I have been receiving questions lately about my journey through the blogging and cooking world. I thought I’d take a moment and answer a few.
1. Are you a professional cook? Do you have former training?
Take a few seconds and think about my name ‘Mommy Hates Cooking’. I do not particularly like to cook, and I’m using this site as a way to learn to cook and go through the ups and downs of trying new recipes. My recipes are typically geared toward people who either are busy and need quick recipes or like me, they hate to cook! When I started this blog the majority of my meals started with pre-made frozen items that I heated in the oven, take a look at the first few post and you will see this. Now, nearly everything I make is from scratch or at least close to it. I cannot even bring myself to purchase pre-made items anymore. In saying this, I have learned a lot in the short months that I have done this blog, but I am far from an expert!
2. Why are some of your recipes not completely traditional to the way a dish is typically made?
I am learning to cook, each day I try a new recipe. The majority of the items you see on my site show my experience the first time I have ever cooked that particular dish. Unless I say specifically that it’s a favorite of ours in the past, then I probably have never made it before and I’m posting it to you following my first experience with it. I enjoy getting feedback from readers on my recipes because it allows me to learn tips and tricks on cooking.
3. Do you write your own recipes?
Yes, I write many of my own recipes pretty much the majority. If they are not my own I will post a picture of my final product and any changes I may have made to the original. Then, I will provide a link to the recipe that will direct you to the site where it can be found. I have impressed myself over the past few months because I truly love these recipes unless I stated otherwise. Creating new recipes and experimenting is something that draws me into cooking and keeps me excited to keep learning!
4. How do your reader’s benefit from your recipes?
The biggest benefit is that most of my recipes are extremely easy, and I am an inexperienced cook, so if I can do it then my readers can to! I also hope that my readers are sharing in my challenge with me and learning to be better cooks themselves. Since I started this blog and challenged myself to cook daily, I have learned that often it is cheaper, healthier, and quicker to make dishes from scratch. I hope my readers are learning that as well. I also take a lot of the research out of the process by providing recipes at your fingertips.
5. Do you feel like you are starting to love cooking?
Love? Hmm…enjoy it? Yes. I am still in a love/hate relationship with it. I can honestly say that I am truly beginning to enjoy cooking. I look forward to taking a picture of my dish and posting my recipe to share with all my readers. I also enjoy the feedback because it helps me to improve. I have done more research on cooking techniques and recipes than ever before. My free time has turned into working on new recipes and trying new things in the kitchen. I will say that I have cooked more in the last 4 months than I have in my lifetime. I cook almost everyday and sometimes it’s 2-3 dishes that day including baking. I find inspiration in staying up to date with many other food bloggers whom I would love to one day meet the challenge and be able to cook at their levels!
Thank you for all the questions, and I will continue to do more FAQ posts in the future.
For more information on myself and my blog, check out these post:
Comments & Reviews
That’s great you want to learn to cook, but written recipes won’t teach you to cook any more than having sheet music will teach you to play piano.
The biggest frustration for the home cook isn’t cooking, it’s following the written recipe. Recipes have inherent flaws and variables that make them impossible to duplicate and always let you down. Every recipe is different, you have to re-learn cooking every time.
When a recipe calls for “one onion, chopped”, how big is this onion? When a recipe says “cook under medium heat”, how do you define medium? And, worst of all is cooking by time. “Saute for 3-5 minutes” can mean raw or burned depending on the stove, pan, ingredient, etc…
Why is cooking the only art form that has a strict set of instructions? You’d never tell a painter to “paint with 1.7 ounces of green paint for 22 minutes, and you’ll have a landscape”. No, he’ll use as much green paint for as long as he wants until the landscape is complete. This is how people should cook.
I’ve taught thousands of people to “Burn Your Recipes” and cook like a chef at home, with basic cooking methods and the ingredients you desire.
Concentrate on the basic cooking methods of saute, steaming, braising, roasting, grilling, poaching, simmering and you can create an infinite amount of recipes that a book will never tell you.
Chef Todd Mohr
WebCookingClasses.com
I actually enjoy coming up with dishes and then writing down the recipe so that I can remember how I made it the next time I try it. I also enjoy reading recipes b/c I feel like that gives me inspiration or direction on what to make. I think just as painters need inspiration sometimes, so do cooks especially those of us that are just learning. Thanks for your feedback!!!
Oh and I also agree about it is funny that cooking does have a set of instructions; however, I don’t think I have ever truly followed a recipe exactly each time as everyone has different preferences and taste. I find that they work well as a guide.
I like the painter’s analogy! Never thought of it that way. I collect recipes, but do not strictly adhere to them. I use them more as an inspiration. New here, but loving this website!
Oh my goodness! I just happened by your site and am in love! I have to try these recipes now!!!!! Thank you!
So glad you stopped by, I hope you enjoy the recipes!!!
Kristy
You suggested looking at your first few posts to see how your recipes have changed. I would love to read your blog backwards but I can’t find an archive or post list that would let me get to the first post without going through every single post. Am I missing it?
Thanks.
Since I wrote this FAQ, I switched to a new server that I have yet to figure out how to search through the archived post. If you go to the recipe index though some of my first included Taco Night and Skillet Steaks.
Thanks!
Kristy
In case anyone else wants to start at the beginning–I found a way to do that (until you are able to get an archive up.)
I went to both the recipes you suggested. They were both in July of last year but both had recipes before and after them. I started clicking to the newer entries but had no idea how many I would have to go through to get to the beginning. In the address bar I erased the title of the post but left the date so I was left with http://www.mommyhatescooking.com/2010/07. After I pressed enter that gave me the list of posts from July 2010 and I went to the very first one.
I’m so proud of myself when I figure out something like that. I know, weird.
Love your blog.
Haha, you are smarter than me!! 🙂 I can go into them through my admin site when I’m doing post so that’s how I can get to them, but I hadn’t figure it out with going through them through my site. It was easier to do with my old platform I was on then. Thanks for letting us all know though. Glad you enjoy the blog!!