I'm professionally trained! The Dept of Labor has offically classified me as a Sous Chef! Give me a recipie and and I can convert it to feed 1 or a 1,ooo! Garnish it? Not a problem! I even know how to carve ice into swans, etc!

[Julie]

I'm an outstanding cook and baker! Professionally trained! There's nothing I can't cook! There's nothing I can't bake! There's not a cake I can't decorate! I'm professionally trained! The Dept of Labor has offically classified me as a Sous Chef! Give me a recipie and and I can convert it to feed 1 or a 1,ooo! Garnish it? Not a problem! I even know how to carve ice into swans, etc!


OK Girls......Shall we put our orders in now? :)

Oh by the way, do you deliver? :)

Julie J

[Lawren]

I use the "Curiosity Cuisine" method. No recipes. I use whatever I have on hand and ask myself things like, "I wonder how I did that last time?", or "I wonder what this would taste like if I do this instead? Most of the time whatever I'm cooking comes out pretty good. But, then again, I'm not a picky eater either. I have a tendancy to use quite a lot of spices as I like my food with a lot of flavor. xoxox, Lawren

[Fiona K]

As ever Marianne, You are correct. Gender roles are, or should be, an anachronism, but cooking is fun. Just finished Sunday dinner
Lova all
Fiona

[joesephine]

Looks inviting, I just don't crave bologna anymore. Spam--- better discuss that with your cardiologist(salt, cholesteral)

Next time try onions, peppers, swiss cheese, your choice of leftover meat.

Joesephine

[Marianne]

There's nothing I can't cook!

*evil grin*

Can you do this one...

Stuffed Camel

1 whole camel, medium size
1 whole lamb, large size
20 whole chickens, medium size
60 eggs
12 kilos rice
2 kilos pine nuts
2 kilos almonds
1 kilo pistachio nuts
110 gallons water
5 pounds black pepper
Salt to taste

Skin, trim and clean camel (once you get over the hump), lamb and chicken. Boil until tender. Cook rice until fluffy. Fry nuts until brown and mix with rice. Hard boil eggs and peel. Stuff cooked chickens with hard boiled eggs and rice. Stuff the cooked lamb with stuffed chickens. Add more rice. Stuff the camel with the stuffed lamb and add rest of rice. Broil over large charcoal pit until brown. Spread any remaining rice on large tray and place camel on top of rice. Decorate with boiled eggs and nuts. Serves friendly crowd of 80-100.

[Georgette]

I do all the cooking in our house as my SO really never really liked to so when we got married I started cooking. I have become a pretty good cook over the years and I don't think that it is gender related. Erica when I left the military I said I would never eat another speck of SPAM and I haven't.
LOL
Georgette

[babe4life]

*evil grin*

Can you do this one...

Stuffed Camel

1 whole camel, medium size
1 whole lamb, large size
20 whole chickens, medium size
60 eggs
12 kilos rice
2 kilos pine nuts
2 kilos almonds
1 kilo pistachio nuts
110 gallons water
5 pounds black pepper
Salt to taste

Skin, trim and clean camel (once you get over the hump), lamb and chicken. Boil until tender. Cook rice until fluffy. Fry nuts until brown and mix with rice. Hard boil eggs and peel. Stuff cooked chickens with hard boiled eggs and rice. Stuff the cooked lamb with stuffed chickens. Add more rice. Stuff the camel with the stuffed lamb and add rest of rice. Broil over large charcoal pit until brown. Spread any remaining rice on large tray and place camel on top of rice. Decorate with boiled eggs and nuts. Serves friendly crowd of 80-100.
Right Marianne. I have almost everything, but where do I get the pistachios?

Love,
Vicky

[Lawren]

Hey try spam next time! ;)
Shame on you, Erica. Haven't you ever heard of "Save the Spamalopes"?

xoxo, Lawren

[genevieve_ohara]

Here's one of my favorites:

Noodles and Bourbon

One pot of water
One bag of noodles
One glass filled with ice
one bottle of bourbon

Start by pouring the bourbon into the glass filled with ice. Drink it slowly, then repeat. Then one more time.

Done. Serving time? 45 min-1 hour.

Love,

G




Oh...what noodles?

[Marianne]

Here's one of my favorites:


Genevieve taught me this recipe for rum cake...

