I judge adults who don't cook

The annoying part is that they always beam as they say it, like it's some point of pride. Really it just makes them look like a jackass.

The last person who said it to me had the gall to then lecture me, apropos of nothing, about saving up for retirement. Really now.

Why do you care? Let people do what they want. I don't know why you'd object to people going out to eat.

Are you Martha Stewart or just some Suzy Homemaker Frau?

I cook adults who judge.

It's not that anyone cares r2. The people who make these weird proclamations about not cooking want to rope others in to some odd discussion which is inevitably a vehicle for self congratulations.

Cooking is a basic skill that a lot of people of the past few generations simply haven't learned.

I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Kingsolver this year and in many ways I felt like I was seeing the ocean for the first time. It should be required reading in all high schools.

They're like the "I never watch TV" people. They think that makes them superior people and we should be in awe of them.

I don't understand OP, who is supposed to care that you "judge"? Should anybody feel threatened that you "judge"? Are you in the government ? Are you in a position of authority?

I kick people in the cunt who never watch TV.

If I could FF I would FF OP.

I will say, if you're a single person it often seems less expensive to order in than buy all of the ingredients needed to make a meal.

Hey OP, how about a nice, big serving of mind your own business!

I don't judge people who don't cook. People who announce it and expect anyone to care or NOT think less of them annoy me though. The last person who proudly announced this to me was in her 60s. Not sure how she expected me to react.

I judge people who can't cook anything. To be a respectable adult you must be able to make at least a few decent meals of various kinds. That means a few starters, a few mains (with sides) and a few desserts, let's say three of each. BBQ food counts.

I don't judge people who don't cook for some reason, or for no reason, as long as they know how to prepare a few good meals.

I cook a lot, usually more than one meal a day. When I lived in the city and worked 70-80 hours a week, I never cooked. I ate out all the time. I ordered in all the time. I ate convenience food all the time. I knew how, I just had no time, energy or interest in doing it.

I FFed him for you, R9. (My WW and FF have come back.)

Growing up, I would help my mom out by cooking during the week (for my mom, sister and me). I tried to carry on the routine when I moved out on my own, however, I quickly grew tired of spending hours to cook a meal that would take days to finish. I also am not a fan of leftovers....

[quote]I also am not a fan of leftovers....

Why not? It's like free food.

wow a lot of bitter non-cookers in this thread who don't like being called out on their laziness and ineptitude. No one is saying you have to cook every meal every day but for the people who NEVER cook or hardly ever cook, that's just pathetic.

I can cook. But my kitchen is pretty small so it just makes a giant mess and takes a lot longer than if I made something at my parents house given all of the acrobatics I have to do here . Also, I really think a lot of times the cost of getting a single serving a meal is cheaper than making a recipe - even if you freeze it or store it in some way. I go through phases where I cook a lot or do just absolutely nothing except for microwave stuff. It's just kind of depends on what is going on with my schedule and what things I'm in the mood to eat. I don't think I'm proud of not cooking.

OP is like me, born in the 1950s. Times have changed OP, get over it. They're not coming back.

I judge people who judge people who don't cook.

I understand Op's point. There are people who BRAG about not cooking as if it's brave of them not to, or as if NOT being able to cook is some sort of talent. It's like feeling proud of yourself because you can't balance your checkbook or because you don't know how to ride a bike. Why brag about something you DON'T do?

I don't know, R19, OP seems more like a young person. You know how they get, conformity is everything, hair trigger judgments, "my way is the only way and the right way" thinking. Older people can be that way too but I wouldn't put the OP at over 30.

I concur. I am equally judgmental.

Yes it's the bragging plus the implication that they are busier with more important stuff, and they imagine they are making some grand sociopolitical statement. Then they wait for some response.

Meanwhile, I don't care. These people don't realize how many other people are saying / doing the same thing. Someone upthread was right. These are like "oh I never watch TV" folks, close relatives of the "oh we don't do that in this house" people.

Make your own dinners.....you fat whores!

