Different Kinds of Cooks

I already knew that some people follow recipes, some use recipes as a guideline, and some just go by feel. I also knew that some people can really cook, and some people just warm things up or do minor assembly. But recently I discovered just how very alien I am, ahem, how different people can be.

I don't love cooking, but I do it anyway for the following reasons (and maybe more I'm forgetting):
* save money
* improve healthiness
* customize flavor
* reduce reliance on companies

And I also try to find quick and simple ways to make things. I don't want to store a million ingredients and tools in my small kitchen, and I don't want to spend a lot of time cooking when there are so many other activities I want to do.

I recently attended an event which I don't want to describe in too much detail because I want to make sure the attendees (besides Robin and me) stay anonymous. But we were to bring a dish and its recipe and the theme was vegetarian food. I went because I could try things without making a whole batch myself, and then if I liked anything I would have the recipe. Plus the dishes would be better for fighting climate change than meat-based dishes.

My Kind of Cooking: Baked Ziti

I brought baked ziti which, once I found a recipe, I always make when I'm in the mood for lasagna. It still bakes for an hour, but the assembly is much quicker, especially if you have a big enough bowl. You just mix spaghetti sauce, cheeses, water, and pasta, plus any flavoring ingredients like spinach, mushrooms, or meat. I did grate my own mozzarella, but I chopped up the mushrooms with a few zips on my manual food processor.

Not Clear on Vegetarianism: Artichoke Rice Salad

One participant was thrilled about this theme because it gave her an excuse to make a dish that she loves but that her family doesn't like. First ingredient: chicken Rice-A-Roni.

I always knew that vegetarians (and especially vegans) had trouble explaining their diets to people, but I've never seen this level of cluelessness in person. There were no actual pieces of meat in it (and to be fair, I'm not even sure that the chicken wasn't just a chicken-free flavoring made mostly of salt), so in her mind, it was vegetarian. And I think it still is.

I did not love her dish, mostly because I don't like olives, but otherwise it was just the kind of thing I was hoping for. She gave the original recipe and her changes and why she made those changes.

Not Clear on Cooking and Recipes: Lemon Cake and Kale Salad

One person was very pleased to have brought the dessert, a store-bought cake.

Another person explained that she normally didn't like kale, but she did like this kale salad you buy in a bag and put together. This is still cheaper (and quicker!) than restaurants and healthier than most foods that you throw together, but didn't quite live up to my hopes. It was good enough for me to eat both bites I put on my plate, but I have other bagged salads I much prefer. I guess I did learn that raw kale in a salad is okay with me; I have been kind of afraid of it.

So Much Fat: Spinach Quiche

One person brought a crustless spinach quiche that was actually pretty tasty for something so spinach-heavy, mostly because there was also a lot of cheese. I thought it might taste even a bit better if you sub some basil for some of the spinach.

The recipe, for a 9 x 9" baking pan, calls for an entire pound of jack cheese. Also, an entire stick of butter. No, I am not making this.

I love the way this person brought two pages--one had the original recipe, and the other had his modifications. Unfortunately, these brought it from 8 ingredients to 14, one of which I don't own and couldn't taste.

Special Requirements: Split Pea and Lentil Soup

One person brought her dish in a crock pot, which she had to locate near an outlet, away from all the other dishes. It tasted okay, but I wouldn't want to eat a whole serving of it, let alone a whole batch. It was obviously a fabulous and healthy dish, but I have stupid taste buds.

Her recipe showed both instant pot and slow cooker instructions, which was super polite of her. But a bunch of the ingredients were things where you would have to buy way more than you used. Not just spices, but things like 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 4 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach, and 3/4 cup each of red lentils and split peas.

Not the Real Recipe: Southwestern Bean Salad

Our hostess fortunately asked everyone to describe what they brought and to tell us any changes they had made to the recipe. The person who brought this said he'd followed the recipe exactly, but then it came out that he'd used soy sauce instead of salt because he never uses salt. (The person above with the soup also admitted that she couldn't find red lentils, so she used green, and then I think added something red for color.)

I'd heard of people who deliberately leave out an ingredient to sabotage your efforts when they give you a recipe. But it never occurred to me that people would give you the original recipe without telling you what they did differently. So always ask! Even more interesting, people forget that they routinely change certain ingredients, so it feels to them like they haven't changed anything. So if you try out a recipe and it doesn't work for you, maybe go back to the person and ask them about each ingredient separately, maybe saying what you used to jog their minds.

Conclusion

I often enjoy things I eat at parties, and sometimes I'll ask for the recipe. Often what I get is just way more trouble than I'm willing to do myself or has way too many empty or nearly empty calories for me to give myself permission to make a whole batch. But in those wondrous cases where the recipe looks acceptable and actually works out, it's so wonderful!

Also, it has become very clear to me that just because someone says something is vegetarian or vegan or gluten-free or free of some allergen, that doesn't mean they are correct, even when they really think they are. (Fish sauce and honey are not vegan, walnut oil comes from nuts, spelt is not gluten-free, etc.) So when I make this sort of claim to someone, I am going to give them a list of all ingredients so that they can see, hopefully, that I know what I'm talking about, or so they can tell me where I am mistaken.

I still have all the recipes, so let me know if you would like any of them.

On the Corona Virus

My favorite list of facts so far is The WHO sent 25 international experts to China and here are their main findings after 9 days on Reddit.

The summary I find to be the most fun is John Oliver's video. Although there is swearing and weirdness about Adam Driver.

(If you need to, skip the parts with Trump and Pence, and know that although it's actually true that the virus may lose power as the weather warms, it would probably then gain power again in the fall.)

My favorite part of that video is the hand washing dance from Vietnam. There's even a tutorial.

Here are some other thoughts:

* The world seems to be working together to fight this virus. I fear this is a distraction from fighting the climate crisis.

* As a respiratory disease, it's hitting smokers hard. If you have been thinking about quitting smoking, this might be a good motivation. Your lungs don't heal all the way instantly, but they do immediately start healing.

* Besides washing hands, this might be a good time to focus on your health in general--try to get enough sleep, enough water, some exercise, you know the drill.

* The stock market is falling because of the corona virus, and yet pro-stock-market people tend to oppose universal health care. I don't really get that.

* We can't really expect science to come up with cures and vaccines so that we don't have to take any precautions while at the same time trashing and defunding science. (Same with the climate crisis.)

* Edited to add: my mom is a nurse and is thus a professional hand washer. She had to wash all the way up to the elbows and then keep her hands up where they could be seen before working with a patient. She said that the rubbing and the rinsing is actually more important than the soap.

In other news, I am always touching my face. Here are some suggestions I've seen for re-training:

* cone of shame (perhaps one on each wrist?)
* gloves
* glamour-length nails
* eye make-up (or cornea transplants or other facial surgery)

I wish you all the best in staying safe and happy, especially extroverts.