What is the first thing you learned to cook

[Anonymous]

Lamen from a pack. My Japanese father showed me how to drain the noodle cooking water because the preserving oils contain potentially carcinogenic compounds, and to add the flavor powder and fresh water afterward. He thought if I was going to eat junk, might as well not poison myself too much.

And then I tried replicate his curry recipes, his ginger-soy sauce chicken, and later branched out on my own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A simple Bolognese with jarred sauce.

Why?

If you’re ok with jarred, fine/no judgment. It’s not a learning-to-cook experience, but it could be learning to feed yourself (a worthy goal).
If you want Bolognese, do it right (it’s not tomato-heavy and you presumably don’t want jarred meat, so what’s the jar doing in there?)
If you want a simple/easy-to-make pasta sauce with meat, try Amatriciana (tomato/pancetta/onion/red wine) or Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli or James Beard’s Pleasant Pasta (peas, cheese, proscuitto). Veggie alternatives — arrabbiata or Cacio e Pepe

Jfc

[Anonymous]

My kids started with Eggs. Quesadillas. Pasta. Chicken. Chopping and slicing veggies. And using the toaster oven for things like chicken nuggets. Being stuck at home this year has forced a lot of independence and it's been great for them. If it's their lunch time but I'm in a meeting they have no problem fending for themselves.

[Anonymous]

I cooked eggs on the stove for my elderly uncle. I felt so grown-up doing it, and he was a widower who would visit frequently and loved being waited on. Plus he wasn't picky. I don't remember if I did them over easy, hard, what. I just loved serving him that with toast and he was happy. I miss him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was raised in India, 50 yrs ago. The first thing I learned to cook was how to use the electric toaster to make toasts.
Next I was taught how to light a matchstick safely and turn on the gas stove top which looked like the stove below.
On the gas stove top, I learned to boil milk, boil eggs, boil potatoes and make tea.
Next I learned how to make cake from scratch. We used to bake it in a table top plug in cake oven like below.

After that, I learned how to make scrambled eggs, omlettes, stuffed sandwiches etc. My mom taught me how to make lemonade, lassi etc. Anything to do with lifting a heavy pot, using a pressure cooker to make rice or daal or any sort of frying...probably in my late teens. Though I do remember making chicken curry once when my dad forced me to cook when I was 8. I was so mad at him. Mom had gone for a day somewhere. Such a clueless man. Of course I had no clue and whatever I made was inedible. My elder brothers used to cook quite well and thanks to them I could cruise by for a long time.

This is a great backstory! It's fantastic that your brothers could cook well too. Well done mom! So what happened with the curry? Did you use spices your mom had already prepped? Did your dad try to eat it?

[Anonymous]

I would start with things the my want to eat to keep them interested. My first thing as a kid was pancakes because Wanted to eat them but no one would make them for me.

[Anonymous]

Scrambled eggs
Mac & cheese
Ravioli
French toast
Steak Ummms
Baked chicken with microwaved frozen vegetables

[Anonymous]

I think I started with pancakes and french toast in grade 3. Mostly breakfast foods to start as my Mom was not a morning person.

[Anonymous]

First thing I made on the stove was a grilled cheese.

I can't remember the oven. I want to say it was my Mom's sugar cookies, but it seems more likely that I used it before that to cook a tube of Pillsbury biscuits or a box of brownies.

[Anonymous]

Not really cooking I guess but I was opening cans of soup for dinner for myself when I was about 2.5 or 3. My mom worked nights. Around age 4 I started cooking proper dinners- grilled chicken, steamed veggies, roasted potatoes etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not really cooking I guess but I was opening cans of soup for dinner for myself when I was about 2.5 or 3. My mom worked nights. Around age 4 I started cooking proper dinners- grilled chicken, steamed veggies, roasted potatoes etc.

I'm sorry your mom wasn't around to fix you dinner in the evenings, but it's pretty implausible to me that you were opening cans of soup by yourself at 2.5 years old. No child of that age has the fine motor skills or strength in their hands to do that, either with a manual or electric can opener. At 5 years old, possibly.

[Anonymous]

toast after school as I was home alone. Then Grill cheese at 12. Spaghetti at 18.

[Anonymous]

Pretty much everything by the time I was 12 I pretty much made everything. I was a latch key kid at 9 and I started with microwave meals and moved from there. My spouse started with grilled cheese and tomato soup at 6. My own 5 year old helps with small tasks now with making everything from dinner to desert. Since your kids are teens I would tell them to decide what to make and look for a recipe either in cookbooks or online. They can figure it out. I actually had no guidance other than a primer on using a gas stove.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not really cooking I guess but I was opening cans of soup for dinner for myself when I was about 2.5 or 3. My mom worked nights. Around age 4 I started cooking proper dinners- grilled chicken, steamed veggies, roasted potatoes etc.

I'm sorry your mom wasn't around to fix you dinner in the evenings, but it's pretty implausible to me that you were opening cans of soup by yourself at 2.5 years old. No child of that age has the fine motor skills or strength in their hands to do that, either with a manual or electric can opener. At 5 years old, possibly.

+1. PP was not grilling chicken at age 4. But I’m sure she mentions this to people a lot.

[Anonymous]

Tuna melts and jiffy muffins.
Makes me want to have my kids make these during spring break. The products are impossible to mess up so it’s easy oven practiceZ