<p>What’s interesting is that I think my D approaches cooking more like a lab experiment than an expressive exercise. Of course, if you know much about labwork, you would know that much of the fun is in changing things and seeing what happens. </p>
<p>BTW, for those that cook and like cookbooks, I’d be interested in knowing:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>who follow recipies exactly?</p></li>
<li><p>who uses a recipe as guidance?</p></li>
<li><p>who consults different cookbooks to see different recipes for the same thing, and then makes up one’s own recipe?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Personally, I tend to do the latter, except for things like cakes where ingredient ratios are important.</p>
<p>I’m with you NMdad–only in baking do I carefully follow recipes (because I don’t do it much & have no idea how it would turn out if I started improvising). I have never used cookbooks much & have a huge shelf full of them gathering dust & cobwebs. I do look at them once in a while for ideas or check the web for basic ingredients for a dish I’m thinking of, but mostly I’m an intuitive cook, like my dad. My sisters & sisters-in-law are stricly exact recipe cooks.</p>
<p>I heard the same from a friend who was a bio major in college. She claimed she knew exactly how to cut up a chicken most efficiently because of her lab work! When I began cooking, I followed recipes to the letter (and had to disregard all the recipes my mother sent me because they were in grams and kgs). Nowadays, I’m less likely to agonize over quantities and I experiment a bit.</p>
<p>newmassdad: You took an “interpretive reading class”? Is that like, SAT prep or something? No, I just went to Harvard and you know they don’t teach you much there ;). </p>
<p>Truth is–your point is well taken. I was focusing on the thought that Marite was observing her own son and his roommates. She and I have had similar experiences with our sons but no, I don’t think either of us really meant to pass judgment on all the kids out there (which include both of my daughters) who can already probably cook better than their parents. </p>
<p>My daughters make crepes that are BETTER than anything you can get in a restaurant or at crepe stands. One of them made an UNFORGETTABLE Kwanzaa meal last year that stands out as one of the best dinners I’ve ever had. So I’m on your side, too! They have both basically taught themselves how to cook and they are both better at following recipes and more creative than their mom. </p>
<p>So I stand corrected. I, however, win hands down in the “cleanup” department :(.</p>
<p>I gotta laugh when folks say that grad students have busy lives–maybe so, but just wait until they’re parents of newborns & then have to start shuttling their kids to millions of events. They’ll really learn what busy is! I did more cooking & baking when I was in grad school than any other time in my life. Maybe I’ll start doing it again once my younger D goes off to college–who knows?</p>
<p>Oh, it’s okay, we have a rabbit – that’s like a baby, right? </p>
<p>Haha, she may not actually take all that much shuttling, but she does keep us up at night. And we have to make her dinner every night – she is spoiled and gets hand-torn greens and sliced carrots.</p>
<p>marite–I won’t hijack the thread any more, but if someone could tell me where I completely failed in teaching my kids to be neat and clean up, I would be very grateful. I am sure it is too late to teach them anything, and am just waiting gleefully until the day when their kids drive them nuts with messy rooms…</p>
<p>My mom got me a cookbook that is great since I’m a bit of a foodie myself, despite the fact that I’m on a tight budget. Gourmet Cooking with 5 Ingredients is great because it has menus and recipes for a variety of occasions. I’ve made a few things with it and everything came out delicious despite the fact that I’m not actually a gourmet chef. It’s great for someone on a budget too.</p>
<p>The washing up at home does not extend to washing up in college or having tidy bedrooms. S1 shared an apartment (it belonged to the college) with 9 other students. The one time I visited, I saw empty pizza boxes, a sorry looking piece of broccoli and even sorrier looking carrot on the counter amidst unwashed dishes and crockery, overflowing garbage cans, etc… I gagged at the sight of the bathroom and spent much of my time cleaning it. I gather no one had thought of establishing a rota for cooking (most were on some kind of meal plan) or cleaning. I have not visited S2’s suite; I gather parents are not welcome. Now, I wonder why?</p>
<p>We visited D’s apartment last weekend for parents weekend. The box that holds her ski boots, that she took to her apartment in August, was still where it landed in August, on one of the couches in the living room.</p>
<p>(1) Well that’s good, she’ll need them soon? or
(2) Maybe she put them away and just took them out again because it’s fall? or
(3) Maybe she’s been talking with Marite’s and my sons? :)</p>
</p>