"Helping" others to cook

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Claire

Master Chef
Joined
Sep 4, 2004
Messages
7,967
Location
Galena, IL
Please remind me, as I am reminding you, that sometimes it is harder to help than to do it yourself. My husband used to cook about 1/3 of the time. Then I quit working, and did all of the household stuff myself. He is now finishing up a cassoulet, and he just barely got back into pasta making. Bite my tongue and wash the dishes. For example, the recipe called for a gallon of stock ... AFTER the beans were already cooked. It would have been bean soup (yes, I made the gallon of stock). I bit my tongue over and over, and waited until he asked me ("This seems like too much liquid?" "yup, it is." "A tablespoon of fresh thyme just means a pinch of dried, right?" "Well, actually we like thyme, and it isn't that strong, so you can go for more." "Salt to taste" ... you might need more, because you are using stock that I made, and I don't salt it much compared to the commercial. So taste and decide. I WANT my husband to cook more often. And when you teach your children, you need to do the same. Back Off. The biggest lesson in the kitchen.
 
EXCELLENT advice Claire! Incredibly hard to follow sometimes though. I tend to give my kids the recipe and walk away. (But not too far!) They do very well most of the time. I just have to remind them to clean as they go.
 
actualy yeah, I`m the same with my DW, she`s never made a Bad meal, but I MUST walk away and leave her alone, else there would be arguments (I don`t like args), I figure that since her food turns out OK, I don`t have to watch her to "make sure", although a Hidden cam in there..... Hmmm. :)
 
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