Correct Frame of Mind When Cooking
 

One time, my chum, who is taking up culinary arts, agreed to teach me how to cook some of his favorite meals. He gave me a list of meals, but, I did not know most of them. According to him, most of those meals are Russian foods that their professor told them. Since, I'm not familiar with those foods, he selected the recipe that he would lecture me.

Before cooking the so-called Best Siberian Pelmeni from Magic Mold, we arranged all the materials that we would need in his large kitchen. Then, we went to the marketplace to get the ingredients that we need and went back home to start cooking. While preparing the delicious meal, he was teaching some techniques on how that recipe is being cooked. According to him, I should be in a better mood because sooner or later my mood will be reflected back to the taste of my finished product. At first, I was tittering because I supposed he was joking. But it turned out to be right because when I cooked the recipe few weeks ago with a bad mood, the food was so awful and its taste was ridiculous. Thus, from that time on, I assured myself that I should be in the right mood whenever I cook something.

http://travelrussia.blogspot.com/200...n-cooking.html

I have to cook in a clean kitchen. If there are dishes/glasses rinsed and sitting on the counter next to the sink, the dishwasher must be unloaded and loaded with the dirties on the counter before I can begin cooking. I really do not understand this compulsion to begin with a clean kitchen that I intend to dirty up with my preparations...

I'm also like this about leaving the house for a trip. The house must be clean before we leave so we return to a clean home with nothing to do but unpack and do laundry.

I'm usually not in any particularly happy mood when I cook, though I will turn on the Disco or Classic Rock music and dance around the kitchen as I cook, sometimes dancing with Hubby as he passes through for a beer. I wonder if the distracted dancing is why oft'times my smoke detector announces dinner?

Shortly after I was married, my grandmother asked me if I liked to cook. I told her: "No Grandma, but I like home-cooked food, so I have to."
That just about sums up my cooking.
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I've got knife sets for people who like to cook, and for people who have to.

For me, the correct frame of mind when cooking is HUNGRY.

WRONG! It's too late then:thepain: !

I agree, if I'm hungry before I start, dinner could wind up being a bowl of cereal. Hungry (for me and hubby) will not wait for anything to 'cook'.

I definitely cook better when I'm hungry, I get more into it, more creative... self control is a must though.

I don't cook when I am in a bad mood. If it is bad enough, it won't be worth the after effect of having to clean.

I love to cook when I'm feeling creative, nurturing, Earth-Mother-ish, boutiful and calm. That is why most nights it's Lean Cuisine.

I enjoy cooking when I have plenty of time. Time is a rare commodity as of late. Quick meals don't work out for me.

Cooking while I'm hungry works for me too. But NEVER shop for groceries when you're hungry. Or stoned.

STARVING is the wrong frame of mind to cook. Hungry, the beginning stages, especially combined with a craving, is perfect.

Like, I was craving pizza las night, and I ended up making the best pizza I'd ever cooked.
(Homemade crust, sauce, crushed red pepper, little more sauce, mexican blend cheese (monterey jack, cheddar, and two cool mexican kinds), mix the cheese in with the sauce, then a light topping with a blend of mozzerella, mexican blend, and parmesan, then a sprinkling of crushed red pepper, italian seasoning, and a tiiny bit of rosemary. p-e-r-f-e-c-t.)



Oh, and I shop best hungry... and with someone else's money.

Hunger is the best seasoning...

You have your point there. :)

If I cook when I'm more than a little bit hungry, I usually end up very uninterested in what I make. It's not that it doesn't taste good - my critics generally give solid reviews - I just feel like my food mindset/palate shuts off. This is especially the case when I'm cooking just for myself.

Also agree that attitude can affect the outcome. I do fine under pressure - done some of my best stuff with 15 hungry/wine-happy folks growling in the dining room - but anxiety totally kills the taste. I have a horrible time cooking for girls I really like during the courtship period ... I still manage to get laid :) but then I have to prove that I really do have good moves in the kitchen.

You can get things like monterey jack cheese in asia?

Costco.