Christmas Rum Cake


1 Tsp. Sugar
1 or 2 Quarts of Rum
1 Cup Dried Fruit
Brown Sugar
1 Tsp. Soda
1 Cup Butter
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Baking Powder
3 Juiced Lemons
1 Cup of Nuts

Before starting, sample rum to check quality. Good, isn't it? Now proceed.

Select large mixing bowl, measuring cup, etc.

Check rum again. It must be just right. To be sure rum is of proper quality, pour one level cup of rum into a glass and drink it as fast as you can. Repeat.

With electric mixer, beat 1 cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add 1 seaspoon of thusar and beat again.

Meanwhile, make sure rum is still alrighty. Try another cup. Open second quart if necessary.

Add leggs, 2 cups of fried druit and beat til high. If druit gets stuck in beaters, pry loose with drewscriber.

Sample rum again, checking for tonscisticity.

Next, sift 3 cups pepper or salt (really doesn't matter).

Sample rum.

Sift 1/2 pint lemon juice. Fold in chopped butter and strained nuts. Add 1 bablespoon of brown sugar-or whatever color you can find. Wix mell. Grease oven. Turn cake pan to 350 gredees. Pour mess into boven and ake.

Check run again and bo to ged.

[Marianne]

Right Marianne. I have almost everything, but where do I get the pistachios?

Love,
Vicky

You can substitute pine nuts, dates, figs or some cape pondweed buds or leave them out completely. :)

Just don't add any mopane worms, although a few pampoenkoekies on the side is fine. :D

[GraceUSA]

I grew up loving to bake. I remember making my first batch of brownies with frosting from scratch at 7 or 8 with no help. By the time I was in junior high I was having fun making pasteries and tried my first pie. My step mom that time wasn't as adventurious and didn't let me make the filling from scratch or the crust. Thinking about it, now that she has no say in what I bake I should get back into it. :) As for gender related, no clue I just loved baking in the past.

Grace

[babe4life]

You can substitute pine nuts, dates, figs or some cape pondweed buds or leave them out completely. :)

Just don't add any mopane worms, although a few pampoenkoekies on the side is fine. :D

Hmm, that could work! Pampoenkoekies and I aren't the biggest of friends. At one stage we were having them every Sunday. There are just so many times that you can look at your plate before screaming and running away from the table ...

Now cooked peaches! Yum!

Love,
Vicky

[samanthajay]

Genevieve taught me this recipe for rum cake...

Christmas Rum Cake


1 Tsp. Sugar
1 or 2 Quarts of Rum
1 Cup Dried Fruit
Brown Sugar
1 Tsp. Soda
1 Cup Butter
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Baking Powder
3 Juiced Lemons
1 Cup of Nuts

Before starting, sample rum to check quality. Good, isn't it? Now proceed.

Select large mixing bowl, measuring cup, etc.

Check rum again. It must be just right. To be sure rum is of proper quality, pour one level cup of rum into a glass and drink it as fast as you can. Repeat.

With electric mixer, beat 1 cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add 1 seaspoon of thusar and beat again.

Meanwhile, make sure rum is still alrighty. Try another cup. Open second quart if necessary.

Add leggs, 2 cups of fried druit and beat til high. If druit gets stuck in beaters, pry loose with drewscriber.

Sample rum again, checking for tonscisticity.

Next, sift 3 cups pepper or salt (really doesn't matter).

Sample rum.

Sift 1/2 pint lemon juice. Fold in chopped butter and strained nuts. Add 1 bablespoon of brown sugar-or whatever color you can find. Wix mell. Grease oven. Turn cake pan to 350 gredees. Pour mess into boven and ake.

Check run again and bo to ged.
hahahahahahahahahaha :D

[samanthajay]

i love to cook and i do it for a living. if you like food network like i do you know that a lot of men are profeional chefs. :D

[Tonia]

We've had a couple of threads lately that discussed gender specific roles. Cooking was one of them.

Personally, I don't see cooking as a gender specific role, it's one of those things that you either enjoy and are good at, you simply do because you have to, or you avoid as much as possible and rely on the good old microwav (http://begin2search.com/cgi-bin//ezlclk.fcgi?id=20)e.

