I find myself cooking less often than I used to, much though
I'd like to try out every recipe in every cookbook I own.
I'm wondering how much other people cook.  Hence this survey:

1) How many times a week do you usually cook?
2) How many people do you usually cook for?
3) How many people do you usually cook with?
   (For example, if Rob and I cook spaghetti together,
    each of us is cooking with one other person.)
4) Do you enjoy cooking?

54 responses total.

1. Two or three times per week.
2. two, Silvia and I.  I guess we have people over once a month.
   Then, I cook for four - ten peopl.
3. Usually zero, sometimes one.
4. yes

 1. (By "cook" I assume you mean "not heat leftovers in microwave")  So...
     about 5 times a week (the rest of the time I'm running on leftovers.
 2. 2 people, sometimes 3 but usually two.
 3. One (me).
 4. Yes.

1. Sunday brunch every other weekend and maybe 4 to 5 dinners a week,
   on average.  
2. Three
3. One.  I don't like teamwork meal prep.
4. Yes, especially when I have the time to plan something new
   or prepare a special dish.  But when comes to simply getting
   something like spaghetti and salad on the table and it's
   six o'clock when I'm getting home, then I'd have to say no,
   I don't really like the process.  But I don't dislike it either.
   Mostly I don't like the cleanup.  But with three of us sharing
   the job it's not a big deal.

1. During the school year, once or twice a week sometimes maybe if I'm
   lucky.  Not during the school year, probably two or three times a
   week.
2. Three
3. Just myself.
4. Yes.

Whenever I run out of the batch of whatever I cooked last, well, there
are usually 2-3 batchs running concurrently, so, gee, Idunno ...........

Depends on whether yopu mean "put together a meal" or cook cook.  I used to
cook seven days a week two meals a day (and they were well balanced
nutritionally, too).  Then, I wised up.  Now my husband and I share the
cooking.  He does it three or four nights a week and I do the same.  Some
nights we "bring in".  That doesnt count as cooking, does it?  Some nights we
defrost (that also doesnt really count.)  We no longer eat the entirely 
homemade from scratch meals we used to.

1.) What seems to be once every 1 gillion years.
2.) It varies
3.) Usually just myself, but sometimes with my sister.
4.) Yes.

1) Depending on my schedule, 2 - 5 times a week--emphasis on the weekends
        for leftovers through the week.
2) Ususally two and the occasional extra brave soul.
3) usually my wife helps with prep work (and vice versa when she cooks)
4) Yes--it's a s fun as programming, but the results taste better.

You mean you've tried eating a circut board?

1) During weekends, I cook.  The rest of the time I eat at the office
before going home.
2) I cook for myself (when friends visit, we tend to go out or order in)
3) I cook alone.
4) I like cooking in general but if I'm too stressed over exams, I find it
and the rest of my life to be a hassle :)

1) I cook dinner just about daily.
2) I cook for myself or two people.
3) I cook by myself or with one other person.
4) I like cooking but never have the ingredients onhand to cook exactly what
I'd like to cook.

i can't cook for just myself, so i rarely cook.  dang and flem have generosly
lent me their kitchen for whenever i need it, so every now and then i cook
for us all (or bake or whatever).  hopefully i'll start doing more cooking,
thogh....

1. 5-8 times a week.
2. 1-3 people
3. I cook alone. GET OUT OF THE WAY!
4. I love to cook. 

Time to reactivate this item, see if/how times have changed over the past few
years. :-)  Feel free to reread the entire item or to get the original
posting, at the respond or pass, type in 'only 0'.

1. I haven't actually cooked much of anything lately, other than just heating
things up-which doesn't really count.
2. I only cook for myself but when I *do* cook, I try and make enough to last
for several meals.
3. Just me
4. I dunno, really. I guess since I haven't bothered to lately, maybe I don't.
But I'd like to learn to enjoy it again.

Denise, I am delighted to see you expressing an interest in cooking again.
We cook 95% of what we eat (the rest is cooked for us by a friendly neighbor).
What sorts of things do you like to heat up?  You can cook a lot of simple
dishes with no more effort than just heating things up, for instance
microwaved frozen vegetables or potatoes, or boiled grains.  Do you like bread
and do you have a bread machine?

1- Eh, not often enough. But the hubby cooks a lot more often than I do.
2- Myself and my hubby
3- Usually we're both in on the creating.
4- Sometimes. When I can cook WITH the husband it's fun, when it's just
me- I don't want to take the time.

One of the reasons for #1 is our schedules- instead of having dinner
together like so many other couples, our meal spent together is lunch.
Since he's home and I'm at work- he prepares lunch. This tends to
involve cooking something or other, and there are usually left overs. So
when I'm home alone in the evening I either heat up leftovers or have
something like toast or oatmeal.

Sindi, I eat a lot of frozen dinners [though I'm getting tired of the Lean
Cuisines and WW meals that are tasteless; so sometimes I get the regular
diners instead of low fat ones].  Hot Pockets are another biggy, easy to do.
Sometimes popcorn or a peanut butter sandwich.  This kind of stuff doesn't
dirty up too many dishes, especially if ya use paper plates. :-)

I do LIKE things like chicken, turkey, and most red meat [though no organs
like liver], salads, potatoes etc.  I just don't take the time to prepare
them, opting for the reheatable stuff or eating out.  I need to convince
myself to change these habits but a part of me still resists.

