I hope that you enjoy reading this post on the weekly Friday Loose Bloggers Consortium where ten of us write on the same topic. Today’s topic has been chosen by Padmum. The nine other bloggers who write regularly are, in alphabetical order, Delirious, gaelikaa, Grannymar, Maxi, Maria SF, Padmum, Paul, Rohit, The Old Fossil and Will. Do drop in on their blogs and see what their take is on this week’s topic. Since some of them may post late, do give some allowance for that too!
It is with much regret that I bid Shackman goodbye from the LBC gang. He has expressed his inability to participate due to personal problems and I wish him well. I hope that he is able to solve his problems soon and rejoin us.
Most men may not be able to but Padmum should know that her three brothers including this writer, can and what is more important, her husband can too!
If however the question was to be rephrased to include a word – voluntarily, I expect that most men would say no. No, only to cook daily meals, not the occasional foray into the kitchen to experiment or try out a recipe received from somewhere or even just to show off how good they are. I say most, because, there are exceptions and I know quite a few of them.
I learnt how to cook by observing some friends who used to visit us in Mumbai. These were a group of men who were employed in Saudi Arabia. There, they lived in barracks and cooked their own food. They would return once a year to their homes in Hyderabad and our home in Mumbai was their transit accommodation.
I refined my ability by meeting with chefs in hotels and restaurants and asking them about the dishes that I liked and further by getting some recipe books. A friend of mine, Shoib seeing my interest, gifted me with a copy of the book Cooking Delights Of The Maharajas way back in 1987 which is still a treasured possession often referred to while cooking up something exotic. As synchronicity often does in my life, the author’s son H.H. Vikram Singh Ji of Sailana, a surprisingly modest and unassuming man who has inherited the family’s passion for food, came into my life quite unexpectedly and was thrilled to hear from me my appreciation of his father’s book. He too is a great cook and is famous in Pune as the host of food festivals held in Pune’s top hotels.
For many years, during my late wife’s illness, I was the cook at home cooking daily meals. She would inevitably appreciate the output and thank me profusely and I used to bask in that glow. I cooked for my late father too to satisfy his craving for our traditional food, but since he could not be satisfied, I ceased to, to bring some peace at home.
I can therefore say that yes, a man can cook daily meals, but I suspect, only when it is appreciated. Women on the other hand, have to irrespective of receiving appreciation or not, as my late mother did for decades till she was freed of that silly occupation.
I agree, in the old days women had to cook whether they were appreciated or not. When Andy was young money was tight, so the kids didn’t always like the meals. But they were taught, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.” So they would sweetly say, “Mother, the milk was delicious tonight.”
Cheerful Monk recently posted..A Good Test
When I was young and we enquired as to what my mother was making the reply was always the same – Purple Poison. It never was though.
blackwatertown recently posted..The universal rules for guaranteed good cooking
My late MIL when asked ‘What is or dinner?’ replied: “Three jumps at the cupboard door!”
Grannymar recently posted..Can men cook daily meals?
My mother used to respond to the same question with Vadai Payasam, meaning a big traditional feast. These two dishes were made on special occasions.
Yes, proof of the pudding is in eating it.
I think that across all civlisations, this will hold true.
I think your addition of ‘voluntarily’ pretty much nails it. Though I do know men who do cook (voluntarily). Cooking a ‘silly’ occupation? No, Ramana, I love cooking. Odd though how many more male chefs than female in professional cooking.
Two little tales coming from opposite ends of the spectrum:
After the Angel’s paternal grandmother had died my father-in-law went to cookery classes. He discovered a real aptitude and enjoyed cooking, for himself and any guests, immensely. Then he remarried and was banned from the kitchen forever. He was not allowed a foot into his new wife’s “domain”. What a shame to take a simple pleasure from an ageing man.
