Would you rather cook or do delivery/take-out/eating out? *money and nutrition aside*

if there were no financial/health repercussions i wouldnt do anything

What about not eating at all? http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/rob-rhinehart-no-longer-requires-food

just the air that i breathe

I think I'd probably cook about as much as I do now. My gf and I like cooking together. It gives a chance to be gustatorily specific yet as creative or experimental as we want. Cleaning isn't that much of a pain; most of our cooking is pretty simple. That said, it rocks to live somewhere where the takeout options are good and plentiful and we probably do that about a quarter of the time.

Hell yes I would get takeaways about 99% of the time because
1. cooking is time-consuming and frustrating and I am not very good at it
2. takeaways are far more delicious than anything I could cook

Admittedly 2 is my main reason and is probably largely because of their nutritional non-equivalence and also because of the last part of 1, but I think 1 is enough reason on its own

(sometimes I cook something new as a little adventure if I have a day off and feel indulgent and have eaten enough takeaways and ready meals lately to have forgotten about 1, so that's the other 1% of the time, p. much)

also fuck anyone who tries to make this a moral question or who babbles about how cooking is an essential life skill and people who are less able/willing to slave away in the kitchen are somehow lesser humans for it. fuck them with every one of their fucking stupid cooking implements

source pls
ffs never mind

i don't enjoy washing up at all but it's definitely the least annoying, least stressful part of the ~cooking experience~

relatedly, my bf has begun sending me out to buy ingredients, and this has resulted in a two-paragraph email explaining exactly what potatoes and leeks are because i got them wrong last time

he has also tried to get me to help him actually make a meal twice, the first time lasted literally under a minute before i was sent out of the kitchen in disgrace for fucking up grating cheese, the second time reduced him to hysterical laughter after i tried to peel a potato and i still don't know why :(

I love cooking and cook all the time and see the rest of my life as a supplement to the next time I get a meal
I don't think there's anything moral at steak, it's more like "do you like enjoying life? me too, let's eat"

there's nothing moral at steak but plenty of morel on steak

I hate cooking. I'm so jealous of people on those fat diets that get hot meals delivered to them daily.

lol

the pinnacle of "enjoying life" - like the one aspect of high-flying oligarch-rich lifestyles i genuinely envy - to me is the ability to eat at restaurants all the time. i fucking love eating good, interesting food and it's a super-interesting topic as well

explaining exactly what potatoes and leeks are

do you ever think this is some kind of self-definition based disorder? it's just on the face of things, you seem intelligent enough to identify a potato.

there are about 5 different types of potato-looking things even in my tiny local grocers and twice in a row i guessed wrong

there has not been a third time yet

sympathize with the lex here. I am pretty pathetic when it comes to food preparation.

you seem intelligent enough to identify a potato

lol

A few American grocery stores have started putting little signs w/ names and prices under the produce. If that catches on, it could really revolutionize potato shopping.

there are plenty of things that look like a potato at a grocers: potato, yams, ginger, mr potato heads, samuel beckett, a society lady's clutch

I love cooking and cook all the time and see the rest of my life as a supplement to the next time I get a meal

this is how i feel, love eating out and love cooking. v different experiences. the stuff i cook may not match the standard of what i eat out but i amn't often trying to replicate it, either in standard or style. cooking is satisfying as it's something i find creative/relaxing. cooking for myself or even better, for friends, with a glass of wine or a beer and some music on is probably one of the best feelings. i don't demand everyone must feel this way, obviously.

xpost you forgot the mud-flecked top of patrick stewart's head obscured by a shelf

A few American grocery stores have started putting little signs w/ names and prices under the produce. If that catches on, it could really revolutionize potato shopping.

supermarkets do this!!! although even then if there's more than one type of thing that i have to choose between, and i have only been given rough instructions, i still have a meltdown. but yeah i was at a proper grocers

being around people who cook has just convinced me more that it's entirely about natural flair/instinct/touch and obv ability to enjoy the process, none of which i possess so there we go

i love eating out, but if i'm staying at home i would much rather cook than do take-out/delivery. mostly because the food is better. and hotter, and exactly how i want it. and if i re-heat delivery food then i end up with dishes, which defeats the whole point, right?

tbf if i cd only eat takeaway currently available in the UK i wd probly get sick of it pretty quick

i would just get this every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munchy_box

the munchy box sounds like an epic treat but takeout is v. wearing on the tastebuds imo

If I had time, I'd love to cook way more and eat out more at interesting places. delivery/take-out can get v. monotonous. as much/moreso than boring home cooking even, where at least you can mix up the spice blends each time.

