I guess growing up around my grandmother made it so where I'm kind of plain, as far as my food goes. I don't like a lot of different spices in my food; I like salt, black pepper, onion/garlic powder and crushed red pepper pretty much. One of the few times I use something different is when I fry potatoes in a pan, where I use a rosemary and garlic seasoning that my aunt has in the pantry, and damn, it tastes good on fried potatoes and chicken.

does the microwave count? lol

Only if you cook the microwave itself.

The true iron chef.

Some good points there. It's nice to throw in a few spices to mix things up a tad. 

...

...man, I never thought I'd be talking about which spices to use on this site. How times have changed. Not that I mind, of course.

@Xen- Epic. I LOVED Iron Chef.

I can cook a few things. I usually rely on my Vietnamese girlfriend though. Lately, I have been eating more fruits and veggies which doesn't require cooking. I love the strawberry and banana smoothies!

I can and do cook.

For Indian curries I usually rely on Pataks.

Yeah, sometimes I just love cutting up some carrots, green peppers and cucumbers and eating them like that (with a little salt sprinkled on top of them, of course). I love the feeling of biting into a slice of green bell pepper that isn't cooked.

Haha, I never thought I'd be talking about cooking in general on here.

Like I said, those spices I listed (apart from the rosemary/garlic seasoning) are pretty much what my grandmother used when she cooked (she doesn't cook much anymore). I use onion and garlic powder because I like the taste it gives to food, but sometimes I dislike the texture the actual ingredients give (nothing worse than biting into a huge chunk of garlic).

Honestly? I'm kind of shocked at how few people here know how to cook! I mean, how can one possibly get by in life without learning how to cook? I learned when I was 6, and have been doing so most of my life. I could have went into culinary arts, but I didn't want to ruin my passion for cooking by making it my career (the stress of working in a kitchen is astronomical...up there in the top most stressful jobs in the world.)

I try anything, really. and to me it's an art. I cook steaks, ribs, pastas, baked goods, meals, whole turkey dinners, etc. You name it and I'll cook it for you, just get me the ingredients.

Sadly my family doesn't share my love for fine cuisine. I get a lot of "it's too spicy" or "it's not what we're used to." when I cook. they like their food bland, and have perhaps a dozen different meals they cycle through constantly. roast beef is done in water and onion soup mix, any attempt to change that is met with a resounding BOOOOO! steak cannot have even Montreal Steak Spice on it because, and I quote, "it's too spicy." Dad doesn't like ANY green vegetables (peas, broccoli, etc), abhorrs mushrooms, and the tiniest spice gives him heartburn. Mom hates rice, hates homemade gravy, hates anything even remotely seasoned or spicy. Brother hates 75% of all meats and is generally picky with everything else (even going so far as to change his tastes on the fly just to troll me.)

My family sucks.

My friends, however, LOVE it when I cook for t hem.

I didn't really start cooking a lot until 15-16, and even then, it was basic stuff like hamburgers.

I don't think I could ever cook professionally; it just gets way too hectic in the kitchen. I love cooking ribs now, although it took a few times to get them just right in the oven (just a rack of pork ribs, with a dry rub and some barbecue sauce smothered on them towards the end).

My aunt won't eat anything I cook, for some weird reason, and my grandmother is very picky (she's old fashioned). My other family members will eat pretty much anything I cook, for the most part, although my one cousin won't eat any meats unless it's chicken.