I don't understand the point of judging either way. I see people posting their random meals that they put on Facebook and I'm like - great good for you that's so special. It's just as annoying. I don't really judge but I just tell Facebook not to show me post like that because I don't really give a shit

Baby boomer women were the biggest "Oh, I don't coooooooooooook"ers of all time.

It drives me nuts when friends can't cook AND have money problems. They'll spend 30 bucks a day, if not more, eating out every meal, eating mostly crap, when they could be cooking healthy, cheaper meals at home.

Most food pictures posted online make food look like shit anyway, R26. I don't know why people post so many mounds of brown, undifferentiated by much other than a frozen pea or carrot.

Posting food photos on social media is so lame

R26 that's true too. It just goes to show that people are enthralled with themselves either way. "I'm the bomb because I'm too cool for school and don't/can't cook" or "I'm basically Julia Child reincarnated because I just made myself a tuna sandwich. SEE! SEE MY TUNA SANDWICH!"

that's why because you're all obese and broke, folks

They often don't realize cooking is, or can be, cheaper, R28. (See R18 and R10.)

I had a friend,.he's dead now, God bless his soul. The first thing he said to me when I moved to Manhattan was, "We Manhattanites don't cook, it saves money. " When I asked him how that was possible he said, "Well you know, time is money and think of all the time you'll save."

R27, yes, Kingsolver writes about that in her book. It became insulting for a woman to be expected to slave in the kitchen, so suddenly there was an aversion to cooking.

R33, I'm R10, and I think it depends on what you want to cook. If it's a meal with a lot of spices (spices I won't really use again) it adds up.

Thanks, R35. I just reserved a kindle copy at my library.

You can get all sorts of spices for a few pennies in the bulk bins.

R37, doesn't your library allow you to download kindle copies of books? (If not, why not?)

R38, Okay, well... I didn't think of that! (Off to yell at my mother for dropping the ball.)

R37, hope you enjoy it! I learned a lot from it (and plan on making cheese for the first time in the upcoming weeks!).

I mostly cook Italian, R36. The most important ingredients don't cost a whole lot. Parmigiano-Reggiano is probably the most expensive ($13.49-19.99/lb.) ingredient I use, but it never goes to waste.

I also make a lot of food that uses chilis, ground and whole. I always run out of these things and need to replenish. I guess I don't understand why someone would buy spices he isn't going to use again. I don't buy anything I'm not going to use. Perhaps this is why it's cheaper for me to cook. So...DON'T buy things you're not going to use.

Bottled spices are a racket. Once I figured out the bulk jars at my local natural food store (and that kids don't shove their sticky hands it them), I began to get good at cooking. So much of learning is being bad at it initially. Sucks when it's expensive.

Yes, R39. Downloading a kindle copy from my library is what I'm talking about. However, the library has to manage kindle books the same way it does regular books, and someone is already reading its copy of Kingsolver's ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE. When he returns it, I will get an e-mail telling me it's my turn.

Yeah, I don't know, I've always bought the spices in the tiny jars from the grocery store. I guess it's just been a brain-fart moment on my part not to utilize the spices from the co-op, which I've passed a hundred times.

I buy most of my spices at Penzey's. They're good, they're fresh, and they're cheaper than either McCormick's or my local's house brand.

In cooking Italian, I only rarely use dried spices. I never buy dried basil. It tastes like poison. And I don't care for oregano or marjoram of any kind, so I don't bother with them. Depending on what I'm making, dried rosemary isn't bad. I like it fine when I roast potatoes, though I wouldn't use it in a roast chicken (usually fresh thyme, garlic, lemons).

I judge children who don't cook.

R47 Well, now I'm hungry.

Well, what are you going to do about it, R49/R36?

Hint: roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans

R50, I actually AM making squash and mashed potatoes for dinner, and I picked up half a roasted turkey from the grocery store today!

Whoops, forgot to add 51/49/36. (At this rate I should have just initialed my responses.)

