Pork and chicken adobo, steamed white rice, scrambled eggs with roasted red and yellow peppers. The eggs were the only ones I cooked. The roasted peppers came from a bottle. The adobo and rice came from the downstairs canteen.
I haven’t been doing well on my new year’s resolution to cook more. I’ve really tried cooking over the past years, but cooking just doesn’t like me. Argh. That and my cramped kitchen really isn’t conducive to creative thinking and loving the process.
Thank goodness for store-bought help. Thank goodness for the condo eatery. I know I can always turn to these two when I’m hungry and not in any mood to cook.
I’m certain my husband wants me to learn how to cook [better]. His Mom is an awesome cook who can whip up anything from scratch. I can’t function without a cookbook. AND I still mess up! While he has never pressured me to cook for him, I know it’s still different if I prepare something enjoyably edible.
To get out of this cooking rut, I know I have to practice. Just do it! But I can’t even find the motivation to practice. This is really one of those things I try to be positive about, but many failed attempts in the past just discourage me.
I really try to love cooking you know? Or maybe I’m just trying too hard to like it. I just hate to think that the only cooking my husband will get from me are hot dogs, eggs, and the simplest sauteed dishes. 
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.
jo chua
April 4, 2008 at 8:58 pm (16 years ago)Hi Toni, got your blog from jojo, I’ve been a lurker for a past year or so….
Hmm…my suggestion…get a slow cooker? You can leave stuff to cook…stews, nilagang baka, pot roast….and comes out really tender. I use mine to cook those, and just this Wednesday, I made cheese fondue using the slow cooker.
Candice
April 4, 2008 at 9:34 pm (16 years ago)I’ve said that so many times too, to cook better and to cook more. I even collect food magazines, watch cooking shows, and buy cookbooks. But it just seems so tedious! I’m a quick-and-easy girl, so I’m planning to raise a little herb garden instead and hope that it will make my quick dishes more savory.
(Btw, that slow cooker idea seems something worthwhile to look into. Sounds like a good compromise for those with no ovens, which my sis-in-law swears by for easy meals naman).
Jeanny
April 4, 2008 at 10:54 pm (16 years ago)Hi Toni. How are you?
Ang masasabi ko lang great tasting dishes comes from sauteing. Kaya don’t worry sis.
Happy weekend
Lissa
April 5, 2008 at 1:11 am (16 years ago)Konting tyaga lang yan Toni. I didn’t really cook until nagsarili na kami ni Ed. It’s true that practice makes perfect. I think I can match my mom’s cooking now.
nina
April 5, 2008 at 4:24 am (16 years ago)Unlike baking where precise measurement for ingredients is required, cooking is “tanya-tanya.” Cookbooks do provide some measurements but it’s only a guide and should be adjusted according to your taste. Try to learn from experts like your mom-in-law and friends. The best tips comes from family and friends and not from the book. Start from the basics and when you learn the basics, you will realize that every recipe is just composed of those basic steps. For me, the best way to learn is by watching how a certain recipe is cooked not from TV but from whoever you are taking the recipe from. I also stuggled during the first few months of cooking. The first few tries wouldn’t really be perfect so don’t despair but this first few tries would be your bench-mark for achieving your desired flavor and taste. If your first try is bland then add a little bit of salt next time.
Happy cooking and happy weekend!
Kay
April 5, 2008 at 4:54 am (16 years ago)Don’t worry Toni. I used to not know how to boil water. It was that bad. Now I’m fairly okay in the kitchen and even hit the goldmine from time to time. It takes a lot of practice and the numbers to all the delivery places at first (its for when you mess up the food.)
This is one of those areas where practice really makes perfect.
rowie
April 5, 2008 at 1:32 pm (16 years ago)Hey Tones! What is it about cooking that you find unmotivating?
If it’s the pagod …. When Mike and I don’t have any energy to cook, we just make steaks. Easiest thing in the world, yet you feel like you’re eating like a king. After marinating (we have the 9-minute marinator, so it makes marinating really quick-and-easy), it just takes around 5 minutes. We just marinate the steaks with whatever we feel like that evening: sometimes we just throw in some mustard and Worcestershire sauce, other times it’s store-bought teriyaki sauce (from the Japanese aisle), other times just garlic salt and pepper (and we serve the steaks with Worcestorshire sauce on the side for additional flavor). With half a can of corn cooked in butter, the whole dinner is cooked in 10 minutes. Super-yummy, and if you rotate different marinades, you get a completely different dish each time.
The only secret is to buy good quality steaks. Monterey is okay; Garcia’s is better. And if you find a grocery/butcher near you that has good steaks, that’s a goldmine. It may seem more expensive to buy good-quality meat compared to the more affordable meat, but it’s still cheaper than eating out, and when you’re enjoying your dinner it’s absolutely worth it.
rowie
April 5, 2008 at 1:34 pm (16 years ago)PS. I have another friend who decided, shortly after she got married, to take a cooking class, and it seems to have really helped her develop a love for cooking.
lady cess
April 5, 2008 at 8:30 pm (16 years ago)hinanap ko to para sa iyo
LLOYD JONES:
Those who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try nothing and succeed.
Pinky
April 6, 2008 at 5:22 am (16 years ago)Don’t lose heart, Toni. I never really considered myself a good cook yet somehow I’ve managed to whip up food that’s “enjoyably edible” (as you said) with constant practice. Heck, after 10+ years of marriage, I still use a cookbook most of the time! I definitely agree – practice is key.
Good luck!
J.
April 8, 2008 at 2:54 am (16 years ago)I didn’t particularly like cooking when I was growing up. These days, it’s rare when a couple of days go by and I haven’t baked or cooked anything. It will happen for you too, and all I can say at this point is…keep your love for food alive. The best cooks are the best eaters! Because they’re familiar with how flavors come together, they’re able to recognize what ingredients work best in the long run.
Plan to try something new every weekend. Breakfast food is a great way to ease into cooking. Start with pancakes, omellettes, corned beef hash, all that good stuff. Everything grows from patience – here’s hoping yours will make way for a lifelong love affair with cooking.
Hazel Chua
April 8, 2008 at 9:20 am (16 years ago)Hello there… I once added you to my blogroll, but that blog is now “defunct”.
Anyway, don’t be too hard on yourself, you’ll learn in time… You may want to visit my blog for some recipes which I post from time to time, they’re easy ones so you don’t have to worry about messing up too much
Blog URL is http://hazelsheryllchua.blogspot.com.
Goodluck!
tin
April 8, 2008 at 9:50 am (16 years ago)maybe you’re just too busy these days.. it takes a ‘certain mood’ din to be able to enjoy your stay in the kitchen.
it’ll come back to you, you’ll see..
Lisa
April 12, 2008 at 8:51 pm (16 years ago)Good luck! I’ve given up on cooking, I think. Thankfully, the husband loves it. He just made salpicao. *Pats belly*