Philosophizing...

..which in this case is just going to be a three dollar word for "rambling on". 

A friend and I got to talking about food tonight.  Now...it seems like I've always cooked. I know I haven't, but I did start "early" I guess...when my dad died and mom went to work, she needed a hot meal in the evenings, so I took over making dinner after school.  I consider myself a good "country" cook.  Not gourmet, but good country food...chicken fried steak, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, casseroles.  Anyway, during the conversation, we got to wondering about how much the reasons you learned to cook influence what kind of cook you become. There are those who learn to cook to keep from starving, and there are those who learn to cook because they like to eat.  The two are really different things.  I like to eat.  But I was raised around good food...my mother was an excellent cook, and so were both local aunts.  My aunts on my dad's side, while we didn't see them as often, were wonderful cooks too.  My dad gardened (the man had a green arm), and fished, so we always had fresh vegetables, and usually fresh fish in the summer, too. 
My friend says that those who learned to cook to keep from starving usually only know how to make a couple of things really well, and rely on packaged foods and microwaves for the rest. They don't really enjoy eating, maybe because they never got in the habit of having "good" food at home. Maybe their moms didn't cook, maybe they came from a single parent family where no one had time.
I was the type of child that you couldn't "fob off" when I was hungry, by handing me a package of chips or a candy bar. I never did like junk food much, even as a teenager. I'm still like that. When I'm hungry, I want a meal.  I get tired of fast food pretty quickly, too, and want my own cooking. 
But I think again, that's because I learned to cook because I liked to eat.

What kind of cook are you?  And what do you think of my half-baked (pun intended) philosophy?