Just a tip for people who complain about the cost of spices in grocery stores, look up online if there is a spice shop near you. I think most big cities have at least 1. You can often get exotic/usually expensive spices for MUCH cheaper at spice stores than you can at grocery stores. I don't remember all the examples but 1 big example is dried lavender. I found a much larger quantity for a fraction of the price at a local spice store. The only important thing is make sure you look into any bags of spices/herbs you're buying, hold them up to the light and shake them to make sure there are no bugs in there. Usually things are OK but once in a while, especially if it's imported from another country, it may be an issue. This has never happened to me because I check.

There are no spice bins in my grocery store. I buy regular old bottles of spices and fresh herbs at the store, I buy some things online and I grow some herbs year-round. Whatever is easiest and most readily available is fine.

I dislike food snobs of any kind and that includes spice/herb snobs.

I am full of judgment.

why do the posters here who don't cook get so defensive?

Yes people should have basic cooking skills but maybe some people who don't cook didn't have their parents show them as kids. Not an excuse but sometimes kids grow up not learning this and as their older they don't teach themselves or are too embarrassed to learn.

I try to cook for myself because it is cheaper and I try to challenge myself but I wish I had learned it as a child. I never developed the confidence when I was younger in my formative years.

*they are older

You can look on cooking as a form of self-defense. If you do not cook your own meals you are at the mercy of others.

I can cook - for dinner parties. But I have a long commute and work a lot. I'm single - so I'm only cooking for myself. Plus, I don't have a dishwasher and don't want to spend a lot of time cleaning up pans and messes for just myself.

It's the same amount of mess for a portion of one than cooking for 5-6.

It is cheaper or less expensive to pick something up or make a Lean Cuisine. If it was more than just me, then yes, cooking is essential.

If you have a family, then I really don't understand it. It's soooo much cheaper.

I just made a large serving of chicken curry with basmati rice (from scratch), it didn't take much time at all, and I doubt that it cost me more than $1.50 in ingredients, plus about a half hour of time.

If people prefer not to cook for whatever reason, that's their business and not yours. But, those who proclaim they don't cook as though it carries with it some sense of prestige, well, they are just twats and need to be slapped.

I am an excellent cook but rarely do anymore because of health issues.

R61 - nice humblebrag. Face it - you feel superior.

I've never heard people brag that they don't cook; what an odd thing to brag about.

Now, having said that, I very rarely cook, for these reasons:

I live alone and since everything comes packaged for families, it's expensive and ultimately wasteful.

I don't enjoy it. In fact, I hate preparing meals, it's an unpleasant and often disgusting process.

It is MUCH cheaper to cook at home, even for one. Regular work skills translate easily to basic home economics. Having the luxury of prepared meals frozen, or ready to heat and serve helps control wasteful spending, and portion control.

I'm baking a chicken today with carrots and Brussel sprouts. I live alone. It will last three days.

Teach us how to cook OP.

Oh god, we're not going to have one of those awful "I can stretch a chicken, two cans of beans and an orange for a week! Look at me!" threads, are we?

I'm a professional chef and don't give a rat's ass about what anyone else does

You don't bake a chicken. You roast it.

I cooked more or less for 40 years. Im good at it,still do it on occasions,but am thoroughly and completely sick of it. I cook maybe twice a week now, eat out or have a sandwich and soup. I gave 90% of my kitchen gadgets away and use the space for storage .

Impatient, unimaginative, lacto-veg who passionately HATES to cook. I HATE having to constantly search for something intriguing to prepare, which sounded great in theory, but was anything but that after I had my culinary way with it. The only ones to profit from my failures are the neighborhood stray cats, and even they sometimes sniff, grimace and walk away.

If you do not cook your own meals you are at the mercy of others. - so sayeth [R59].

Exactly! Not that I need a personal taster for fear of poisoning, rather, to cook is to know exactly what I'm eating, how it was processed or if it was processed or treated. Lucky to have grewn up watching great cooking & canning in action & frequent use of raw fruits and veggies. I was taken with the husbandry of farming as a youth.

Cook or don't cook, eating wonderful food will always be a sacrament to me. Bless you my children. It's nice to be back in V.C. in front of the griddle again. Frittelle per tutti!

I judge people who make big judgy dumb statments about other people's business.

