How much is too much work to make a dish/meal?

It really depends upon the temperature for me. If the kitchen is really hot (as it is at this time of year) I try and cook meals/dishes that do not require constant attention thereby giving me time to sit outside under a fan for a while to cool down. We do have a couple of floor standing fans one of which could be relocated into the kitchen but I never do it.

(The reason that I did not have ceiling fans installed in the kitchen is because many of my meals/dishes involve low light simmering and even a little breeze from an open window can blow out the gas).
 
Same as for @Yorky, it really depends on the time of year.
I have no issues with recipes with 20 odd spices or recipes that will take 2 days from start to finish (sourdough for example), but I don't cook in the really hot months in summer period unless it's first thing in the morning and cool enough. We do have a kitchen fan and I used it continually, I'm now facing having to clean the blades because it was on during one particular dust storm and it's filthy .
 
It really depends upon the temperature for me. If the kitchen is really hot (as it is at this time of year) I try and cook meals/dishes that do not require constant attention thereby giving me time to sit outside under a fan for a while to cool down.

Today I cooked a chicken supreme. At around 10:00 I trimmed and cubed the chicken, seasoned it then left it in the fridge. An hour later I peeled and chopped the onion and garlic and left that in the fridge. At around midday I fried the onions and garlic and then the chicken. Then I poured a beer. I added the remaining ingredients at around 14:00 and put the rice in the rice cooker to cook. At 15:30 I reheated the supreme and served it with the rice.
 
Time is the big factor .I am retired. I garden. I always have some sewing or craft project going. Most of all I cook. Dishes or meals that require lots of time are not a problem. I cook enough for multiple meals then freeze in 2 person servings. Making multiple servings actually saves time .
Most days I cook for 2.
G has this thing about buying and cooking large portions of meat.
Makes me crazy. For example Sunday he cooked a full rack of ribs. Delicious .
When I suggested that we have ribs for dinner tonight his reply was "I just ate rhat"
If I did not love him so much I would have to strangle him.
So I will pull meat off of the bones and heat with braised broccoli, turnips, onions and carrots.
BBQ rib stew
Saturday he decided that he had to have lentil soup with fresh Italian sausage
A very large pot of lentils. He ate a bowl full Saturday and another for lunch today.
Tonight he gets a rib stew and a cup of lentil soup plus a salad
 
There's likely some sort of algebraic equation (and I was never great with algebra) to determine the desire to eat a specific dish (especially if you can't get it readily at a local restaurant) and the complexity it involves in creating it. There's another factor that makes the equation even more "interesting" and it is called Available Time -- T{a}.

I know there are some complicated dishes I made Just Once... just to be sure I could do them and liked them. I might make them again... we shall see...

So many foods out there, so I'm not really certain.
 
Back
Top Bottom