This is an All Ears English podcast episode 1665.
Cook up your listening skills for fast conversations.
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Do you like cooking?
You won't believe how often native speakers like us talk about this topic.
Today, Aubrey and Jessica join Lindsay for fast, native conversation that you will definitely be able to have in real life.
Listen up so you're ready to connect whether you can cook or not.
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Hello, guys.
Welcome.
Hey, how's it going?
How's it going?
Fantastic.
I love coming on the All Ears English show and I love coming on here with you guys.
We get to have a group conversation today.
You guys, why is this so important for our listeners to pay attention to?
Well, I mean, you guys are going to be a part of group conversations and we don't want you to shy away from participating.
Be worried that you won't understand.
But that very well could happen if you don't have practice listening to native natural group conversations, where we talk fast, we interrupt each other, we talk over each other.
Maybe not super polite, but it's just the way it is.
Exactly.
That's a good point.
Yeah.
Go ahead, Jessica.
So what's the issue?
Like, why are you still not just fully confident, easy breezy group conversation with natives?
It's that practice.
And that's why we're here today, guys.
You can also sign up for more conversations like this, allearsenglish.com slash fast.
Exactly.
And I just want to tag onto that real quick before we go in.
Many of our listeners we know you guys have been listening to All Ears English for years and you came into our show understanding 50 and now you've moved up to 80 85.
That is great.
And this is your next frontier, right?
We've invented this new format that we're going to Splice in once in a while so you can sample this next level.
So challenge yourself.
Don't just stay at 85 listening to one-to-one Lindsay and Michelle, or Jessica and Aubrey, whoever it is right.
Challenge yourself for this three, four, five people conversations.
Yeah, because we hear that too, right?
Like, I can understand the podcast 100% now, but I'm still not quite there in the real world.
So guys, we are challenging you today with a conversation that I have a lot.
I end up talking about this topic a lot, which is funny because I don't even like it.
We're talking about cooking today.
You're so right.
This comes up all the time with friends.
It's kind of random, but maybe because, like often, when you're with your friends, you're eating out, like eating is such a social thing that you're often eating together.
So it's just such a natural lead in to talk about cooking as well.
Do you like cooking?
What do you cook?
How often do you cook?
I talk about this with friends all the time.
I mean, as adults, at the very least, you have to feed yourself.
But you know, all of us have people to cook for and feed or be fed by hopefully.
And so it's just a thing that happens every day.
Very common conversation.
So guys, okay, here is the best question.
Do you even like I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I think I know the problem.
I think the three of us have something in common here.
We're not going to have any pushback.
I don't like it because I don't know how to cook.
And I'm embarrassed that I just turned 40.
I don't know how to cook still.
I cook chicken, but it's awful.
It's hard and scaly around the edges.
I don't really know how to cook by this age.
So it's just getting worse and worse.
The older I get, the less I know how to cook, the worse I feel about it.
So someone break my cycle, right?
I need to...
I need to figure out what to do here.
But do you think this is like an innate thing?
I feel like this is a nature versus nurture issue.
Totally.
How?
Some people are just born not like knowing how to cook everything, but they just like there's an instinct.
They know the timing, which that's the toughest part, right?
Like when to start this and that.
But also like...
Oh, like I want to be one of those people that taste the sauce and they're like oh, this needs a little more garlic salt, and like knowing what to do with spices.
I don't I don't know that stuff.
So I'm a different situation for you guys.
I actually can cook really well.
I have.
My mom is an excellent cook and she taught me and I have, like I can make a mean pie and I could look pretty much anything I could think of to want to cook.
I can make it well and it's going to be good and people are going to like it.
That doesn't mean I like it.
I do not like cooking.
There are so many things I would rather be doing with my time.
Time right okay, and if you're going to cook something that's delicious and have it be good, it's going to take some time.
Okay, expect to throw together in 10 minutes something that's going to really be delicious for the most part right yeah, so that's the time for me, but there's just a lot of things i would rather do so totally, there's so many reasons to not like cooking.
Yeah, And the cleanup.
Oh, the cleanup, right?
Someone else should be cleaning up.
Someone else.
If you're cooking over, you should not be cleaning up.
I just want to make sure that's to my family right now.
I should not be cleaning up.
Isn't that like the chore of your kids?