I'm thrilled you get a boner over throwing some pork chops under a broiler, whipping up some pilaf and steaming some veggies in your high end steamer every night after getting home from a hard day at the cube farm, but for some of us, we'd either rather have a nice meal with friends at a restaurant, OR, grab some take out from a food court, OR, have a simple sandwich/nibbles/a bowl of soup/cereal the majority of the time rather than slave in the kitchen for an hour every fucking night and deal with food prep, cooking, and cleaning up the damn mess just to put fuel in our bodies.

Ideally, we partner up/roommate up with some kitchen slave who ENJOYS doing that shit.

Win/Win.

I'm always looking for new, delicious recipes, and I can't count the number of times somebody has started out with, "First, you open a can of Cream of Mushroom soup..." and that's when I stop listening.

[quote]You can get all sorts of spices for a few pennies in the bulk bins.

Yes, but those spices are often crammed with fillers or salt to pad them out. I don't like buying spices because they're expensive, but even though I cook 3-5 times per week, spices last forever, so overall the cost is pretty cheap even if I AM spending $5 or $6 a bottle.

Having had to teach myself how to cook as an adult, I don't judge anyone who doesn't do it. I enjoy it and I'm a pretty good cook, but the entire process is a huge pain in the ass. I tend toward really simple stuff lately: enchiladas and casseroles and soups, primarily, which I make in batches and freeze so I don't have to cook half the time.

Prepared food is full of salt.

I

JUDGE

YOU

I can cook, but since I moved to this neighborhood, I rarely do. It's near a huge college and there are dozens of restaurants that are selling good things at student-friendly prices, eating out hardly costs more than buying the ingredients - not to mention the time and effort saved.

Lots of healthy, vegetarian or vegetable-intensive stuff available around here, too.

[quote]why do the posters here who don't cook get so defensive?

Gee, maybe because of all the Judge-y Judys here attacking us because we don't cook. I don't know where you're finding all these braggarts who announce to the world they don't cook. I don't cook but I'm neither proud nor ashamed of the fact and figure it's nobody's business but mine.

Cooking = Carbs

You all sound fat.

They're idiots. I work in small electricals for KitchenAid. They're the ones who are always looking for that one appliance that will do everything they could possibly want it to do at the touch of a button that doesn't require any cleaning. They're so annoying.

it's better to know exactly what's in your food, even if you don't cook healthily. Who wants a mystery amount of salt, sugar, bad fat and preservatives? No wonder so many people are unhealthy these days. The last 40 years have seen more people opting for the lazier, quick-fix way of eating

[quote]I work in small electricals for KitchenAid.

Worst company ever. My blender melted and KA wanted me to pay them $25 for them to send me a box in which I could return the blender to them, and then it would cost extra to fix it.

I threw it out and will never use a KA product again.

It's just another disguised recipe thread for the fatties.

Go eat your kibble, R87.

R86, running your blender until the coupler melts qualifies as misuse of the appliance. Next time you buy a small kitchen appliance, try reading the manual.

I wasn't using it any differently than I had in the past, R89. I was making a cream soup. But I'm not surprised to read your weasel words.

Food threads are guaranteed flamebait.

OP Yeah, well, your food sucks, and you're just bitter about not being able to have a personal chef.

[quote]I can't count the number of times somebody has started out with, "First, you open a can of Cream of Mushroom soup..." and that's when I stop listening.

Or when you look up cake recipes on the internet and they all start with "Take a box of cake mix..."

R90, you're deluded. Let's all note that you didn't say you read the manual. Repeated misuse is still misuse.

I'm sure I read the manual when I got the thing, R94. How else would I have known enough to plug it in? Or turn it on?

I am not deluded. Your KitchenAid blender looked wonderful sitting on the sidewalk waiting for the trash to be picked up. Like the lamp in that IKEA commercial.

If only it had worked as well as my Cuisinart, which lasted from 1977-2001, after 1000 times more use than the KA POS.

Then why didn't you buy another Cusinart? Clearly you have issues.

It was on sale at BBB. And it was KITCHENAID. Which was supposed to be The Best Blender You Can Buy. Right?

