Are you an impulsive cook?
Let me tell you first that I'm a planner. Which means, during the weekend, I more or less plan our meals for the week (or at least, Monday through Wednesday/Thursday) and shop accordingly, if necessary. I usually pretty much stick to the plan, although it's not written in stone, of course. That said, funny things happen to me from time to time.
Last week, I had an army of washed and dried blueberries lying on my kitchen counter, waiting to be vacuum packed and frozen (yes, I know that their skins supposedly become tougher if they are washed before freezing. Since I never eat frozen blueberries straight up and use them for either shakes or syrup/sauce or muffins/cakes, I've never felt that extra "toughness" if it, indeed, exists. So I'd rather wash them). But as I was taking out my newly acquired food saver, a sudden urge struck - I wanted, no, absolutely needed a blueberry muffin so badly, I could not think of anything else. An hour later, there I was - a pint fewer in the freezer but a whole platter of freshly baked blueberry muffin heaven readily available for immediate consumption.
The other day, I bought sweet potatoes, meaning to grill them. As I was transferring them to their potato basket, I had an idea for a dish. It did not include grilled sweet potatoes. In fact, it would be a perfect dish for a cold winter day, and it's been 90+ outside longer than I bother to remember. But I really loved the idea and just couldn't get it out of my head. Plus, you know, my house is air-conditioned. So yesterday I gave up and made a batch of pierogi with sweet potatoes and roasted garlic, with the sauce of caramelised onions and balsamic reduction (and yes, they were every bit as good as I imagined they would be!) I'll have to buy more sweet potatoes now.
You got the idea. My name is Brooke, and I'm an impulsive cook. No, I did not mean to rhyme that, but it just so happened. In any case, here's my question - has something like that ever happened to you?
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23 Comments:
Yes. I do all kinds of crazy last minute stuff. For example, I once impulsively started the process of making a four layer interpretation of black forest cake at around 10pm on a weeknight when I realized, peering into my fridge and cabinets, that I had all the necessary ingredients.
Buttercream frosting for the sides, whipped cream and sliced strawberries for the top, espresso ganache and a berry compote for filling. I was done at about 5am and couldn't get any sleep because I had ingested so much butter, sugar, fruit and raspberry eau de vie during the process. Work sucked that day, but dessert that night made it all worth it :)
simon at 2:36PM on 07/31/08
I'm both.
I'm a planner for big events like large-scale parties or bake-fests. I will painstakingly put together a menu, re-vamp and revise it, then whittle it down to "definite" dishes. I'll put every recipe into WORD and figure out how much of each ingredient I will need to purchase for the entire endeavor. I'll create a schedule of shopping and cooking.
I'm impulsive when I visit a farmer's market and examine the bounty, frequently deciding right then and there what's for dinner over the next two days.
I feel it's the best of both worlds.
chiff0nade at 2:47PM on 07/31/08
Yep. And it drives hubby bonkers. Earlier this week, it was the new mandolin that demanded immediate use (despite loads of housework and schoolwork that needed to be done, oh wait, still need to be done). Late last week, it was a cherry walnut upside down cake that popped into my head and had to be made that night despite the heat and the fact that I do not have air conditioning.
But I guess the impulsivity is related to the procrastination. And that's why I'm writing this instead of doing work. Not good. Not good at all.
blackolive at 2:48PM on 07/31/08
If I'm planning a get-together, then I PLAN (and adapt as I go along - hmmm, I could throw this together real quick!)
In general, I keep everything very well stocked and we just wing it. "What do you want for dinner?" Thaw something in water in the sink and away we go.
thewrighttaste at 2:57PM on 07/31/08
Though I'm not last-minute impulsive (too many decent, underway preparations gone bad at the last minute thanks to some insane idea), I am same-day compulsive. I'll wake up with an idea, inventory the pantry and then head off to the market to get what I don't have. Shame about the day-job; I'd love to be able to plan and prepare meals for the whole week. As it stands, my compulsive behavior only occurs at the weekend.
TikiPundit at 2:57PM on 07/31/08
Totally impulsive!
Except for an occasional meal-plan for a certain dish, either new or craved, I just stare at the pantry and fridge til I know what I want to make or inspiration hits me.
I keep lots of stuff on hand, and buy interesting new things now and again, so I can play as I like (especially with baked goods). I plan almost nothing. :)
I love late-night impulse baking (last night it was carrot bread and the last of my blueberries into pies for the freezer) or having to come up with something to take somewhere from whatever is on hand.
It is like therapy. Getting my mind off life and onto figuring out how to use the last of the dried figs in a fun way, or practicing 5 different icings for comparison, or pulling out the food dehydrator for the last wilted bits of whatever in the fridge.
Dinner is usually a 30 minute "what sounds good to you today" conversation if the hubby is home, and my freezer is full of impulses. (Anyone wanna come over and eat up some of this stuff for me? Not enough mouths to feed here!)
@brooke--I agree on the washed blueberries. I eat them right from the freezer bag often and they are never tough. I imagine if I froze old or store-bought that had been through heck knows what they might be, but my fresh-picked ones are fine.
sadiepix at 3:07PM on 07/31/08
Reading your responses made me realise that I'm more impulsive when it comes to baking rather than cooking (although that batch of pierogi from yesterday would beg to differ:-)). Still, it's funny to me that being such a planner by nature (@chiff - I write menus and pertinent shopping lists in Word for every special occasion dinner/party!), I can be so impulsive - and apparently, I'm not the only one.
