General Chat

I can tell when Mr Owl has been in my kitchen cooking as at the moment on my work top is Cumin Seeds, Ground Cumin, Star Anise, Garam Masala, Oregano, Bay Leaves Chervil, Ground Coriander, Hot Chilli Powder, Cinnamon Sticks, Fennel Seeds, Cardamom Pods, Paprika, Whole Cloves, Coriander Seeds, Turmeric Powder, Tandoori Masala, Mustard Seeds and Fresh Coriander. Does anyone else’s partner feel the need to use almost every herb and spice in the kitchen?

Your kitchen? Your worktop? Do you not live in the same place?

I leave my partner to it when he cooks a meal for us in our kitchen but no, he wouldn't use all those spices and herbs at the same time.

Whatever was 'Mr Owl' cooking? :-S

Sounds good did it taste good?
My OH is an awful cook and at best adds salt to his cooking!

He was making the base sauce for curries. He makes it in bulk and freezes it so he can make a whole host of curries later. He also made chilli spaghetti bolognese for dinner.

and you're complaining because...... ? :-0

Just the amount of mess he leaves and his ability to use every pot in the kitchen. Minor I know compared to everything this past 20 months.

I'd be more than happy to put away the spices and herbs and clean down the kitchen if other half would cook a meal.

After 52 years in the same house I think he would still need a signpost to find the kitchen :-(

He doesn't like spices though so even if he were to cook I doubt there would be any spices involved!

Kath. x

My dad cooked and sewed - trouser hems, buttons. He also made a pegged rug, he'd turn his hand to most things.
Likewise my partner of 30+ years, he now wants to use the sewing machine - I wonder what he's planning to make? ;-)

I'm afraid all these men who 'can't' actually can if allowed to.
I think an awful lot of women just don't want to let go of 'their domain' ;-)

Kathleen :-D

Apparantly being able to cook means boiling or frying an egg, or sticking a burger or fish fingers under the grill. :-(

My Dad could cook, but rarely did, apart from a cooked breakfast occasionally on a Sunday. It always tasted 'better' when Dad cooked it! He bought a knitting machine and was a dab hand with that, also liked to make a 'Readicut' rug during the winter

Oh I would love to let go of 'the domain' that is the kitchen but no one else wants it. lol.

OH will do beans on toast or sandwiches but anything else is a no no. He would sooner just go to the chip shop. shouldn't moan too much as he does the washing up.

None of us really enjoy cooking so nothing fancy here.

Island my dad didn't sew although I think he could do the basics, he could do almost anything else .I remember him mending shoes, sweeping chimneys, wall papering and painting and car repairs. He would cook breakfast sometimes.

My OH will decorate and put up shelves etc. but after 53 years together we seem to
have got things right.
:-D :-D

My OH couldn’t or wouldn’t’ cook. He could manage two meals, a really well cooked fry up and curry using cooked meat, he was not at all interested. But he sewed trouser gems, sewed on buttons, did all the ironing, hoovered the floors shampooed carpets, fixed anything electrical, made all sorts of things or mended things in wood. I can cook, I can’t do a lot of things he could do. I miss him.

Ginnie, I always said to my female friends - 'never entertain a man who can't put a shelf up' ;-) :-D

I think Island it's more the case of whoever is around to do a task does it....so I'm always around to cook and whilst not great I'm certainly better than OH.....I'm usually the one around to cut grass or shovel snow....but he's usually the one to fix/build things because he's better at it than me...mainly because I let him. :-)

That's our way too Caroline - whoever is around and in the mood for it. Obviously there are things that us smaller women are not physically able to do - I'll always have a go first though - so it's a bit of a trade off.

What I do not buy though is men being 'unable to cook, clean up, load the washer etc', these are tasks that anyone can do - I blame their mothers LOL

I think it makes a different living an independent life before 'settling down'

Well my OH mother died just after his third birthday so he learnt fast, problem was his father wasn't any more of a cook than him.

My dad can cook, sew on buttons, iron and hang wallpaper etc. He moved from Ayrshire to London for work so his parents made sure he could manage.

My OH had to learn to cook.

He worked shifts when we were first married and I worked full-time so if he wanted anything to eat he had to sort it himself and if he got in a couple of hours before I did, I came home to some really lovely dinners, things like roasts, meat, potatoes and veggies, shepherd’s pie, fish, creamed potatoes and trimmings - and I was lucky because, like my Dad, my OH enjoyed salads too and he doesn’t half do some really nice ones.

He even remembered that I was not a rice lover (whereas he was and still is).

Doesn't everybody have to learn to cook?
Unless they have staff of course LOL

No, Island, there is a choice. The other choice is never to learn. :-D

Of course, you’d have to rely on someone doing it for you or you’d live on take-aways or be wealthy enough to visit restaurants all the time - and if you choose the last option, you may as well pay for staff. LOL