I don't ever cook. It's cheaper for me to eat out. I also tend to overeat when I prepare my own meals. So it's healthier for me to eat out too. I also hate doing dishes. For me, it's sort of a no brainer.

However, I certainly don't think I'm superior to anyone because of this. Not at all. I think this is first time I've ever had anything that remotely could be considered a conversation on the topic.

I love to cook but so what if someone wants to spend their money eating out rather than on other things. We all spend money on frivolous crap we don't neccessarily need.

I mean the same rationale could be applied to darning your socks too; it'd be cheaper than buying new ones and wouldn't take much time!

R85 I don't know what backwater you live in, but in my country it's required for manufactuers to list all the ingredients and amount of salt sugars, carbohydrates, fats (and how much are from saturates etc) on the packaging.

I would have no idea how to darn a sock. I can make a nice souffle, though.

R100 but you can't control what is put in food you don't make. That's the point. You can read it but you can't change what's in it unless you cook your own food. When you go out to eat you can't tell them "don't put any salt on mine". It's no coincidence that a lot of people who don't cook are overweight.

I like to cook. However, I live alone and I despise left overs and don't like to throw away food. I really dislike reheated food. So I eat out, have take out, and cook several times a week.

For those of you who say you can't cook, or it's more expensive to fix your own meals, or you don't like leftovers let me give you the advice my parents gave me when I got my first apartment and had the same complaints - go to the next recipe. There are a hell of a lot of recipes out there and it's just laziness on your part that prevents you from finding the ones that are inexpensive, don't waste food and are easy to prepare.

If you don't like cooking fine - but stop with the silly rationalizations.

[quote] I really dislike reheated food.

Something else I would never have known about except for DL.

Rationalizing, R104? Not at all. One rationalizes when they're trying to explain away bad behavior. My not cooking isn't bad behavior at all. I just find it more practical to not cook. I get that others don't feel the same way. If the live and let live vibe was ever needed, this would be the thread.

How do you eat, R106? What do you eat?

I eat eggs in the morning. Lunch is a salad. Dinner is usually some fish or chicken. If I have a late night craving, it's fruit or maybe some popcorn. That's about it, R107. I spend about $25 dollars on that. If that. No waste. No cleanup. I read the paper in the morning, whatever book I'm into at lunch, and usually have dinner with friends. It works for me.

I cannot stand intolerance.

R106 - Rationalizing is not limited to explaining away bad behaviors. It's an attempt to us a rational explanation other than the true reason. Really it isn't limited to bad behaviors. I never claimed not cooking was a bad behavior.

If you don't like to cook fine - but don't try to claim you don't cook because of you inability to cook or expenses. Just say you don't like to cook.

I'm have a mental image of you eating uncooked eggs in the morning and uncooked popcorn at night.

I've never run into anyone who has bragged about not cooking or being able to cook. Those who have and have posted here sound like pretentious pearl-clutchers, ready to be offended.

I have friends who love to cook, my nephew is a chef, my bf cooks.

I can't cook, don't like to cook and I'm certainly not lazy or inept.

May OP and his ilk be force-fed corn through a feeding tube.

Who cooks when you have a staff?

The title, then, hould be "I hate adults who won't cook."

Right, R111. It's so weird to care how someone else chooses to eat.

This must be the "pointless bitchery" part of DL

We had a high school graduate in our office who "worked" her way into management. She adopted 3 Chinese children. She doesn't cook or have hired help. It is hard to feed kids nutritious meals if you don't cook.

[quote]It is hard to feed kids nutritious meals if you don't cook.

Or time to cook them.

R111, read R116. She bragged about it. Not sure how she got past the adoption officials, but maybe she lied. I don't care what single people do. I'm single and go through periods of cooking and not cooking. But when you are responsible for feeding a dependent, that's something else. And, yes, I judge in that case.

Only poor people cook.

I was totally judging the people at the grocery store on Thursday who ordered entire group Xmas meals that they were obviously going to serve on Friday. Why have a gathering at your house/apartment if you're going to get pre-made shit from a grocery store? Either cook the food yourself or let someone else host! I wouldn't have judged as much had they ordered pre-made meals from a nice restaurant. A grocery store? bye

The KitchenAid blender disagreement in this thread is terrific reading!

