Multiple Cooking Intelleginces

Learning styles and theories of multiple intelligences fascinate me. Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the inclination to keep up with all the new research (that was one nice thing about grad school, research was made really easy). So, in a half-hearted effort to add more research, I offer my totally anecdotal theory of cooking.

The way I see it, there are two different styles of cooking. One is the French Chef method, which is all about recipes and directions and going out to buy the right ingredients in order to make the best dishes. Then we have the Two Days 'Til Payday method (a.k.a. the Mom method) which is to survey the contents of the cupboards and the fridge then concoct a dish out of what's available. If what you make tastes good, all the better.

Adam is definitely a French Chef cook. He loves complex recipes requiring unusual ingredients and elaborate techniques that, quite simply drive me to distraction. Me? I prefer to dump it all in a bowl, mix it up, and toss it in the oven at 350°. I'm a big fan of casseroles.

For me, cooking is a creative activity. Say, I have about-to-spoil chicken breasts, wilting carrots, droopy celery, and expired-yesterday milk in the fridge, a canister of cornmeal on the counter, and a clean casserole dish (trust me, some days this can make a difference!) in the cupboard. It takes some imagination to mentally convert all that, along with a few other staples, and come up with a chicken and vegetable casserole topped with cornmeal biscuits.

Yum. In fact, we actually do have all those things in our kitchen right now, except for the clean pan. Maybe that's what I'll make for dinner. Adam was supposed to cook tonight. In fact, he's been supposed to cook dinner ever since last Thursday, National Men Make Dinner Day. Maybe I'll let him off the hook again tonight though. He can make it up to me tomorrow (hint, hint).

And maybe I'll even make another batch of blondies. I made these for a football potluck we went to last night (the Bears lost...there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth). I discovered this morning, the blondies are even more yummy refrigerated overnight.

Peanut Butter Blondies

¾ cup peanut butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1½ cups flour
½ cup chocolate chips (optional)
½ cup chopped peanuts (optional)

Step 1: Mix all the indredients together.
Step 2: Spread into a greased 9 x 13 pan.
Step 3: Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until the center is set.

Now this is my kind of recipe! It should be, I suppose, since I wrote it. If Adam were writing it, there would be several more steps and you'd have to beat the eggs separately and mix ingredients in a specific order. And if you were really a gourmet foodie, you could probably tell the difference between his batch and mine. But since gourmet and I have only a nodding acquaintance, I prefer the easy way.