I’m a bit late on this thread, but I wanted to mention that our local food pantry tells us that many of their recipients live in accommodation which does not include a proper kitchen; that’s the reason they can’t cook things like potatoes. All donations have to be things than can be eaten without cooking or simply heated in a microwave. So I don’t think we should be judging the food pantry customers until we know their home situation.

On another note, I’m glad to say my kids’ middle school has a compulsory “life skills” program which includes cooking and mending/sewing, and in high school will cover personal finance.

Also, in teaching my kids to cook, I notice that most kids cookbooks have recipes for what I consider “useless” food (i.e. cookies). Similarly in summer camp cooking classes - there seems to be an idea that kids can’t be trusted with knives or hot stoves I think. So in our weekend cooking lessons we do “real” food (i.e. the stuff you can sustain yourself on) like omelets, pasta, rice, learning how to chop onions, etc.

I was surprised you didn’t include eating up the left-overs (from home, not just restaurant). Since I started taking last-night’s dinner remnants to work for lunch, I have thrown away almost no cooked food, and saved about $25 per week in lunch costs.

I’ve been to some places with “tasting menus” that I’ve really enjoyed (but I haven’t tried any of the recent molecular gastronomy examples which just don’t appeal to me), and I am a big fan of tapas too. To me the key is that several different small plates can be a wonderful way to try lots of interesting things in one meal, but to really “taste” something, it has to be bigger than one bite. The first bite is just an introduction, then you try another and another, experiencing something more each time. I think my sweet spot is a meal of about 6 dishes being enough to fill me up comfortably.

Of course, yoga doesn’t need to cost anything; once you’ve done a few classes, you can just do it at home. At least that’s always my plan, funny how it’s much easier to remember to do it when you’ve paid for it...

Interestingly the breast is my least favorite part of the chicken. For casseroles, curries and stirfries I always prefer the tastier juicier thighs, and for grilling drumsticks and wings with their complete skin-cover are best. The only way I like chicken breast is when it is roasted, and then only to temperatures somewhat less than USDA recommendations, so that it’s still juicy. I’ve always found breast the most tasteless part of the chicken...

NE = North East US, sorry forgot to put the US!

I’m a gas fan, because I like being able to turn the heat down as soon as I want. My stove top has two high power burners, and two lower ones, so no problems getting enough heat. My problems are more than I burn things, but I think I did back when I had electric too. Electric ceramic top is definitely easier to clean! If someone could invent a burner that switches off the instant the water in the pan has boiled away I’d be happy!

One thing I’ve had success with is the “make your own pasta topping” night, when I have veggies on my penne and they get to chop up ham and grate cheese for theirs. But no luck whatsoever getting anyone else to eat beans/lentils etc. Completely “Meatless monday’s” would have everyone else cooking their own dinner (and they are all good at cooking what they like - my husband would happily do all the cooking so that he could have red meat every day).