[Whilom]

Ask Oyunga what ugali is and you'll get a better picture of what passes for food in Nairobi.

[strela]

Although she had many other fine qualities (including the ability to shoot 1-inch groups with a .45 at 50 yards), my ex couldn't cook to save her life. About the only edible thing she ever prepared for me was pot roast (and she still smoked up the house every time she seared it before putting it down to simmer).

I'm pretty good with the local cuisine (chicken-fried steak, stuffed pork chops, and roast beef and turkey). Nobody has died from my efforts in the kitchen yet. However, I can take an MRE and a couple of bottles of spice and make it taste like at least decent restaurant food, a skill that made me very popular on deployments.

I'm a lousy saucier though - I can't make gravy that tastes like anything other than library paste. I have to use the pouch or bottled stuff to make my chicken-fried steak fit to eat.

[mlmr]

My nine year old daughter can make chicken pot pie from scratch. My recipe. My thirteen year old bakes and decorates the family cakes. Both can pull together decent meals when motivated.

When I was first married a child-bride, I did not know how to turn on a stove or keep a house. My grandmother was concerned about me living in the rough of northern New England without any cooking or housekeeping skills. She planned on sending her housekeeper up for a couple of weeks to teach me the basic points of home management and cooking. You know, she sort of came along as a gift, like the 12 place settings of sterling that I also recieved when I married. Well, my husband and I were so church-mouse poor we could not have fed Gramma's housekeeper, never mind have the equipment and furnishings for a really well-appointed home.LOL

Did I tell you about the time I was subsistance farming and received a gold purse and a shimmery evening gown?

[Lucky2]

My grandmother always said, "A way to a man's heart is through his stomach," and she was right! I fed Mr. Lucky2 his first meal 8 1/2 years ago and he never left, just like a stray cat. I have made it a point to learn to cook and I cook well. 8 1/2 years later, Mr. Lucky2's waist line is a foot larger and he's a happier man.

[Grampa Dave]

A close female relative, who lurks on FR at times is a terrible cook.

Whenever she says, "I'm going into the kitchen to whip up something!"

One of two things happen:

Her husband says, "It is time to go out to a great restaurant, and I will treat everyone to lunch or dinner. (depending on the time)"

If that doesn't work, I suddenly feel a lot of eyes staring at me. Then, I hear, a lot of people volunteering to help me if I prepare dinner from buying the stuff from doing prep work, serving it and cleaning up.

I have felt for a couple of decades that this female relative knows this power and terror that she has when she announces, "I'm going into the kitchen to whip up something!"

Then, if we are spending the night, as soon as my dinner is over and cleaned up, I start to hear, "Grampa Dave, we would really love one of your great omelets tomorrow morning. What do you need, and how can we help now and tommorow morning when you make your great omelets!"

[TracyPA]

I wonder how many of you remember homecanning? Beside cooking from scratch, my mother canned a lot. Coming home from school in September the aroma of pickling spices filled the house. The basement shelves were filled with jars of tomatoes, different types of pickles, chowchow, redbeets, peaches and pears. Pizza from a store? Forget it! Mom made her own.

[Publius6961]

I am talking about a wholesome meal of chicken-in-coconut with rice or marinated beef that will have your mouth percolating with the complexity of half a dozen tastes and spices - a little mint here, a little ginger there, cardamom, garlic and spring onion somewhere -

Hell... I feel suicidal today...
I will add the observation that all of the historical great chefs, and the overwhelming majority of world-class current ones are male.

[Mulder]

"Ability to cook" doesn't even make my top 50 list of desirable attributes in a woman.

With restaurants all over the place, it is inefficient to spend the time and money to make fancy meals.

Anyway, I can think of better places for a woman to spend her energy :-)

[Dinsdale]

I'm a good cook.

What I'm looking for is a woman who is'nt 'to good' to mow the lawn.

[Rebelbase]

Hey hey hey, I just learned how to make honest to God Italian NY Italian spagetti sauce. Whoa, oregano and basil are overated now that I know the truth.

[Lorianne]

This article is unfair. As a woman who is not good at cooking I take offense. First of all, not everyone can be good. It's unrealistic to expect any group of 3.1 billion (half of humanity) people to be good cooks. This just doesn't make sense.

Believe me I've tried cooking classes, I have a shelf full of cookbooks but I just have no innate talent at cooking. I can follow a recipe but have ZERO talent for being creative in the kitchen. I just don't "get it". My two sisters are both excellent cooks as are both my parents.

I think cooking is a real art form. People I know who are good cooks can "compose" food in their heads (like Mozart could compose music) and make the most astounding things, usually with no recipe, they just seem to "know" things. My mom never uses a recipe, she just cooks and its always delicious.

However, on the domestic I do sew sew a lot of my own clothes, make toys, etc. I'm also a pretty good gardener and can fix most things around the house. But cooking is just not my strong suit.

Fortunately my husband is a good cook and he enjoys cooking on the weekend.

[Rate_Determining_Step]

I've got it made. My wife is not only a good cook, but beautiful as well. I've got it made. :)

But, we do have the standard deal. She cooks most stuff. I like to cook, but she has a better temperment for it and usually shoos me outta the kitchen. Worse, when I do cook, she has to participate. For those trying to do their own thing in the kitchen, this doesn't work.

But, there is flip side to this as well. As a guy, I find waaay too many dudes who can't turn a wrench. I fix the cars. A 66 Mustang doesn't count. My dog can fix a car of that era. It's a dude's dudy to know how to fix a modern, fuel injected, computer controlled car. I also mow the lawn, fix stuff on house. And fix/upgrade the computers.

[LaineyDee]

My best friend and I were discussing this very topic recently. I come from the more traditional "Southern Cooking" background. Over the years, I've adjusted it to low-fat, low-salt by adding herbs and spices to keep the best flavors possible. Hubby is Italian, so I've learned to make his favorite dishes as well.

I taught both my kids to cook from an early age... by making them help "Mama" in the kitchen. All of us are busy professionals now... but we manage to cook great meals, jelly fruits and grow small gardens. We can't stand to eat out alot or (ick) buy frozen dinners. I have to agree that most women I know, have been sucked into the fast food lane. Sad, isn't it?

[nutmeg]

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