Have I mentioned how wonderful Home-Ec 101 is?
My mom was a domestic goddess. Well – she was a computer programming genius, too, but what I remember most about her was her work around the home. She was an amazing cook, kept a spotless house, and grew and canned her own fruits and vegetables up until she passed away. So, growing up in my mom’s house, I managed to pick up some of her skills.
But not all of them.
Mom died in late 2001, shortly before the birth of my daughter – and that was when I really needed to learn more about domestic duties than apartment life had prepared me for. As isolated as I was, there wasn’t really anyone I could call with basic (and sometimes ridiculous) little questions like,
- How do I cook a roast? It’s this big, intimidating slab of meat.
- How did this bathtub get so grimy… never mind that, how do I get it clean again?
- I drove a cigarette-addicted co-worker to lunch yesterday and now my car stinks. Help!
I wish Home-Ec 101 had been around then. I think the site was founded in 2006 – and if you need to know how to clean it, cook it, fix it, or wash it, Home-Ec 101 has ALL the answers. Every time I have one of those, “I wish Mom was around so I could call her and ask her how to…”, I check Home-Ec 101 first.
Also. You know how when company’s coming over and the house is a mess and you spend a frantic hour trying to get everything cleaned up so your friends don’t think you’re a slob? (Is it just me?) Home-Ec 101 also has a great basic chore list – not too detailed, and not too simple – to help you get in the habit of keeping the house up every day, a little bit at a time.
They also have a great recipe for a Ground Beef and Cabbage Skillet.
Anyway, I’ve been following this site’s RSS feed since I stumbled across it. You should too!
I can’t tell you how nice it was to wake up to such kind words, thank you.
Isn’t Home-Ec 101 the amazing? The search feature is very helpful, and you can ask questions and they don’t make you feel like an idiot and they know everything.
I hadn’t looked at that site before. There are some great tips there.
Wow, thank you for this link!
Domestic goddess I am not, and no one ever taught me how to cook. The first time I attempted to cook an intimate dinner-for-two for my boyfriend (now fiance – he does most of the cooking), I must have called my mother 20 times. Every time she answered the phone she was laughing, so I told her this was pretty much her fault since she’d never taught me how to do any of this. Still laughing, she agreed but commented that – failed mother-daughter cooking lessons notwithstanding – I should still be able to grasp the most basic concepts of what to do with the big, glistening mound of meat in front of me.
Apparently I don’t even have cooking common sense, so I was pretty much lost. I haven’t turned on a stove or opened an oven since. (Which drives my poor fiance – who even after 8 years still can’t adjust to my random, manic purchases – crazy because I have more cookbooks than Carter’s got liver pills and three years’ worth of magazines from a subscription to Light & Tasty).
Other than cooking, I’m decent enough with basic domesticities, but I would love to have a place to visit when I’m stumped over something (how do I get this cat puke stain out of this Welcome mat?) or just to browse and learn little neat household tips (oh, so THAT’S how you get red wine out of all-those-clothes-I’ve-spilled-red-wine-on!) or find a new way to clean/organize/prepare/etc. something that’s more efficient and way easier than what I’ve been doing (ah, what a neat idea for saving all those magazines you have but rarely need but don’t want to get rid of!).
In summation, I can’t wait to dive into the site and I sincerely thank you for sharing it with us less-than-housewifey-types! ^_^