Generally, I don't cook much at home because I do not like to cook meat. First, it never tastes as good as meat prepared in restaurants. Second, the cleaning up is long. Third, most recipes call for one to have a lot of ingredients on hand that I will rarely use.

I grew up eating at home. Flavorless, tough, unexciting food. I had enough of that.

R122 are you of British or middle American background? lol "flavorless, tough, unexciting food" fits those types of cuisines.

I cannot possibly fathom being an adult homosexual who does not possess the ability to turn out a meal that would make people envious. People CLAMOR for invites to my dinner parties, and for my baked goods at their birthday/wedding/anniversary parties.

Good cookery is a staple of the homosexual skill set. Who ARE you lazy ass cunts who can't/don't cook?! Ugh.

What an odd complaint.

I don't think i could tell you who among my friends knows how to cook and/or if anyone doesn't, save the two or three who throw dinner parties because they are very into cooking.

But otherwise, I have no idea which one of my friends scrambles an egg for breakfast and which one opens a box of Wheaties.

The bitch OP is sounding a little judgey, if you ask me.

R124 PREACH it

Understanding suitable substitutes is important for saving. With the Internet, this information is readily available.

Having to buy ALL your food all the time is a huge bummer.

If someone lives alone, I'm always amazed if they can't cook. Same with my straight friends, especially the wives. I had someone serve a formal "spaghetti dinner" for 6-7 who used Ragu right out of the jar. And the grated Kraft cheese. In our 40's.

The best cooks I know, outside of gheys so inclined, are three millennial guys in my office. Some of the stuff they whip up on the weekends is amazing; I've snagged a few recipes that were surprisingly elaborate. And every single one of them is in great shape! Oh, to be young again with a high metabolism!

I'll share my personal recipe for Cottage Cheese Surprise! Here's how:

1) Buy cottage cheese. 2) Refrigerate it. 3) At dinner time, open fridge, remove cottage cheese. 4) Take off top of carton. SURPRISE! It's cottage cheese! 5) Eat it.

Next week: my personal recipe for Fruit in a Bowl!

r131 Is there any lime jell-o or marshmallows to go along with that cottage cheese?

No, R132, but, for that personal touch, you can set a slice of Dole pineapple atop the cottage cheese. Makes the dish extra-ritzy.

r133 I wish I knew how to post things. There's a video on YouTube entitled "Lime Jello, Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise" you may be interested in. Eat hearty.

In advance, I'm judging all the people who will throw New Year's parties and just buy pre-packaged, processed crap to eat rather than make at least 1 dish

Bronzie, R134, I don't know whether you're kidding, but if you go to youtube, search for "Lime Jello, Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise," select the link, paste it in the "Web Site Link" box below, well, there you go.

I am single and have a hard time planning and cooking for one. I buy too much food and end up wasting it or find I never have the right ingredients on hand. I find myself rotating a few dishes like pasta and stir fry until I am sick of them. I have managed to find a lot of simple recipes from skinytaste which do not require a ton of special ingredients.I am trying to get better about making my own meals for cost and for health, but I struggle with the planning for one person for an entire week. how do people do it? anyone have any tricks? for example do you use frozen chicken breasts and if so how do you ensure they are thawed when you need them? I come home...see them in the freezer, and end up finding something else rather then wait to defrost them now. I know you can do it in the microwave, but I feel that affects the texture. Is it ok to move them from the freezer to the fridge in the morning? Will they that? or should I thaw them on the counter? how long is it safe to leave them there unrefrigerated.

R137 take the chicken out from the freezer and put it into the fridge overnight and leave it in there until you get home from work the next day. The chicken will be fine.

Here comes the judge! Here comes the judge!

[quote]Good cookery is a staple of the homosexual skill set.

A gay man who does not know how to cook is missing out on one of the true joys of being homosexual.