I'm a fairly good cook, and I do take a great deal of pleasure in cooking a meal for others from time to time. I have a reputation for being able to prepare a viciously hot curry and one of my friends once reacted to my leek and parsnip soup (which has cayenne pepper in it) by leaping up from the kitchen table and putting her head under the cold water faucet, mouth turned up into the cold water...

My own 'style' is to use whatever I have available when I'm cooking for myself tho, and I haven't had to throw much away in a long time.

So, last weekend, I came up with this...

http://elawyn.homestead.com/files/omelette.jpg

I was actually quite surprised at how good it turned out.

A baloney and blue cheese omellette. Something I've *never* seen on a menu anywhere else!
Got Milk !!!!:D

[Abraxas]

I've got a couple of variations of the rum cake thing (credit to Brian May):

HOW TO COOK A TURKEY:

Step 1: Buy a turkey.

Step 2: Take a drink of whiskey (scotch) or Jack Daniel's.

Step 3: Put turkey in the oven.

Step 4: Take another 2 drinks of whiskey.

Step 5: Set the degree at 375 ovens.

Step 6: Take 3 more whiskeys of drink.

Step 7: Turn oven the on.

Step 8: Take 4 whisks of drinkey.

Step 9: Turk the bastey.

Step 10: Whiskey another bottle of get.

Step 11: Stick a turkey in the thermometer.

Step 12: Glass yourself a pour of whiskey.

Step 13: Bake the whiskey for 4 hours.

Step 14: Take the oven out of the turkey.

Step 15: Take the oven out of the turkey.

Step 16: Floor the turkey up off of the pick.

Step 17: Turk the carvey.

Step 18: Get yourself another scottle of botch.

Step 19: Tet the sable and pour yourself a glass of turkey.

Step 20: Bless the saying, pass, and eat out.




NUTTY AS A FRUITCAKE

With the holidays coming up, I thought you might like my favorite
fruitcake receipe....

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups dried fruit
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
lemon juice
nuts
1 gallon whiskey

Sample the whiskey to check for quality. Take a large bowl.
Check the whiskey again to be sure it is of the highest quality.
Pour one level cup and drink.
Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer; beat 1 cup butter in a large, fluffy bowl.
Add 1 teaspoon sugar and beat again.
Make sure the whiskey is still OK. Cry another tup. Turn off mixer.
Break 2 legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Mix on the turner.
If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a
drewscriver.
Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
Next, sift 2 cups of salt. Or something. Who cares? Check the whiskey.
Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Spoon. Of
sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
Grease the oven.
Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees.
Don't forget to beat off the turner.
Throw the bowl out of the window.
Check the whiskey again.

Go to bed.
Who the hell likes fruitcake anyway?


And here's some that are just sickeningly funny:

AND... in case you need further proof that the human race is doomed because of stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods.

On a Myer hairdryer: Do not use while sleeping. (darn, and that's the only time I have to work on my hair).

On a bag of Chips: You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside. (the shoplifter special?)

On a bar of Palmolive soap: "Directions: Use like regular soap." (and that would be how???....)

On some frozen dinners: "Serving suggestion: Defrost." (but, it's "just" a suggestion).

On Nanna's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom): "Do not turn upside down." (well...duh, a bit late, huh)!

On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding: "Product will be hot after heating." (...and you thought????...)

On packaging for a K-Mart iron: "Do not iron clothes on body." (but wouldn't this save me more time?)

On Boot's Children Cough Medicine:"Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication." (We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we could just get those 5-year-olds with head-colds off those forklifts.)

On Nytol Sleep Aid: "Warning: May cause drowsiness." (and...I'm taking this because???....)

On most brands of Christmas lights: "For indoor or outdoor use only." (as opposed to...what?)

On a Japanese food processor: "Not to be used for the other use." (now, somebody out there, help me on this. I'm a bit curious.)

On Nobby's peanuts: "Warning: contains nuts." (talk about a news flash!)

On an American Airlines packet of nuts: "Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts." (Step 3: maybe, uh...fly Delta?)

I don't blame the company. I blame the parents for this one: On a child's superman costume: "Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly."

On a Swedish chainsaw: "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals." (...was there a lot of this happening somewhere?)

Thanks to Brian May

[samanthajay]

nice stuff abraxus :D

[Wendy me]

he will make supper quick fast and tasty, wendy makes it a event out of it just more into things when my slefe