1 roughly .5 times a week because of my busy schedule
2 two people - the husband and me
3 usually alone - but sometimes with the husband
4 pretty much. Wish i had more time

Denise, potatoes are very easy to microwave.  Stick them in a covered glass
bowl or other microwave container, cook on full power for about 4-6 minutes
for one large one (or experiment for varying amounts - they can be reheated
easily if you make a batch).  Poke with a fork to determine if they are soft
all the way through.  Then using potholders carry the bowl to the sink and
run cold water into it.  Let sit for a couple of minutes then peel with your
finger (easier than a potato peeler and they cook better in their skins
because the moisture is kept in that way).  Mash and add some flavoring such
as yogurt (presumably low-fat) and/or a bit of soy sauce.  

I presume you know how to make a salad and don't 'reheat' it.  

Someone else can advise on how to quick-cook meat.  Vegetables can be
microwaved too.  Frozen ones don't even require washing and trimming.  

Frozen dinners tend to be quite salty.  My mother used to freeze her own TV
dinners for us to eat when she was working.  There must be some website
suggesting how long to precook the vegetable so that it does not get
overcooked during reheating.  

I cook a from scratch, simple meal for 2 every night, except when I'm really
tired, in which case, he cooks a simple, from scratch meal.

I use my crock pot and my pressure cooker frequently, along with a microwave
and a Cuisinart Pro Plus.  It's a "can't live without" appliance that makes
cooking for 1 or 2 a snap.  

Last "real cooking" i did was last week...but that was an 8-quart stock
pot full (well, 7.5 Qt, minus boil-over loss) of a simple filler spuds/
onion/corn/tomato sauce veggie stew that i've been eating ever since.
Making oatmeal for breakfast, or healthy quickbreads for lunch, or some 
scrambled eggs, or browned burger & onion, or a big salad, or some such
is not cooking enough for me to say "i really cooked today". 

So i can cook from scratch everthing that i eat for over a week without
feeling that i've really cooked...maybe something is wrong with this...

1) How many times a week do you usually cook?
I cook probably 8-10 times a week, as I do lunches and breakfasts on 
the weekend.
2) How many people do you usually cook for?
Generally two, but we have people to dinner on occasion, and this 
weekend, my stepmom will be in town...
3) How many people do you usually cook with?
I cook alone.
4) Do you enjoy cooking?
100%.  I love cooking stuff that I haven't made in a while or trying 
something new.  It's just fun to get in and make stuff.

2-4 times a day, depending how long we can manage without getting hungry and
whether there are leftovers to eat instead.  Two, one, yes.  Sometimes the
neighbor cooks for us.  Supper tonight seems to be baked fries and pizza and
lots of fresh spinach.  Breakfast/lunch was cold millet with cold squash.

1) How many times a week do you usually cook?
 How many times per *week*? I cook once every other month or so, not 
counting things like oatmeal or toast with cheese or raw veggies. The 
closest I get to cooking is when I buy premade pizza dough and fresh 
cheese/toppings in lieu of a frozen pizza or when I grill a chicken 
breast on my George Forman grill. 

2) How many people do you usually cook for?
Sometimes I cook for 5-6 people. It almost doesnt seem worth it for 
fewer people although sometimes I cook for just myself or just myself 
and one other person (although as I am sure you can imagine, I do NOT 
*ever* try to impress dates with my cooking). 

3) How many people do you usually cook with?
   I dont usually cook with anyone. 

4) Do you enjoy cooking?
   No. not really. 

I've cooked more in the past month or so than I have in the previous several
YEARS, I bet [ie, like Lynne said, cooking being something more than oatmeal,
toast, etc].  I don't always WANT to cook but on the other hand--when I make
certain things, I make enough to have leftovers. So with leftovers, all I have
to do is reheat it in the microwave.  

I do enjoy eating out but can't do that nearly as often as I would like to.

I eat out one-two meals a day on the days I am working because we have 
a subsidized cafeteria at work so the food is almost as cheap as it 
would be for me to make it at home. That costs me around $30-$40 a 
week. 

I sometimes go out for a meal with friends but hardly ever more than 
once a week. Mostly I "cook" fancy dishes like "cheese and crackers" 
served with a side of "celery sticks" and "apple slices" ;) It isnt 
really cooking if all you are doing is slicing some cheese to put on 
crackers. Is it cooking if one puts the sliced cheese on bread and then 
melts the cheese on the bread in the oven? Is pasta with grated 
parmesan cheese and garlic, cooking? What if one grates the cheese 
oneself and presses the garlic in a garlic press? 

Sure it's cooking - even if it's basic and simple, if you're feeding 
yourself off of it and it doesn't involve putting holes in the film 
that covers the entree and nuking it, I'll go with the term "cooking".

 1) How many times a week do you usually cook?
I cook a big breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.
Sometimes I'll make dinner, too.
Otherwise, the wife or my mom in law cook all
the meals.  (We eat at a restaurant maybe once
every 3 months...prolly less often than that.)

