What did you cook last?

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I hate eating out and can't stand processed food. I've been cooking for myself since I was about 11, and by now my cooking is not only technically perfect (by my standards), but eccentric to the point of being inedible to everyone else. It will kill you unless you can take a blast of pepper spray to the face.

I try to follow Chris Onstad in that you should be able to cook a good meal even if you're broke and all you have is a butter knife and a scratched-up pan.

I'll share my recipes if you share yours. I wonder if we'll have common quirks.

The word "cook" here means any food you prepared for personal consumption via a process more complex than heating it in the microwave. Thus, ramen noodles and such do not count unless you do weird things with them. Making sandwiches does count.

My next post on this thread will probably be whatever I end up cooking next. If anyone's interested in adapting a recipe here to their diet, budget, or special needs (say, they can't broil due to the possibility of an asthma attack, or may have problems with using a spatula), I can try to help.

ETA: I stuck this thread in Random because I am pretty sure that anyone who tries to cook some of my recipes will end up being gassed by pepper fumes or otherwise severely mutilated without proper precautions. If a mod does actually think anything involving bhut jolokia pepper can be called anything similar to "health and fitness," then by all means swap it into that forum. I will not be held accountable for anyone's face melting off, though.

I have always cooked for myself but my meals tend to be very plain because I cannot follow recipes: there are too many ingredients and among them are one or two I don't believe anyone ever purchased willingly. The last thing I fixed was an individual pizza with leftover spaghetti meat sauce, onion, ripe olives, leftover cubed ham and grated sharp cheddar cheese on a readymade pizza crust. That's actually quite elaborate for me.

The last thing I cooked for myself was instant spaghetti.

I can't eat processed food, as it makes me physically ill. I am the designated cook of the house, and food has become a bit of an obsession. I don't think I cook anything weird though, except for the people who think ethnic food is weird. I like to cook Asian food, but only a bit of Indian, since I find it really difficult to get the spices right.

The last thing I cooked, however, was a boiled egg.

That was enough to win me over

I either start picking a few things from a recipe and run with it or just experiment from scratch with things I like/know would go well together.

Now I can hardly wait to see what you come up with, maybe you can also post some pics


Like what?

@Zen - I also like cooking Asian food, I'm strongly leaning towards Japanese for the time being. I'm sticking much more closely to the recipe when cooking Asian food than I usually do otherwise.

Sallamandrina wrote:

Like what?

Like arugula, kale, pomegranates/persimmons, couscous, pesto, miso, cardamon, fennel pollen, chipotles, habaneros, specialized sea salt--anything trendy and expensive a discount grocery shopper is unlikely to encounter in his everyday world.

Where I live there are Middle Eastern and Asian supermarkets where you can find many unusual things like those for very reasonable prices. The Middle Eastern one by my house actually has the cheapest spices and grains of anywhere around here. (They sell in bulk.) Do other places have these kind of stores or am I just really lucky?

Things like cardamom and saffron are expensive anywhere though. I just leave them out of the recipe if they are listed.

Popcorn, and it is best when popped in olive oil and then lightly covered with melted butter and a touch of salt.

Chicken, corn and garlic bread.

Instant macaroni and cheese

Pierogies with kielbasa.

Right now I'm roasting some brussels sprouts, which is just throwing them in a pie plate and drizzling them with olive oil and whatever seasoning I feel like and roasting in the oven for about 40 minutes. It's my favorite vegetable.

Yesterday I cooked chicken with peas for my husband and beans and sprouts for myself.
I started cooking at about age 7, I have always liked it and is a real stress reliever for me.
Trouble is, at home we don't use any salt and spices so what I cook is practically inedible for anyone else unless they bring their own salt and pepper. My mother does anyway.

I've never been able to cook as much as I'd like to. I find it too fiddly and always burn the food/equipment/myself.

I heated up some supermarket brand generic fried chicken in the oven, toasted some bread and had a chicken fried sandwich with tomato sauce. Does that count?

Steak and rice.

I think it was pasta, though I made cookies too if that counts.