Fun thread (I hope)--where did y'all learn to cook?

[GMA21]

I started by watching my grandma & then we would cook & bake together.
Also in school I took classes since my mom wouldn't let me cook until I was older.

[Amanda W]

Through cookbooks, the internet, and trial and error. Definitely not my mom.

[Darlene]

I too learned pretty much on my own. I shudder when I think of all the prepackaged food I used to eat and back then that was cooking to me. Nothing against those of you who do use alot of those things but I guess I'm just a food snob now, lol. To think I used to make soup with that suddenly soup stuff where you just add water & it plumps up all these dehydrated vegetables.
Once I just relaxed and read step by step I was amazed at what I could do, cooking didn't have to be intimidating. All I had to do was try and as I got better & better I started to experiment with spices etc. Now I read recipes & I just use them as a guide & personalize it for our families taste. Want to know how to make a friends fried chicken, ask them to show you how. Cooks, like gardeners, love to help someone learn. Here in the Village, don't know something about cooking and feel goofy asking, just ask. We all were there and would love to help.

For those of you who don't cook, you can. It really is easy, you can save money, eat healthier (less sodium etc) and it really is the best knowing you've just fed & made content those sitting around your dinner table.

[cherrie79]

I learned from my mother. She taught me the basics along with her own recipes, then I take it from there. Watching Food Network and learning techniques helped a lot.

[pita1213]

taught myself from books. give me a recipe with decent instructions to follow and i can make just about anything.
there are a few things i don't have the patience for or haven't found a recipe i like such as sugar cookies and pie crusts. but just about anything else i can make. never took home ec. and only helped mom out a little bit. started trying things out in high school and just kept going.

[amecoy75002]

I learned from my mother, who was a home economics major in college - she never taught school - just me. I taught my kiddos (twin boys 21 years old). They always amaze people at college when they cook and enjoy doing it.

[pkellyc]

My mother. She was a good meat and potatoes kind of cook and a wonderful baker. But honestly since I discovered the internet I have tried so many new recipes. Some are very good but some were just flops.
My soon to be son in law jokes "Not another internet recipe!". I think it was the cantaloupe slushy that did him in. Not so good.

My first 4 years of cooking consisted of baked chicken, frozen corn, mashed potatoes, hot dogs, canned beans, chicken chow mien out of a can, and spaghetti and meatballs. That is all my first husband would eat and not much of that. I used to call him a non eater. It took years before I could or would eat corn again. Imagine eating it at every meal. Yuck!

I was just so delighted to learn that my current dh would just about eat anything. Oh, we are a match made in heaven. The variety is endless and there is not a whole lot of food that we don't like. It works out perfectly for us there are an awful lot of recipes out there that we have not tried yet.

[cab54]

My dh is easy about food also, pkellyc.

His mom is not into cooking, was a career gal who opened frozen packages when she got home, so he loved anything I made even if it was so-so, because I made most things from scratch.

I have to say, I'm lazier now, I'll make easier things some days, but he's happy with a grilled cheese and tomato soup

[sdrjeolsen]

My mom is a great cook. She taught me from when I was a pre-teen. I'm so thnakful she let me mess up the kitchen to learn and gain experience.