This is also a hugely regional question. Pretty much every big city has better take-away food than I could cook myself but quality drops off enormously once you say get outside of London

good takeout at least in nyc is pretty expensive, i think

on the other hand, stopping by most places to buy food in nyc and grabbing something to cook yourself is also pretty expensive if yr. not subsisting on staples alone.

the question includes eating out! restaurants y'all. they're amazing things.

tbh if i actually did it, a good proportion of my diet would be picking up a salad or sandwich from a local café - really nice, healthy, filling etc

my smug ex was ~shocked~ when I mentioned getting a Chinese takeaway most Friday nights as a treat to myself, like it was amazingly sinful and disgusting to buy a takeaway at all, but once a week was apparently a whole new level of terribleness to him, which he did not shut up about for pretty much ever

and this was before I was fat! which, you know, my fondness for takeaways is a factor in, sure, but only a very small one compared to the rest of my terrible unhealthy lifestyle tbh

"wouldn't your parents be shocked?" (uh no, they get a takeaway approx once a week too)
"but surely you don't know anyone else who does this?" (oh, you mean my friends who all went to McDonald's or got a kebab like pretty much every time I met them, lol students - decided against mentioning that I'd sometimes join them in addition to my Friday takeaway)

on the other hand, stopping by most places to buy food in nyc and grabbing something to cook yourself is also pretty expensive if yr. not subsisting on staples alone.

― s.clover, Tuesday, March 19, 2013 11:28 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

i think half of my food intake in nyc is trader joe's bagels + trader joe's cream cheese + trader joes veggie patties + sriracha squirted all on top

takeout only once a week is pretty virtuous imo

This is also a hugely regional question. Pretty much every big city has better take-away food than I could cook myself but quality drops off enormously once you say get outside of London

london take-away is pretty shit in my experience, but i live in the wrong place for it probably. not sure it's great generally though.

Even the thought of eating out in Montreal is limited to a handful of options, otherwise I'd rather take 20 minutes and do it myself

Also I like wearing aprons

I am confused tho I have several friends who're cooking from Mastering The Art of Chinese Cooking, which is imo some Last Frontier of home cooking-- so many cities' quality of life being defined, for me, by the deliciousness of their Chinese takeaway.

lol chinese takeaway is pretty uniform imo

hopefully they're learning about stuff beyond what you can actually get from chinese takeout

xp I'm talking about the entire restaurant experience of London which includes some of the best Indian and Vietnamese food I've ever eaten in my life and at least two fancy restaurants I'd visit every meal if I could afford it

takeaway is prob the least attractive and certainly least healthy of your non-cooking options. i think i get one...about once every 2-3 months? and only when i'm hungover and NEED a meal like that

it's entirely about natural flair/instinct/touch

Natural ability helps a LOT, but it's much more about learning.

My drawing professor went on a lot about how it's accepted as fact that some people can draw and others cannot, but that is as utterly wrong as saying some people can write and others can't. Unless you have a disability, you can learn to write, and likewise, you can learn to draw and you can learn to cook. A few people will quickly master those skills, a few will struggle but be able to do them at a basic level.

It's possible that you, Lex, have an intellectual/motor coordination disability that affects your ability to cook, but OTOH, you seem to promote your inability, which isn't helpful.

NOT THAT YOU SHOULD COOK! Like you, I HATE the idea of cooking being a virtuous activity, and I want to slap passing space cadet's ex.

dayo that is an interesting statement that I don't understand. Really? I feel that Chinese restaurants offer the highest highs and grossest grosses

what kind of chinese takeout are you getting?? I will judge you

Unless you have a disability, you can learn to write, and likewise, you can learn to draw and you can learn to cook

Absolutely. So easy to make the mistake that someone who has been practising something for their whole life has a 'natural' talent.

I like to cook when I feel like cooking. This happens maybe once a week. If I had a lot more time and lived closer to a grocery store, I would probably cook more. Takeout is great on nights when cooking/washing up feels about as realistic as climbing a mountain, but I get takeout major fatigue after awhile. I know that nutrition isn't supposed to play into this, but eating night after night of takeout/restaurant meals (like when we're moving and have packed the kitchen or if we're on vacation) makes me feel really unwell. Plus our weeknight meals tend towards the very simple (baked potato, soup and cheese toast) both due to time/energy but also because that's all we feel like eating, and ordering those things via takeout seem silly.

So basically I voted that I would always get takeout, but now I think that I would rather have the time to cook more. OR really, actually, what I would really prefer is a personal chef who will make me a baked potatoes and cheese toast for dinner.

xp When I'm in NYC (and usually staying in Chinatown) I'll divide my low-to-mid price eating-out desires between Nice Green Bow and Mother's DUMPLINGS!

hahahahhahahahahhaa omg what?

I did not intentionally shout the name of that Chinese restaurant

everyone can write, but some people have beautiful handwriting and some people have ugly, indecipherable spider trails. everyone can cook in the sense that even i can make, say, sloppy pasta and dump some pesto on top, but i don't actually believe i'm capable of cooking a meal to the standard of my friends/bf who really love cooking and do it properly, no matter how much i practice.

o i have not been to new green bo but the photos look okay on yelp

i think you must have mother's DUMPLINGS! confused with some other chinatown joint!

