Cooking cycles

Cooking in my family skipped a generation. One reason I got into cooking was because i was tired of mom's casseroles and crock pot cooking. When I asked if I could cook something different, the answer was 'you make the mess, you clean it up'. That usually included all the serving dishes, eating utensils, and plates too. Which led to me doing some cooking, mostly during holidays. But it was only after I left the house that I really started having fun cooking and experimenting.

She (nani) wasn't taught much by her mom, who just wanted everyone out of the kitchen when she was cooking.

And grandmother had 2 boys who were not interested in the craft.

At the grandparent's houses I wasn't allowed to do much in the kitchen other than stir stuff, and basic prep (and then only for grandmother and not nani). I likely would have been a cook for a living if mom hadn't enforced the 'you make it, you clean it'. I have friends who think that if you are willing to do the shopping, put together the list, research the recipes and cook, then someone else should clean, or at the very least, help clean.

I'm waxing and waning these days, I really want to cook and bake, but get frustrated that I have to clean all the dishes, including the plates and utensils. We have no dishwasher. I'm it. My cycle is cook, clean, get frustrated, don't cook for a 7 days or more, break down and cook again. I'm in my downcycle now, after doing a chicken roasting workshop and Robbie Burns Dinner last weekend.