Your kids like have to set the table, clear the table, clean up and stuff.
Sometimes often.
But the problem is right they're involved in lots of things and they're going and doing which I want them to be involved in lots of stuff.
So often it's like we get dinner finished and, okay, I got to take them straight to softball.
Okay.
Or straight to, you know, chess club or whatever it is.
So it's not like I'm going to make them miss that so that they can clean up the kitchen.
I'm embarrassed to say that when James is in sports like when it is a sports season we definitely eat fast food more regularly than any other time.
I gotta take you to soccer.
You finish work and then you have to go straight to the whatever practice and then by the time you get home it's like 8 o'clock.
I'm not gonna start cooking dinner at 8 o'clock.
Yeah, we're gonna go to Popeye's chicken or something.
Yeah, yeah.
I have found some workarounds for that, right?
Like the instant pot.
I don't know if you've heard of that is like my best friend.
Yeah, it's like a crockpot slash pressure cooker.
And I found this, you can make like pre made frozen meals, you just throw it in that.
So it's – you do all the prep ahead of time when you have time, right?
This is what happens with moms who have four kids.
Like we have to figure – Oh, my gosh.
Because for me, even to go to Popeye's, like –
That's not going to be cheap.
You know what I mean?
Oh, yeah.
It's never cheap.
But I try to limit eating out with them, especially the health issue.
Like we're really trying to eat healthy.
My kids and our whole family like if we eat fast food, it really affects our metabolism, affects our – so we're like –.
Really trying.
So I do try to find ways to simplify meals to still do like a healthy meal that doesn't take as much time.
Good, good.
But then there's still the cleanup.
Like it's always still hard.
And honestly, that type of meal, like I can say, oh, it's great.
It's easier.
It's never quite as good because it's not as fresh as something that takes time, more time to make for sure.
Sure oh, but it's better than fast food.
It's better than Popeyes no offense to Popeyes, Lindsay did.
Did your parents not like teach you how to cook growing up?
What do you do when you're in a group of native speakers and they all start speaking quickly and interrupting each other?
Do you panic or do you participate?
Join our weekly fast listening quizzes to build the skills to participate.
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That's allearsenglish.com forward slash fast.
So I think this comes back to how food was valued right in your house.
So yeah, my mom tried to teach me how to cook, but I kind of spaced out and I wasn't interested in it.
I just was not into it, because there wasn't necessarily a tradition of like oh, this food was passed down through our grandparents and it's savored and is talked about.
Nothing was talked about like when friends came over.
It wasn't like my friend was asking for my mom's xyz right, something chicken or meat love.
No, it just wasn't.
We just ate to to eat and and that was it, and it was always just okay.
It was always just okay.
And my dad did get it when my mom got her PhD and started teaching at a college.
She would come home at like nine, so he had to cook, right?
And we would eat at 9.30 or 10 every night because we wanted to eat together as a family.
And my dad got real experimental, and that was kind of fun, but usually that was very hit or miss.
Like when you take the whole cupboard and you throw everything into a stir fry, sometimes it's good.
Call it goulash.
So I just didn't have like this sentimental attitude towards food growing up.
So I didn't develop that.
Yeah.
No, that's a good point though.
I like –
It is hard to You know.
American families are so culturally mixed that there isn't this sort of like you know, years-long tradition of passing down recipes and stuff like that.
Like, I know my mom's mom was a terrible cook.
Like, my grandma...
Was a terrible cook.
She hated cooking.
She never used any spices, like not even salt, like nothing.
It was just like, oh, I'm going to boil some meat and put it on the table.
And like, it was gross.
Totally.
Boiled meat, like really gross.
And so my mom taught herself how to cook.
Yeah.
But then, but then by the time my brothers are way older, so she cooked them like these amazing rich meals with like cream and butter.
And then.
Wow. when I was growing up, she's like, nope, time to get healthy guys.
Cause she went back to school.
Yeah.
Yeah, totally.
And so the way she cooked totally changed.
Um, and yeah, same thing.
Like I don't feel like it was uh important thing.
Like we always had family meals for sure yeah, and my mom's an awesome cook, but cool, it was never a thing i did or care or wanted to do.