There is one man I know who can NOT cook, never has. I dare say, once my mother is dead, he will live on radishes and other things that don’t need to see a pan. Poor man has just been given a taster of a time in the future: My mother had a somewhat unfortunate encounter a couple of weeks ago which renders her unable to go shopping, never mind stand at the cooker. Recovery will take some time. The current cooking scenario as she describes it to me is hilarious – making him cook by remote control from the sofa. What is not quite so hilarious that by this turn of events she is actually preparing him for a time to come. Let’s leave it there before I burst into tears at the thought of either of their demise.
U
Ursula recently posted..Obstretics
Both of us have many stories to tell about people in our lives. I like revisiting those memories. Perhaps you should give it a shot too.
Some men do not want to cook, just as some women will not cook either. The only trouble is that we all need to eat in order to survive and at some stage will need to prepare a meal for ourselves and perhaps for others too. Like driving, the younger we learn, the easier it is to master!
Grannymar recently posted..Can men cook daily meals?
Unless they had been brainwashed into believing that the man’s place was not the kitchen, I really do not see any reason why a man should not want to cook! He could of course be scared to!
i always loved the baking rather than the cooking.
it wasn’t the cooking that I minded . . . rather the ‘deciding what to have’ that drove me up the wall! bob was appreciative always nevertheless.
now that it’s just me … i do very little of either. i don’t bake because i would eat it and i don’t need those goodies! and cooking and prep is hard on my back. i cannot stand long… nor do i want to. so i’m a happy grazer as it were. and an even happier eater~outer!
and i say… thank heaven for the microwave! don’t cringe padmini!! LOL
although I do love reading cookbooks and watching cooking shows…
go figure!!! LOL. a paradox to the end.
tammyj recently posted..and you?
In retrospect, I wish that I had covered that aspect of cooking, the decision making process that precedes the activity. That can be troublesome.
I love the microwave and hustle up a mean lasagna in it. Try it, you get a softer version but very edible.
We do most of our cooking with the microwave. I had our gas stove shut off, but we do have one electric burner if we want to boil something. icrowaves are safer for us absent-minded types. They shut themselves off.
Cheerful Monk recently posted..A River Runs Through It
i KNEW i liked YOU!!! LOLOL
tammyj recently posted..cowboy
I too am increasingly using the microwave even for main dishes to keep the finishing touches to the stove.
Hmm. My keyborad didn’t think I typed the “m” hard enough.
Cheerful Monk recently posted..A River Runs Through It
But I can’t blame it for my misspelling. 😀
Cheerful Monk recently posted..A River Runs Through It
I have to say that I absolutely have noticed that when I am in a good mood, my food turns out better. I think it is to the man’s advantage to show appreciation for food cooked, because a happy wife means better tasting food. 🙂
Delirious recently posted..Friday Loose Bloggers Consortium: Can Men Cook Daily Meals?
And vice versa!
A happy wife? That is an Oxymoron!! Remember, they are married to us, how can they possibly be happy?
Good question that. I will have to ask your one and only.
Out of compulsion a man will start this kind, with appreciation he improves
Then enjoys appreciations than the taste. Ofcourse all depends on your days task
I enjoy cooking and do most of the cooking in our home. I have never read a cookery book in my life and have learned by ‘trial and (very little) error’. In many cases it was, throw it in the pan, add a bit of this and that, and see how it turns out.
Big John recently posted..“Hands up ! HRH”.
Somehow I knew that you would be a good cook. Some kindred instinct I guess, A bit of this and a bit of that is how truly great cooks produce great dishes. Expect me to come knocking one of these days.
I love to cook. And equally as much I love to get out of it when I am busy, tired or just plain not in the mood. Like everything in my life, I am the happiest when being the most creative. The day-to-day…not so much. I do have the wonderful privilege of having a husband who does all of the cleanup. If I cook, he cleans the kitchen. And a damn good job of it, too.
Talk to me…I’m your Mother recently posted..My Dream, Your Dream
Not cooking when not in the mood actually boosts up the creative urge to replicate what one gets as an alternative! A husband and wife as a team in the kitchen can come up with some remarkable output. Used to happen to me too.