 2) How many people do you usually cook for?
I cook for eight people and five people eat it. ;)

 3) How many people do you usually cook with?
    (For example, if Rob and I cook spaghetti together,
     each of us is cooking with one other person.)
WITH?!?  I don't like anyone in the kitchen when
I'm in it.

 4) Do you enjoy cooking?
Its one of my favorite things to do.  The more things going on at once in the
kitchen the better!

Lynne, that's definitely cooking! It's more than just heating up a processed
frozen dinner. :-)  Though some days or some meals, I thinking making a peanut
butter sandwich or pb toast is cooking...  Even moreso if I had jam to it.

I'm continuing to increase my 'cooking' instead of always resorting to 
frozen foods and drive-through's.  [Though the cooking does include 
making enough for plenty of leftovers for a couple days as well as to 
store in the freeezer; this kind of frozen food [usually] does taste 
better than the store-brought variety.]

And as I think I've mentioned in another item somewhere, I'm continuing 
to slowly lose some weight. So besides saving a little bit of money, 
the lost weight is an added benefit as well as incentive to continue.

 :-)

If I were cooking for one I think I'd try to hook-up with five or so other 
solo cooks and do a co-op thing.  Three days a week someone in the group 
makes a dinner and the others either drop in for dinner, take it out, or 
ask it be frozen for pickup later.  Four nights a week I'd be on my own.  
I'd get to try new dishes, have the fun of cooking for others, and not 
have to do the prep work for homemade food every night.

Of course, you'd have to be somewhat selective when chosing your Dinner 
Club members.  If you're into healthy or vegetarian, then everyone would 
have to be willing to support that goal.  But there are enough "singles" 
out there that I bet it could work.

That's a great idea.  I've read articles of groups of families who do 
that.

I've heard of these groups, too.  They sound like they can be 
worthwhile, though I don't know enough people to organize something 
like this.

You could look for a room in a student coop, to save rent money, and also
share cooking.

Actually, I've just gotten into the planning stage to do this with another
single friend.  We figure a 6 serving meal will make 3 servings for each of
us, and if we do this once a month, we only have to make 7 or 8 main dishes.

Thre is also a pricier way to do this.  Anumber of people have created a
business from this concept.  They use names like Home Bistro, Main Dish
Kitchen and similar ones.  The two I know of in Ann Arbor are Dream Dinners
and Main Dish Kitchen.  

The concept is called meal assembly.  You pay a fixed amount, and choose from
a variety of menu options.  Then you show up at their commercial kitchen,
where you assemble your meals into storage or cooking containers.  The kitchen
is designed for 8 to 10 people to prepare their meals at the same time, making
it a social as well as cost saving event.  

The business people do all the food preparation: chopping, slicing, shredding
of fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese, meat and so on.  They do all the clean
up after you have assembled your meal.  All you do is assemble and spice the
dish to your family's preferences, following the recipe provided, and making
personal adjustments.  

They will also assemble the meals for you,k for an additional charge, so that
you can serve fresh, and freshly cooked meals to your family, without doing
the shopping and chopping otherwise required.

I'd be interested in hearing how your experience goes, Colleen.

Yep, there are a number of twists on the conventional cook-at-home-for- 
your-own-needs model.  An aquaintance runs a local personal chef business, 
where she cooks gourmet meals in her kitchen, and delivers complete 
dinners to clients' doors.  She's a great cook - restraurant quality, 
actually.  But her prices rival when you'd pay if you dined out.  Despite 
this her business is thriving, last I heard.  I suspect her clientele are 
very busy executive types who eat out most lunches and a lot of dinners.  
She makes it possible for them to eat great meals, at home, no fuss.

Then there are the services that ship meals to your door.  Again, 
expensive, but I can see where they could be a lifesaver if you could
afford it.  I'm thinking elderly people who can't shop and cook, busy
people who otherwise wouldn't get balanced nutrition, and maybe those 
who need to follow a strict diet and need help getting there. Here is
a link to one a friend has used (with success) to lose weight.

www.dinewise.com

Again, not for everyone as these services come with a pricetage.

Or, one could go the Mormon polyandrous route, and share
responsibilities. ;-)

Er, "acquaintance" up there, somewhere.

I have often thought that the best way for me to eat anything healthy on
a regular basis would be to engage in the services of a place like
DineWise.  Unfortunately, I cant really afford it at the moment. Still,
it is a great idea. I might pass that link onto my folks though. 

Sigh, I'm falling back into old habits of just reheating stuff, just 
heating up soup,or having junk food, or wanting to go through the drive 
through or eat out. I need to get back into the cooking habit!  I did 
take some chicken out of the freezer and its currently marinating in 
the 'fridge. If its not too late when I get home this evening, I'll 
cook it up tonight; otherwise, I'll do it tomorrow when I get home from 
Dearborn.  At least this will be a bit more chicken than I ordinarily 
cook at a time since a couple big pieces were frozen together and I 
couldn't get them apart [though I didn't try tooo hard].  So the 
leftovers will be adequate for a few more dishes.

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