The worst possible frame of mind to cook in is high. Although you are feeling too good to notice, you are screwing up in ways which will contribute to folklore before you realize it. Better let everybody else get drunk or buzzed while you attend to the cooking. Once I dropped a whole pan of sauteed mushrooms costing more than $10 on the floor while moving it off the stove. And my most amazing performance was to prepare quiche for the first time at a birthday dinner party for a visiting friend, discovering that although it had been in the oven for more than an hour it was not rising because I had left out the eggs :redface:

Oh without a doubt! No concentration whatsoever. Not fun.

What was the topic?:joint:

How do you think new dishes get discovered? :lol:
Of course the tasting, for a final decision on how it tastes, should be done straight. Then if it's good, the trying to replicate it so you can write the recipe down, should be straight, also.

But what fun is that?

Cooking. Right up my alley - not by choice, but by selective process. Correct frame of mind? Gotta laugh at this. For me, there never has been a correct frame of mind when I begin the tedious task of self-imposed culinary arts. Cooking fell into my lap; I should say "crash landed" when my youngest daughter became old enough to stay "solo" at the house and know enough to keep the doors shut and locked.

It was a learning experience from the "get-go." I never figured Hamburger Helper to be such an excruciatingly painful experience the first time out. I learned the finished product is not supposed to "pour" onto a plate. We ordered from Little Caesars.

The years went by and the visits to the family Doctor became less frequent. I learned how to thaw poultry, how to store foods correctly and how to make the best tasting Rump Roast that you can slice with a spoon.

Correct frame of mind? I suppose mine would be - Damn! I can really do it.

I will be stealing this phrase, if you don't mind. It sums up my relationship with cooking beautifully.

Depends, but when creative cooking I imagine it is much like creating jazz or making love.

Well, Hi, Madman. Could you please give us the recipe for the rump roast? I'm a so-so cook who is very keen on learning.

I liked what you said about just getting down to it and not waiting for the Muse. :lol: quite right!

I would like the rump roast recipe, too, if possible!:)

Steal away. No copyright of quips from me. My sarcasm knows no bounds - I just keep them in check. Enjoy! :)

Madman's Roast Recipe...

1) Roast (Rump or Chuck)
2) Size doesn't matter (I usually buy a 4 pounder or more)
3) One box of Lipton Onion Soup (or whatever dried soup you want to use)
4) Thaw (If it isn't already)
5) Preheat oven to 275
6) Use a broiler pot
7) Pour 1 to 2 cups of water in pot
8) Place Roast in pot
9) Pour water over top of Roast (use water from pot)
10) Pour Lipton Onion Soup over roast (not in water - it will end up in the water on its own)
11) Place lid over Roast and cook for approx. 4-5 hours (until you can cut it with a spoon)

After a few hours (3-4) you can put baby carrots or potatoes and let them cook with the Roast.

If you want a real good "man enticing" smell coming from your oven. Put a half teaspoon of minced garlic in the water before you place the Roast in the oven. It won't overseason the Roast al all. It just makes it smell "Great" when cooking.

Other foods. I usually alternate between Corn on the Cob, Mashed Potatoes, Instand Stuffing, Fresh Brocolli, Cauliflower, sometime I'll make a cheese sauce with the Brocolli or Cauliflower. It's whatever you decide.

Anyway, good luck! It really does taste good.

If you would, let me know how it worked out.

Thanks. :)

My :2cents:. Not to knock madmans roast. I live alone and refuse to use my oven and heat up the house in summer while the ac is laboring. I use the crockpot or pressure cooker. If not tender then, forget it.
Any recipe will work in either one, with a little tune-up.
Cold beer is always my guide while cooking. :smack:
I made a broccoli casserole other day, which was great. When I do again I'll try to write it down. The recipes I found on web were all for a 9 by 13 pan which won't fit in my toaster oven. So I swapped things around for a 8 by 8 pan.

I have a really big commercial crock pot, I'll try it in that.

Crockpot will work fine. The "honest-to-goodness" secret is to cook it at a lower temperature (275) for a long time. If you cook it at too high a temperature then it will dry out so be sure to check it about every hour if you cook it in an oven.