Yeah, I feel like I've always felt like this is one of the big sacrifices of parents any parent to be making food for kids, because I feel like the average person does not have a lot of interest when it comes to cooking.
I think that's a more rare talent slash interest.
But you have to do it, right?
You don't have a choice, especially if you have little kids.
If you don't have kids yet, you probably can eat out and it's fine.
But once you have little kids, you're not taking them to the restaurant every day because it's miserable and you're trying to be healthy.
So somebody has to cook.
And most likely, whoever that is doing the cooking, they don't love it.
They have to force that interest.
They have to force themselves.
And so when I see people who are doing any time, I'm like, I have respect.
I respect that you're making a sacrifice, because most 99 of the parents I know who cook for their kids and just do it day after day, it's not their hobby of choice.
They don't love it, right?
You do it because you have to.
But I think you can teach yourself to love it.
Like we during the pandemic, we started watching cooking shows a little bit more and we got familiar with all the stars, the celebrity chefs, and it's kind of fun.
I have to be honest, I never thought I would watch cooking shows.
I just put it in the category and turn my nose up to it.
But watching it, you get excited and you start to think, oh, that's why those flavors work together.
These people are geniuses.
They're artists.
They're true artists, right?
Yeah.
And you can feel somewhat inspired by that.
So-
You know what?
On my vacation I listened to a few audiobooks, and one of them was Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.
By Tony Bourdain, because I never read it.
I don't know how I missed reading it, but...
He read the audio book of it too.
And I zoomed through that book in like two days.
All I wanted to do was walk my dogs and listen to the book.
And it did make me want to cook.
It's true.
Like you do get inspired by people that love, that really love food and cooking.
So-
And it's interesting because I'm just thinking.
I'm having this light bulb moment because I'm like so many other things.
If I tried to do them, I would feel like I have to like take a class.
I have to like really dive in right for a musical instrument or lots of things.
Yeah.
But with cooking, you're always kind of like, I can figure it out on my own.
My parents taught me whatever.
I'm good.
But to really get that interest, that love for anything like a musical instrument or a subject of study, you really need to invest in yourself, take classes, really do what it takes to get that interest.
So like probably I just need to take a cooking class.
And probably find out what's more interesting about it.
And, like you were saying, the being able to taste it and mix flavors and all that instead of just following recipes.
That's boring.
I'm following.
That is boring.
Maybe that turns out fine.
Yeah.
Right.
I just need to take a cooking class, you guys.
I'm going to do it.
Okay.
Come back and update us on that.
Didn't Michelle say that she takes cooking classes wherever she travels?
Yes.
I love that idea.
That's a great idea.
So let's end with that question, guys.
If you could go anywhere and learn that culture's cuisine, what would you choose?
India.
I love Indian food so much.
And I've tried to cook it myself.
And I'll buy all the garam masala and turmeric and everything.
And I'm following recipes.
And I think it's gonna be great.
And it's never anywhere as good as I can get in a restaurant.
Not even close.
Yeah.
So I need I need the skills.
I need someone to teach me what am I doing wrong?
I love that.
Yeah, I actually did this in Peru in Lima.
I went to when we did a trip to Lima to Peru a couple years ago, we took a cooking class there.
And that's the one I would choose again.
Because Lima has a real food tradition.
People don't know it, but it's a hot food city, actually.
Awesome.
Yeah.
Really cool flavors and dead, very creamy and nice use of, yeah, it's great stuff.
Oh, that's awesome.
Good answer.
Yes.
I'm going to say Thailand.
I want to learn how to cook like all those soups, like Tom Yum soup and all.
Oh, man.
I love to, I love all food.
That's awesome.
That's the thing, right?
We all love eating.
I love eating so much.
I'll eat anything.
I will try anything.
But just making it is the tough part.
But that's okay.
We make it and then we get to eat it and feeding our families.
That's also a worthy endeavor, right?
Yes, it is.
This has been a productive call, I think.
Very productive.
We've come to a lot of realizations.
Good use of time.
So guys, if you want lessons to teach you how to have conversations like this and understand conversations like this, check out our weekly program guys.
Allearsenglishcom slash fast.
All right.
Awesome.
Thanks for, you know, being honest and having this conversation today, guys.
All right, guys.
Good to see you.
I'm going to go sign up for a cooking class.
All right.
Bye.
Bye.
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