@sadiepix re Not enough mouths to feed here! - I'm in the market for a large freezer as the one that comes with my fridge does not catch up with my cooking/baking/freezing habits:-), especially now, with amazing fresh produce everywhere!
brooke29 at 3:28PM on 07/31/08
unless i want something specific, i just go with the flow. i have been known to make muffins at midnight just because i had a muffin craving. i am not hungry at normal times so when i am, i cook.
listener at 3:42PM on 07/31/08
(hand in air) I'm a total compulsive eater/shopper.
I usually shop on my way home from work for what I'm cooking that night. This screws up my non-existant budget all the time. Is there rehab for this?
bisbee at 3:51PM on 07/31/08
Every nite this is how it goes;
honey what do you want for dinner
what can you make?
what do you WANT?
what do we have?
EVERYTHING - WHAT DO YOU WANT???
i try to preplan as he often works late so i rarely make dinner for 6 as he may not get home till 8 or later. I prefer just to have anything available so i can cook anything on the fly. and yes i am impatient :)
www.organicandnaturalmom.blogspot.com
love2cook at 4:26PM on 07/31/08
i am an impulsive cook... even though i plan and plan and write out a menu, i still make whatever comes to my mind...case in point is right now...
@black olive... would you mind sharing your recipe for the cherry walnut upside down cake?
evilchefmom at 4:30PM on 07/31/08
VERY impulsive cook here! My husband never knows what he is getting to eat until he sits down. I will talk to him for hours about what I am going to make and he gets all excited. Then I go to the market and voila! Something completely off the wall. He says he is always happy to have a "Honey cooked meal". I also will jump off the sofa, head to the market and come back home and make whatever I am in the mood to have. He doesn't even look up from the newspaper! He is used to it after all these years.;-)
izatryt at 5:07PM on 07/31/08
@izatryt i'm the same way. the other night it was a spicy fudge cake at 9pm, once the whole thing was finished i ate one bite and havent touched it since. :( Thank goodness SO is a "big eater".
@ black olive PLEASE share that recipe, it sounds heavenly!
huneybumper at 5:48PM on 07/31/08
I'm a planner & a pre-planner & then plan before that...hopeless, I know.
JEP at 6:04PM on 07/31/08
Brooke, I love it--if you ever plan a career as a food TV star, you have your title already: "The Impulsive Cook, starring Brooke." or "Cooking with Brooke, the Impulsive Cook."
I'm single, I have no other tastes to please but my own, so I am super-impulsive. If I feel like having creamed spinach for dinner, so be it. Or fruit on a hot day. Or cake, for that matter (simon, Black Forest cake is one of my absolute favorites, I was drooling at your description).
And I agree with the impulsive baking--it's funny, I feel like it should be a planned thing, but I suppose since I have no school bake sales to plan for, I usually bake as a project when the whim or the graving strikes me.
HeartofGlass at 7:11PM on 07/31/08
@sadiepix: Ditto the therapy thing. Sometimes you just need to cook! One of my sons asked me the other day how on earth I decide what to cook. It came up because we had cooked cabbage and he just wondered what would make anyone crave cabbage. I really think that my body tells me I need this or that nutrient so I just assume everyone else I cook for must need the same thing!
ocarol at 7:37PM on 07/31/08
@Heart - I like your idea:-) Now, should I apply for Season 5 of TNFNS?:-)
brooke29 at 10:02PM on 07/31/08
I'm a bit of both. Dinners are planned the week before, and if I have any good ideas I'll write them down to work with later. On the other hand, I'm a pretty impulsive baker. Depending on mood, I might make some sort of bread to go with dinner, or something for dessert, or something nice for breakfast the next morning - nothing quite like waking up to breakfast bread pudding!
jenilowrance at 10:13PM on 07/31/08
@brooke ~ There appears to be new shows cropping up without the competitions. So I say, pitch the show and we will all watch!
izatryt at 10:19PM on 07/31/08
I plan our menus within an inch of their lives. But I'm unemployed at the moment (anyone near Baltimore need a historian?) so I'm 1) trying to keep the budget in close check, and 2) really feeling the need to be in control of *something* in my life right now. I've gone so far as to plot out several weeks worth of tight menus, doing the whole cook once use twice idea. except I use like 3 or 4 times. I *like* planning!
That's not to say I won't throw together a rice pudding at 10pm just because I can.
AliceBlue at 10:49PM on 07/31/08
@brooke29 & sadiepix...Now, I'm very embarrassed...
I have THREE refrigerators and an upright freezer. All freezers are almost always full. OK, take into account that if I have leftover bread from a market (very rare), then it goes into the freezer until I have time to put together bread pudding and croutons.
thewrighttaste at 10:51PM on 07/31/08
Necessity makes me impulsive. A night home alone always turns into guests for dinner. Or once, a family party almost got cancelled because the electricity went out at the hosts house. A last minute solution, they all came to my house, all 30 of them, and we pulled it off.
cucinacecilia at 10:02AM on 08/01/08
Cooking on impulse is the only way to do it,I think. Oh, I may make a plan and get a few things specifically for a certain meal I want to make, but when it comes right down to it, I love to play with food. As long as nobody on the eating end complains, I guess I'll continue to have fun!
fewteeth at 7:05PM on 08/01/08