Lessons Learned By The Everyday Cook That Hates Cooking

Because even when you don’t like doing something, you can still learn from it.

Since graduating from college last June, I quickly discovered that it would be impossible for me to survive by eating out everyday. Even though my boyfriend and I have jobs, eating out and ordering delivery gets DAMN expensive! So, no matter how tempted I am to kick off my shoes and put my feet up after work everyday, I always force myself to take the time to cook dinner.

I’ve always had, and still have, quite an aversion to cooking. In my opinion, it takes too much time, planning, and materials to be enjoyable. But in the near year that I have been out of college, cooking five out of seven days a week has taught me some valuable life lessons — and even reinforced values I’d lost touch with.

1. Taking ownership of your work and your tools.

The way that you treat your workspace and tools shows the amount of pride that you take in your work. For example, my former self would just throw as many dishes as I could into the dishwasher every night, hoping that it would power wash everything away. I cooked on stoves that would smoke every time you’d turn it on, because food was practically baked into the coils.

Now that I take the time to hand wash those tools that should be hand washed, wipe down the stove and sink after cooking every meal, and generally take better care of “my kitchen” — I have found cooking much more enjoyable and fulfilling. Instead of just being something that I have to do to survive, it has become a sense of pride and joy knowing that I can do a good job at it — from start to finish.

2. Patience.

When I was a kid, I used to get really angry when I wasn’t good at something from the beginning. My parents always told me, “You’re not always going to be good at everything!”

There have been many dishes that I thought would be a good idea or looked great in the recipe book, but just didn’t turn out when I tried to make them. I have made more mistakes in the kitchen than probably any other setting in my life. Like everything else, good cooking takes practice and time. No chef started out in the kitchen without trying and failing a few times.

3. Planning ahead.

Probably the biggest challenge I face everyday is figuring out what to cook for dinner. Cooking everyday has encouraged me to get into the habit of preparing for things ahead of time by thinking about what’s on the menu for the week before the week starts — which allows me to get everything together and stress less about what’s on the table when the time comes. Instead of having to make last minute grocery runs after work, or stress about thinking up new recipes on the spot, everything is ready to go. (I like to think that this strategy is getting applied to everything else in life ☺)

4. Creativity.

Even though I work in creative at my job everyday, being creative when it comes to food is challenging and rewarding in a completely different way. I like to think about the ingredients that I have in my pantry and freezer and find a fun, interesting way to use them. It’s fun to take a recipe you already know and jazz it up a bit — maybe ad libbing some of the ingredients to see if it works out. Thinking up new combinations is part of the fun, and helps me stretch my creative muscles in a different way from my work.

It’s interesting to see how my relationship with food preparation has evolved over time — from absolutely despising cooking to not minding it quite as much. Although I still think it takes a lot of time and preparation, I’d venture to admit that its rewards are fulfilling in a variety of ways. As long as I’m hungry, I’ll keep cooking — and hopefully keep getting better at it.