Response: Caiti's survey

I decided to keep her answers on this post so as to have easy reference access. Hope it helps. And without further adieu: (her answers are not in bold, my response is)
1. Do you like (i.e. enjoy) cooking?

I really enjoy it! It allows me to be creative and try new and exciting things.

Very similar to mom’s response, and if she’s as skilled as my mom, this is a good thing for her and her family. I am always amazed when I find a fellow teen that enjoys cooking; it’s so rare (or not discussed, I have no idea why)! I wonder (broadly about teen cookers in general) what they like to cook and when they do it (because as already mentioned, my mom pre-plans our meals, and since I don’t plan my meals other than arranging to simply eat, it seems kind of unlikely for me to scoot into her schedule and then actually follow through.) As it so happens, this survey answers the questions I usually ask of them (how convenient, right?) So…on to the next question/answer/response to these questions…
PS~ about 3/4s of this response is in (parenthesis), it’s weird.

2. Are you the main meal provider in your house?

Usually my family splits things up during the week, but it is not unusual for me to make the whole meal for my family for much of the week. When I am home alone, I will make myself a complete meal. No takeout!

I love that: “No takeout!” It’s awesome! I wish I did that… She is such an adult/responsible. I have to say that her answer surprised me; even though I knew she liked to cook, I didn’t think she would actually cook regularly for her family. I thought of it as more of a hobby (I guess that’s more baking than cooking).

3. What is your favorite meal to make?

I am really into grilling chicken and fish.

Whoa! She’s a grill user? Wow, she’s even more into this cooking thing than I thought. Now, I won’t argue that both meals are delicious once made, but making them and seeing them in all their raw glory? I’ll take a pass on that, thanks.

4. How old were you when you first started to cook?
I first started baking when I was five, and I would help my mom make Christmas cookies.
Aw, how cute! :] I wish my mom liked baking (versus just cooking), then maybe I would have made Christmas cookies at age five and went on to become an awesome baker-ess!
5. Give me the lowdown on an average meal:

Our average meal has a salad, vegetables, protein, and a grain.

Again, I will state that I don’t really like this question; it’s WAY too broad, but what can you do. Caiti decided to go the literal route (which is completely cool) and told me the basics of an average and healthy meal. This seems pretty accurate to what I usually eat, so all’s good here.

6. Do you think there’s a difference between cooking and baking?
Definitely! Baking is a lot harder I my opinion because it requires exact measurements where as cooking leaves a lot more room for error.
Again, so very similar to my mom’s answer. (possible collaboration is being considered). I feel like she’s going to be my mom (cooking-wise) in thirty years, which in itself isn’t exactly a bad thing given my mom’s awesomeness at cooking. It seems that so far cooking is preferred over baking. We’ll see what contestant number three says later this week…
7. Do you express your personality through your food? How?

Yes, I love to express creativity and it allows me to try out things I may not have done before.

As stated above, she likes to cook more that bake. This could reflect her personality: she likes loose structure and creative freedom in her “art”- i.e. cooking.

8. Do you feel that having to cook has affected other aspects of your life?

It has made me consider a career in culinary and affected my decisions for college.

Ah, a cooking career. I was going to write a post about this career choice and my thoughts on it, and now that Mr. Cronin has so graciously given us an extension on this project I might be able to. When I asked this question I think I was trying to get people to say that they’re more responsible because that’s what I wanted myself to learn from this, but surprisingly, neither mom nor Caiti nor (soon to be) contestant number three. I really didn’t consider this as a possibility because it is so far off anything that I would even consider for college, but this rant is for another time.
So, there’s my first teen perspective (from a girl). One last one is coming soon (from a teen guy) that is predictably (if you know the person who took it) short and to the point.
Until next time.
Lauren