[quote]I am single and have a hard time planning and cooking for one. I buy too much food and end up wasting it

God, is it great having butchers and a farmers market 15 minutes by foot from my apartment. I can get a slice of chicken breast if I want it and one carrot if I need too. I can even get as as much butter as I need and buy flour by the cup.

Life for most people in the US is not set up very well for singles who want to cook...by scratch... for themselves.

I would have given up long ago.

RE 141,

I am so Jealous. That is what I loved about living in France. You just bought what you needed that day. Our groceries are set up for buying for a family of four. Nothing is really farm fresh. Everything is set up to save more by buying more. Farmers markets are generally only 1 day a week and they are often overpriced. It is so frustrating. I often eat out because of convenience, but it is not as healthy and it is so damn expensive. I cannot wait to get my garden going this spring.

Re 138-thanks for that tip. I am going to try that this week. I am going to make some greek lemon chicken and potatoes with feta.

I am assuming the op was talking about people who, when you are having a conversation about dinners or cooking and they feel the need to tell everyone they don't cook as if they are bragging. I've come across people like that. They are women and mothers so I'm usually shocked because you have to cook if you have kids. If you can't or don't that's scary, unless your spouse is the cook. I also disagree with people, who say eating out is cheaper. I make dinner for my family of four. If I spent say $20 or less on the ingredients, which I usually do that's $5 or less per person. You can't eat out cheaper than that. Also, if you get creative you can make simple meals that look like they are from a restaurant. You just have to have the time and patience. But I like to cook for my family and I'm proud of the end results. Not everyone is cut out for that. Clean up is not fun to me though.

not cooking makes you hardly human.

@137, I was on a diet this summer so I fed my family dinner and made myself my own healthier meal. I was able to whip up good food in a hurry. I defrost chicken breasts in the microwave all the time. It's easy. You just have to keep an eye on them and turn them over during the defrosting. I rinse them and many times pound them with a meat hammer to tenderize or make the sizes the same. I like tilapia and keep frozen ones. I thaw in microwave, heat the oven spray with some Pam, sprinkle a little dill, seafood seasoning. Put some mushrooms on the pan and throw in the oven for ten minutes. Take it out eat with a salad(bagged). Looks like gourmet meal and super easy. That was just an example to show there are some meals that are really good and healthy and easy and quick to make. You just have to look online for recipes and keep basic supplies on hand. I'm the type of person though where we can have hardly any food in the house and I go through what I do have and I manage to create an awesome meal. I do think it all starts with liking to cook. I get tired of dreaming up dinners for my family to eat every night.

OP = too poor to eat out & livid with envy.

Sucks to be you!

The people I find most annoying are not the "I don't cook" people. In fact, I can't recall anyone actually bragging about not cooking. If it comes up at all, it's in the context of how busy or overwhelmed they are, and not as a point of pride.

By FAR the most annoying people I've known are the self-proclaimed "foodies" whose entire lives revolve around their next creation. That "creation" usually consists of some standard dish being ruined by a WTF combination of off the wall ingredients. And if you are treated to one of their creations, you are expected to have an orgasm at the table to demonstrate your approval or else they are offended.

I was at one party where the foodie Frau would not serve the side dishes and desserts brought by her guests (including me). When I asked another guest why all the food was just sitting there, she said, "oh, Frau so and so doesn't want anything to detract from her main course." The main course was a pukey meat dish, and everyone was given a huge portion, whether they wanted it or not. She was visibly annoyed by those of us who couldn't choke down the whole thing.

adults who don't cook are either too wealthy for their own good, or just stupid.

or new yorkers, which ends up being the same thing.

Don't push my last button. First and last warning.

I don't cook. I don't drive either. It's a cultural thing.

R130: Straight millennials are fucking foodies on steroids! I've seen them sitting around swapping recipes like a bunch of old biddies at a quilting bee.

R151 yes exactly and use social media to get ideas too

Mind your own business.

I definitely cook everything if I'm having people over, but if you work a lot and have a long commute - and you're single, it's easier to pick up some food at a hot bar (whole foods and many markets have them now) or a roasted chicken. It depends on what you buy.

