What do you eat?

[Sigma]

Lime Sherbet mixed with Sierra Mist.

[Hong]

Water.

[Zypose]

Soda, chips, more soda, cookies, burritos. you know, the usual.

[Maxine MagicFox]

I fixed pork chops tonight by myself, without anyone to tell me how much salt, pepper, and garlic I should probably use. Totally winged it... and think I used way too much salt. *sigh* :\ I hope my sister doesn't mind it too much when she gets home. Like I think I would become a more confident and adventurous cook if I was alone and by myself. So that way if I fuck up dinner I'm the only one who's punished.

[Hong]

Ha ha. Nah. I think you'll want another set of tastebuds, Maxine, even if you are experimenting. Sometimes bad is just bad. But other times, something I just made casually can become someone's favourite dish, and I'd have never known if I was just feeding myself. Generally, when I experiment and I think I goofed up, I'll mention it so they have a warning so she has some water handy. Being too salty isn't good, but it could have been a lot worse. I think they'll understand that this is necessary for you to improve. A few mistakes, but a small bump on a long and winding road.

But this is good! Continue to learn and grow. Observe. Think. Experiment. Cooking is so much fun! ^~^

[Maxine MagicFox]

I have so many bad memories that stem from cooking that I think I'm tarnished for life. I mean, I hate to blame my mom or her manic depression for anything growing up, but her killing my cooking interest is nothing something I can overlook. I still don't enter the kitchen when she's in it. My list of dishes I can cook are about five. I'm not strong enough to chop things up and when I do I've always fucked up the way it was supposed to be chopped. My mother was never exactly a constructive critic.

Then in middle school during our home ec class the tyrannical teacher delighted in torturing me and setting me up as the "how not to do things". (To the point I once missed a class the day before returned and she had given out the recipe the day before - so I tried to ask how much of something went in to the dish and she told the whole to be silent and screamed at me in front of everyone for being too stupid to know how much peanut butter should go in pb cookies.)

Me and my mother once had an argument in the kitchen when she was having one of her episodes and she threw some green peppers at me for not cutting them right... and I ended up throwing a toaster at her.

I absolutely hate the kitchen. I don't know how to cut things, I'm terrified of burning myself, and somehow I always manage a fuck up somewhere. Heh, my sunny side up eggs that everyone actually thinks I do well on was actually because I suck so horribly at flipping an egg for over-easy (without breaking it and ruining the yolk) I just decided to stop bother flipping it over.

I like pasta dishes because I just open a box, throw the noodles in boiling water, add a jar of sauce, and done!

Kinda funny since just recently on youtube I found a channel with videos called "My Drunk Kitchen" ... I wish I had her guts.

[Hong]

You hate the kitchen because you think you perform poorly.
You perform poorly because you hate the kitchen.

I think you're doing this to yourself. Just like me spending like twenty years of my life convinced I am awful at handiwork. All you have to do is stop telling yourself you're so bad and stop thinking about how badly you are screwing up. It's distracting. Focus on your technique. Think about what you are doing. Think about it in a way that is calm and analytical, and not with panic or worry.

For example, cutting things. Just try something different each time. Like, with mushrooms or soft things, the way a lot of chefs cut them so quickly is because they just jingle their wrist, saving energy and time. Meanwhile, something like peppers are all about knowing anatomy, and cutting them from the inside instead of out. Also make sure the tools are right. Namely, that the knife is sharpened every so often.

Not to dismiss the long-term repercussions of trauma. My own deficiencies came from being screamed at and passing out from pain and stuff. I have my own host of horror stories... And I just changed up my attitude. Instead of saying "Yeah, I know." whenever I got advice, I said "Thank you." or commented their criticism. Just whatever it takes to not respond to negativity with passive or direct negativity. Hell I still have people use me as the example idiot.

You are such a smart woman, Maxine, and i think you are more than a match for the kitchen.

Personally, I used to watch . The whole thing is, when I watch him, I honestly don't at all care about the recipe he is demonstrating. Rather, with him and other cooks better than I, I watch how he does things and analyze the method. Sometimes I Google the techniques used if I couldn't understand what I just saw. I find it to be helpful.

[Trifkin]

Aww man, that sounds terrible, Maxine! I wouldn't want to step foot in a kitchen ever again after experiences like those. I wish I could come over and teach you. Once you get the basics down (like burn safety, chopping technique, staples like rice which is deceptively easy) it's really just a matter of being able to follow directions, aka recipes. Over time you'll pick up what works with what, how much of a pinch or handful is required there... It can be so rewarding. I'm so sorry those folks ruined it for you.
;_;

[Starfe]

[PLA]

I don't like handling uncooked meat. When I do, I basically burn it on purpose.

[Hong]

A glass of water.

Living the high life.

[Trifkin]

So much green tea. Jasmine green tea is the absolute best.

[noodles]

you're not supposed to eat tea...

[Hong]

[noodles]

ok, friends from/going to japan always bring back green tea flavored candy, and it's disgusting, especially kitkats