Help! I've lost my cooking mojo and I want it back!

[MaryIsobel]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss @Shel_B When my mother died at 75, my father had never cooked anything more than pork and beans or canned stew or meatballs (yuk!) He was spry and fit but was just eating crap. So one day, I sat down with him and made a list of things that he liked to eat but were simple to cook. We came up with bacon and eggs, shrimp salad, frozen chicken cordon bleu with a baked potato, things like that. While he had no cooking mojo to lose, he started to cook simple things and expanded from there. He would call me every day to tell me what he was having for dinner and I loved to hear it.  So what I'm saying, is perhaps drop your standards for a while and concentrate on things that you like that don't take a lot of effort. When my husband was in the hospital for two weeks, I would order takeout (Chinese, Indian, pizza etc) and suppliment with fresh veg or salad. One takeout order would last me two or three days that way and involved very little effort on my part.

[Katie Meadow]

59 minutes ago, Shel_B said:

 

 

 I've been going through the same thing. After Sweetie died, my enthusiasm for most everything flagged, and my enthusiasm for cooking has dropped precipitously.  Sweetie was a motivator for me. We'd have guests for dinner regularly, I'd cook for her, she'd challenge me (There's a can of beans and angel hair pasta in the cupboard, make us some dinner).  I've not cooked for anyone in a long time ... my social network has been shattered.  I'm tying to get more involved  here at my apartment, but it is a Sisyphean task. We've a Thanksgiving pot luck coming up and I have all the needed ingredients for my contribution, but my enthusiasm is low.

Belated condolences. You used to mention her all the time. Then you stopped posting for a long while, and when you came back you did not mention Sweetie any more. So I wondered. So sorry to have this confirmed. Every time I notice a new post on the Hospital Food topic my heart skips a beat . But I remind myself that if a patient has enough energy to whine about the hospital food that can be a good sign.

[Katie Meadow]

And Ill just add, for no good reason at all, that when I was in the hospital for five or six days last February the food was the absolutely worst I have ever encountered, and I had no desire to post anything to anyone from that sick bed. 

[Shel_B]

I've a confession to make: Sometimes I like bad food.  For example, I'll sometimes get a Whopper or Double Cheeseburger at Burger King. The food is not good, but I like it. It's more of a textural thing than a tastes great thing. Gotta have a coupon, though.

 

Sometimes I'll make "bad" food, like my Not-World-Famous-Potato-Vegetable-Smush which I find almost swoon-worthy.  Yukon Gold potatoes cooked in broth of some kind, add an assortment of frozen and/or fresh veggies, get everything softish, mash together with seasoning, EVOO, and grated Reggiano or Pecorino, and I'm happy. No visual appeal to speak of, but flavorful and a great mushy-smushy texture, plus what could be wrong with a bowl of veggies.

[TdeV]

That, @Shel_B, is what my mother called Bubble and Squeak!

[Smithy]

So... maybe this discussion is a way to get me started back. Maybe it's a one-off, but I'm enjoying it tonight. click

[Shel_B]

24 minutes ago, Smithy said:

So... maybe this discussion is a way to get me started back. Maybe it's a one-off, but I'm enjoying it tonight. click

 

 

You Go, Girl!

Edited 20 hours ago by Shel_B (log)

[Maison Rustique]

14 hours ago, Shel_B said:

I've a confession to make: Sometimes I like bad food.  For example, I'll sometimes get a Whopper or Double Cheeseburger at Burger King. The food is not good, but I like it. It's more of a textural thing than a tastes great thing. Gotta have a coupon, though.

 

Sometimes I'll make "bad" food, like my Not-World-Famous-Potato-Vegetable-Smush which I find almost swoon-worthy.  Yukon Gold potatoes cooked in broth of some kind, add an assortment of frozen and/or fresh veggies, get everything softish, mash together with seasoning, EVOO, and grated Reggiano or Pecorino, and I'm happy. No visual appeal to speak of, but flavorful and a great mushy-smushy texture, plus what could be wrong with a bowl of veggies.

 

I have started going to Olive Garden every month or so. Not my favorite place but if I go around 4 pm, it is quiet. I sit at the bar, order a glass of wine and then order a meal with soup and one of their $6 entrees to take home and bake--all to go. Then I have at least 5 or 6 meals (I pop the soup and extra entree into the freezer) that are easy and hot  and I don't have to cook. For $30 or thereabouts, I've got lots of food and got to sit somewhere besides my house with a glass of wine.

[liuzhou]

15 hours ago, Shel_B said:

 

Sometimes I'll make "bad" food, like my Not-World-Famous-Potato-Vegetable-Smush which I find almost swoon-worthy.  Yukon Gold potatoes cooked in broth of some kind, add an assortment of frozen and/or fresh veggies, get everything softish, mash together with seasoning, EVOO, and grated Reggiano or Pecorino, and I'm happy. No visual appeal to speak of, but flavorful and a great mushy-smushy texture, plus what could be wrong with a bowl of veggies.

 

Have you considered aloo bhorta?

 

 

15 hours ago, TdeV said:

That, @Shel_B, is what my mother called Bubble and Squeak!

 

 

That's what I call it and I'm definitely not your mother!

[Shel_B]

4 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

I have started going to Olive Garden every month or so. Not my favorite place but if I go around 4 pm, it is quiet. I sit at the bar, order a glass of wine and then order a meal with soup and one of their $6 entrees to take home and bake--all to go. Then I have at least 5 or 6 meals (I pop the soup and extra entree into the freezer) that are easy and hot  and I don't have to cook. For $30 or thereabouts, I've got lots of food and got to sit somewhere besides my house with a glass of wine.

 

I used to do that, go out for a meal by myself at a place that was comfortable. Since Sweetie passed, I've not done that once, although I have thought about it. I'm unsure about why the change has taken place. I've only gone out to eat with friends.  I have, however, gone to a couple of drive-thrus as there's a good Mexican place that opened a take-out place that's near me, and there's the coupon-centric Burger King, but for the most part I cook and eat at home.

 

There used to be an Olive Garden near me, and I went there a couple-three times before it closed. I never quite understood the bad rap that the place got.  Sure, it wasn't a high end place, but I liked it, and I'll say this, it was a comfortable place to eat. And when dining alone, that comfortable feeling is important.

 

Here's to Olive Garden (hoisting a glass of mediocre Chardonnay) 

 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by Shel_B (log)

[Shel_B]

20 hours ago, MaryIsobel said:

So what I'm saying, is perhaps drop your standards for a while and concentrate on things that you like that don't take a lot of effort. 

Thanks for your suggestion. I have vague standards, and can enjoy all quality-levels of food. There has always been ramen and frozen veggies in my home, with the veggies in the freezer next to the beef cheeks. Your point is well taken.

[Shel_B]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Have you considered aloo bhorta?

 

I often make something like that. Onions, potatoes, chilies, veggies ... now I can give it a proper name and serve it to guests <LOL>. Thanks for the information and the link.