Also - and I know I will get slammed for this - but there are a lot of better frozen dinner options than ever before. Organic, vegetarian, and low sodium. Yes, I know it's not perfect - but it's not horrible either.

It's not necessarily that much more expensive (when you're single) to buy fresh food to go than to buy all the ingredients and get stuck with 3 or 4 servings of something you really would rather not eat for multiple meals.

I'm constantly surprised at the pizza deliveries in my building during the week - now that's unhealthy AND expensive. Weekend night treat? Sure - but to me that's not food to eat during the week.

Two guys I know can't cook and they're really embarrassed about it. I suspect there are a lot of people who feel that way. My gay uncle is a business owner with several diverse roles in his company, and he works pretty much every day. He used to be very fit but he hit middle age and all his 'on the go' meals and dining in high end restaurants caught up with him. He's very obese and unhappy about it. He knows he can manage his eating with portion control if he eats homemade stuff that he can take to work or pop in the microwave for dinner, but he cannot figure out how to cook. He got ill two years ago and hired a chef to cook for him during his recuperation. He lost a lot of weight and kept it off while the chef cooked for him. Once back at work he got into the old routine and the pounds piled back on. He admitted to me that he's really ashamed that he just can't learn to cook for himself. And he's embarrassed to hire a chef

The other guy is in his 80s. He's a retired engineer, still very active and healthy, who can figure out and trouble shoot just about any problem that's mechanical, carpentry, gardening, or general household related stuff. But the guy is a menace in the kitchen. I honestly don't think he can cook a meal without starting a fire. When I met him and his wife it always seemed odd that she had to drop everything and race home, no matter what she was doing, to fix his lunch or dinner. The first time I visited their home I saw the charred front of their broiler (mounted over the stovetop) and the scorched ceiling. I know his wife wasn't responsible for that catastrophe. He tries to make a recipe but ends up making flames. Still, he maintains that he really can cook but his facial expression reads shame when he says it..

R155 wow a gay uncle who cannot cook. That is shocking

Your uncle should buy those portioned meals like Blue Apron. I think they have instructions so it may be a way to ease into cooking.

I judge cocks.

Other than the false superiority of the no-cook crowd, I think the majority of us who can cook and appreciate real food find them a bit boring and lacking culture. They are not my first choice for dining out companions, nor do I usually waste an invite to my dinner parties on those who are content eating Lean Cuisine. I love how millenios and other young people are learning to be more resourceful and self-sufficient. They will ultimately do better for themselves financially in the long run too I should think.

I judge people who spend so much time and effort judging other people.

OP types obese. Only the obese call food "meals". Only the obese. Only them.

R160 I completely get where you are coming from too. I don't really judge them, but rather feel we don't share an important common interest or hobbie. I have better things to do than shame people on take-away food, or pre-prepared meals from food stalls. I just relish and prefer the company of other foodies and they generally can and enjoy cooking.

'Foodies' is just another name for 'fat people'.

Same, R56. I don't see much point in cooking - live alone in a smaller apartment, I'm not inspired - and it's not something I enjoy at all. I do the basics for myself - soup, salads, rice, chicken.. but thats about it. I am slightly embarrassed that I'm not one of those who invites a date over and cooks them a fabulous meal. but it's just not me.

R163 You either suffer an eating disorder, or lack a brain. All of my friends into good food and cooking are fit and have gym memberships. I have never been fat. People such as yourself make me want to get fat and sit on you though.

Well tonight I made pan fried salmon, broccoli rabe and some brown rice to go with it. Also made a garlic aioli.

Sounds healthy and delicious... devilishly good might I add R 166!

R166 it sounds good but...did you use butter? oil? something else?

R160 judging people is the new national pastime.

I judge adults who don't smoke. What's wrong with you? You hate pleasure?

Watch out the hall monitor judges those who bump old threads

R170 I loved smoking, but I hate emphysema. If I found out I was terminally ill, I’d gleefully smoke like a chimney.

[quote]I judge adults who don't cook

Toss 'em in a wok with a little butter and they'll cook just fine.

And I prosecute adults who cook crack!