Yes I do! Mother's Dumpl1ngs is in Toronto and is excellent. In NYC I got to Vanessa's.

ah

cat came before I started posting on ILX; I stole her name. My name is Kate. Wonder why I didn't post as that.

She's hanging in there. She's creaky and wobbly and just physically frail, but her personality is in full effect and she seems pretty content so we're rolling with it. Thank you for asking!

Yeah my little one did frail for a long time, while seeming perfectly happy to be alive, carried around on a cushion (she learned to load up in the evening to be carried upstairs, then carried downstairs to her favorite window in the a.m.), and eating whatever tasty things she wanted to eat. When the time came, it was really clear. I bawled on and off for weeks, but now I have happy memories and two rescue kitties that I constantly remind they have a lot to live up to. Also, her ashes are in a pretty box that goes everywhere with us. Quincie is our co-pilot!

I'd like to eat clif bars, tuna salad, Special K, and toaster waffles all the time.

I misread that as 'all at the same time' and was sad for you momentarily

I do mix and match. The above is the majority of my breakfast and lunch diet.

Aw, quincie, the cushion!

She led our wedding procession, carried on her cushion!

!! what a dignified lady she must have been. <3

I would rather cook, for the most part. It's cheaper, more satisfying, and I thoroughly enjoy it.

Saying that, there are certain things I can't recreate in a domestic kitchen. Like a proper good balti. And sometimes it's nice not to have to cook or wash-up. So take-away / eating out is far from a complete no-no.

Obviously I'd love to get involved in this thread properly and turn it into a proper Lex-in-the-kitchen-panic-attack-clusterfuck, but you can't always get what you want.

i actually hate eating out a little bit, it actually stresses me out way more because i've worked in restaurants for so long and i'm so so aware all the time of the labour and process. also i'm poor so it bothers me to spend any more than i have to on food because there's way more things i'd love to be spending my money on and forking out in restaurants feels sortof just like i'm giving my wages back somehow. that said i like conveyer belt sushi places and takeaway felafel with a can when i have an assignment due and its pretty much the only thing that keeps me from curling up in bed in the fetal position procrastinating. which is almost exactly what i'm doing right now actually.

i love having friends around for food so I cook a big pile of something simple like chili and let everybody hang out and people bring me wine this way and i love drinking wine and hanging out. i'm not in any real way interested in food in and of itself but as an catalyst for socialising im fully on board. but i'd rather eat something quick and spend the whole night dancing and this is how i'm always gonna prioritise.

conveyer belt sushi is the best meal to have by yourself. it's because it minimizes the serving/waited-on component

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

would the 34 ilxors plz submit their names to lex so that he may murder them

He'd approach murder like potato-peeling and fuck it all up, peel his arm instead or something.

man i could just murder a baked potato right now, probably pretty easy to fix up at home too

I'm honestly surprised that 34 people would take the time and effort to cook more often than not if money and nutrition were non-issues,

(I do cook the vast majority of my meals and even like it well enough btw.)

someone should ask drake what he'd murder.

Tbh if I order, I'm likely to get "unhealthy" things, whereas if I cook I have to think about what I'm putting in (and there's no hidden sugar or fat or w/e). Otoh I'm p boring as a cook because I don't mind eating similar things again and again. Pasta with plain tomato sauce, tomatoes and sausage and white beans and sage, beef stew, pot roast, adobo brisket, tuna melts.

there's no hidden sugar or fat or w/e

Well, sure, this is a reason to cook. But I understand this question as meaning that you can assume that whatever you order or eat out is perfectly nutritious (and free).

Yeah I decided to ignore that part because that question didn't interest me.

Money, nutrition, availability--those things are never "aside," they are always operative! Why reduce the question to a level faux-simplicity that actually makes it way less interesting and also turns it into a complete hypothetical?

teh internet

I blame philosophy majors.

It shouldn't have been part of the question b/c like someone pointed out, it makes it too "would you cease to exist."

I'm pretty surprised so many people voted for cooking.

Fixed my own food tonight: franks 'n' beans w/ sweet corn niblets mixed in and a side of Jingos. But I still "cooked" for about 45 minutes, prepping stuff for later meals. Meh.

To each his own. There's no accounting for taste. Different strokes for different folks. And so on and so forth.

If I had the ability to conjure any food in any setting at will - tied to some deep subconscious understanding where it would always be the most perfect possible thing for that exact moment, like a dinner at El Bulli or a hot dog off the grill in my back yard - with no health or money repercussions, I still think I would cook at least a couple of times a week. I honestly like it as an activity that much.

Nothing against anyone who thinks that's crazy, obviously, as everyone loves some chore they enjoy that someone else hates.

I'd have cooking down as a hobby, I think.

What the fart are "Jingos"?

They're a new snack food craze that is sweeping the country!!!!! They're smallish wavy shaped crackers w/ flavors.

wish there were more places where you could get delivery for a small amount of food at a small price point, instead of having to order a bunch of food you don't really want. RIP kozmo.com; there was no way you were ever going to make any money but you identified a need in the marketplace and filled it very well.