Friday Thought: Chore War

[Lucy]

Originally Posted by QMO

I tell my students similar things about math, but they don't usually agree...

I think math is only fun if you are good at it. The same may be true of cooking.

[QMO]

Originally Posted by MG

...Still waiting for this to happen but not holding my breath. Same for the "it goes so fast!" about child-rearing...

The "It goes so fast." is a retrospective view. I think you usually don't feel that way until you aren't really raising them anymore.

E.g. The climbing-on-counters-and-dumping-the-cupboards-on-the-kitchen-floor-if-I-turn-my-back-for-two-minutes stage* felt like an eternity while we were in the middle of it, but now that we've been done with that stage for a few years, it seems to have lasted only a short time.

(In my experience. I currently have two adult children, one mid-teen, and a couple of pre-teens.)

*In our home, that was the same as the coat-every-crystal-on-the-chandelier-with-cream-of-wheat stage.

[glassy]

Originally Posted by Lucy

I find chopping and dicing soothing. I sometimes do it a lot more precisely than there's any need to, just because I find that pleasing to execute. And I HATE having the deal with the food processor. Drag it out, set it up, (it makes a horrible racket), CLEAN IT, put it all away again. There are things that ought to be done in the food processor that I do by hand because to me, that's so much more pleasant.

This is me, too. I think the thing I enjoy most is when a recipe calls for minced garlic (which is virtually every recipe I make really). g-lassie always uses the mincer tool but I prefer to use the chef's knife and finely mince every last clove. This should probably go in the "things I enjoy more than I should" thread.

[NerdAlert]

Originally Posted by glassy

This is me, too. I think the thing I enjoy most is when a recipe calls for minced garlic (which is virtually every recipe I make really). g-lassie always uses the mincer tool but I prefer to use the chef's knife and finely mince every last clove. This should probably go in the "things I enjoy more than I should" thread.

Thank God for this. Mincing garlic is THE WORST of the worst.

[glassy]

My garlic is minced finer than that usually
Can't say I've ever used the minced stuff from a jar before, and I don't have the most sensitive palate, but I wonder how much freshness matters with garlic.

[fdsafdsa]

Garlic powder is obv best.....

[NerdAlert]

Originally Posted by fdsafdsa

Garlic powder is obv best.....

I used to sub garlic powder for anything garlic, but the minced garlic does produce a better taste I'll admit.

[MG]

Originally Posted by Lucy

If you've given cooking a fair shot and still hate it, maybe you should do more takeout, or get a meal kit so the cooking is easier.

Or step aside as spouse steps in and takes over.

Originally Posted by Lucy

I really like food, as well as cooking.

I just really like food.

[Lucy]

Originally Posted by glassy

This is me, too. I think the thing I enjoy most is when a recipe calls for minced garlic (which is virtually every recipe I make really). g-lassie always uses the mincer tool but I prefer to use the chef's knife and finely mince every last clove. This should probably go in the "things I enjoy more than I should" thread.

We have a garlic press, which I wouldn't call a "mincing tool", but I haven't seen a "mincing tool" for garlic, so I'm not sure if that's what you mean.

I think the resulting dish usually tastes different if the garlic has been pressed (and most of the cells broken) as compared to minced. Minced garlic tastes sharper, and more garlicky, and if you cook it too hot it can get bitter. Pressed garlic has a warmer, rounder, less distinctive flavor. I like both, and use them for different dishes.

[DyalDragon]

Originally Posted by NerdAlert

I used to sub garlic powder for anything garlic, but the minced garlic does produce a better taste I'll admit.

Dried minced garlic is a solid in-between substitute. Less messy than the wet minced, better flavor imo than garlic powder.


Salt, pepper, and garlic powder is my default "not sure what to do with these extra veggies" grilling spice mix.