Jungle Red Writers: over it

JENN McKINLAY: When I was in my twenties, I lived with my older cousins, Brad and Greg, during the summers in Connecticut and it was a free for all of take out food, piles of laundry, late night movies, commiserating over heartbreaks (mine) and sharing existential crises (also, mine). Naturally, the twins are two of my favorite people, forever and ever, and I remember while living together that they were impressed that I could wallpaper the bathroom, perfectly, but I could not cook a meal. I’m a baker not a cook, yes, there’s a difference. Their advice, and this is why I love them, was to never learn so as not to become someone’s kitchen drudge.

Flash forward seven years, I am living alone in Arizona and need to eat. Huh. That eating out thing gets expensive, especially when you no longer work in restaurants and can’t charm the chef into throwing the rejected filet, swordfish, or lobster tail your way. Snap! So, I started cooking. I even began to enjoy it, a little. A few more years passed, and I became a wife and mom. Now cooking became an imperative. Thankfully, I began to enjoy it, mostly, because I have a partner who cooks the meat so I could focus on the sides. Real mac and cheese (never from the box) is my signature dish, and I am fortunate to have dudes who eat what is put before them (or go hungry) so it was rewarding as well. But now eighteen years have passed, and I’m soooo over it.

No, seriously, I’m so done with the cooking thing -- I can’t even. I’ve discussed this with many of my mom friends and they feel the same way.

So, how about you, Reds? What’s something you used to love but now can’t stand?

RHYS BOWEN: Oh Jenn, I agree with you completely. I have never been a big fan of cooking. I like to eat well and we used to entertain for business a lot so I've learned to be a pretty fair cook but now it seems like such an effort. What I need is Mrs. Bridges so I can summon her and say "What do you suggest for dinner tonight?" and she'll say, "Oh, I think the quail in aspic followed by a nice steak pie, my lady."

Actually I don't mind the actual cooking part. What I dislike is the thinking about it. The planning. John doesn't mind doing the shopping but he always asks me, "What do you have in mind for dinner?" and I have absolutely nothing in mind. (And I’ve just noticed that I’ve used the word mind 4 times in one sentence. My copy editor would go bananas.)

Apart from cooking I still find joy in the things I've loved all my life: I still sing in a choir. I still paint and sketch. I still like to hike when my knee isn't playing up. I certainly like to travel. Oh, but something else I no longer enjoy... roughing it. No more sleeping in tents, fetching water from a tap two miles away, lighting campfires. Give me a Marriott any day please.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Well, gotta agree. I used to cook elaborately and experimentally, lavish dinner parties that took hours and hours to prepare. For just us, even, I reveled in wonderful combinations and sauces, joyfully creating, concocting, and presenting. Now--well, okay then. Cooking is just not my thing. It takes SO LONG. I do not have that long. I am still a great cook, and when I am inspired, I rock. Last night we had grilled corn-feta-tomato-and-basil salad with grilled shrimp and snow peas. It was so pretty, I took a photo of it. Tonight , we are carrying out from The Local.

Other things I've fallen out of love with...hmmm. The radio. Weird. I never listen to the radio-radio. Because, I guess, I'm rarely in the car. Long leisurely shopping. trips. Definitely over that. Just send me the thing. And I never write checks for bills anymore--everything is on auto pay. Running! HA. I used to feel like I was flying, I loved it so much. My knees did not. Totally over that.

HALLIE EPHRON: Out of love with driving. I wish I could just say Home, Jeeves... and get whisked to wherever.

I still love to cook for the people I love. I adore planning what to make when my kids and grandkids come to visit. They're so busy day to day, I know it's a treat for them to come here and get pampered... food-wise.

I used to love to swim in the ocean, and I was a passable body surfer. Now it's too cold. Too salty. Too scary. And was that a shark??

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I won't say I'm out of love with cooking, because I still love trying new things and I'm very interested in food. But there are lots of nights when I do feel like somebody's kitchen drudge, especially with a husband who does no cooking at all, not even grilling. To be fair, he always offers to get take out, but there are only so many times a week I want to eat that. Or pay for it. And I am TOTALLY over doing any kind of formal entertaining like dinner parties. Way too much work! When my girlfriends come over for wine these days, they're lucky if I put out a plate of cheese.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Flying. I used to love flying (and getting a pilot's license is still on my bucket list) but oh, my God, flying commercially is SUCH a dreadful experience these days. I'm not even going to complain about the security lines. It's the percentage of flights late, or rescheduled, or oops, sorry, you can't use your miles after all (because the plane only allots three seats for mileage and you didn't make your reservation back in 2011.) It's shuffling into the Jetway with a hundred other people, some of whom seem to still be in their pajamas, everyone intent on getting their carry-on into an overhead bin, because the airline charges for every checked bag. And for snacks. And for pillows and blankets. I'm waiting for the rest rooms to become coin operated. Then the pleasure of squeezing yourself into a seat that's quite comfortable - if you're a ten year old child. A short ten year old child.

I flew a lot as a child myself, and thus can remember when flying meant dressing nicely, and men at the airport who whisked your luggage away for you, and meals on every flight served on china with real silverware (the food wasn't very good, even back then, but the presentation was much nicer.) Now admittedly, I wasn't paying for any tickets those days, and I understand it's comparatively much, much less expensive to get from here to there nowadays. But believe me, we're still paying for it. Just not in dollars. Nowadays? If I can drive, bus or train to a place within a day, I do that instead.

LUCY BURDETTE: I love thinking about food, especially for a special dinner. But the night after night can become drudgery, especially with a husband who can only think of "spaghetti" when asked what he wants for dinner. Luckily I love spaghetti too...

I am also over group cycling trips, though honestly, I only had to try one to realize that it wasn't my thing.