Washing and de-stemming large greens, like collards or kale. It tends to zen me out.
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@MrGuyGuyGuy and @ricepad rate more than a knife and fork.
The common themes seem to be a desire to minimize the need to clean more things and the fact that a good cook does better work than a machine.
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Does making veal stock, following Thomas Kellerâs French Laundry cookbook recipe count? It usually takes me two or three days to complete all the steps as specified. (Plus time spent hunting down the veal bonesâŚ)
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I have any number of âmodern gadgetsâ - mandolin, KA lift bowl mixer, stick blender, large food processor, small 1 cup food processor, plug in temp-control deep fryer, whatever . . . .
the mandolin get used for very selected tasks where consistency of slice-thickness is required - cucumber&onion salad . . . scalloped potatoes
cabbage slaw I do with a knife - I like the slight variation in thicknessâŚ
the one cup food processor get used for Caesar salad dressing . . .
only recently broke out the âbig FPâ for doing a tuna salad / paste thing . . . ala deli-tuna-salads. had not been used in years . . . .
kneading dough - bread/pizza/other - the KA and spiral mixer.
whipped cream / egg whites to stiff / butter from heavy cream . . . KA & whisk
used to do egg whites for souffle by hand in a biggie copper bowl. that got old, real fastâŚ
6-8-10" chef knives, 6-8-10" slicers, boning knife, 10" bread knife . . .
have knife, will slice.
but for some tasks (like 15 mins of pizza dough knead . . . ) I do love the things that plug inâŚ
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⌠maybe so!
Yes.
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How about growing, picking, shelling, and peeling favas?
Thatâs a hard way.
But I plan to try making mayonnaise and cut down some pork ribs this summer, although I am the only one likely to eat it. Husband likes baby backs 
. I certainly have a lot to learn and appreciate.
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I wish Iâd learned how to sharpen knives with a stone. My family never did it so I never learned.
In The Accidental Tourist, William Hurt teaches his girlfriendâs little boy how to change a washer in the kitchen faucet. He says, ânow youâll be able to do this for your own family some day.â
Instead of Algebra and multiplying fractions, I wish weâd been taught more practical, useful things in school.
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I hand wash too. I also chop, slice and dice by hand almost everything, despite having a mandolin and a good processor. Unless getting something very slim or down to a puree like consistency is important for the dish, I just stick to the knife. Honestly, itâs out of pure laziness from having to haul the heavy food processor out, or having to clean the mandolin blades.
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The winner!
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Scrub the kitchen floor on my hands and knees.
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That is another one of those things that really is better to grow your own (apologies for referring to other thread).
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We got a lot of practical life lessons in Home Ick, but I would have benefitted from a lot more! Dad helped with teaching me how to do tune-ups on our Bug and I had the confidence to chase down and repair a clogged fuel line on it; it was a sneaky piece of yarn, of all things!, that got into the gas stationâs tank. Consumer finance should be a required subject in order to graduate.
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I was telling a couple of my (basically grown) kids about how in my home town growing up we only dialed 4 numbers. The town was covered by a single exchange/switch, so the last 4 was all we ever had to dial. Our home phone was 2508. My aunt across the way was 3377. My good buddy was 2604. Thatâs about all I can remember anymore.
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I think I like to do things the right way: the way that results in the best dish. So I donât think of hard or easy. Many things require doing it âby handâ or in multi-steps. But I will admit, that sometimes I use a food processor for speed, out of laziness.
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do you peel it first?
Assuming youâre asking about the ginger, not usually.
The neighbor kid had an old VW ('69 or '70, IIRC) that I wanted to buy because I missed adjusting valves. Thereâs something satisfying about adjusting the valves on an air cooled opposed 4! Mrs. ricepad said no.
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I didnât see any YT vids that showed how we used to do it. We would end up with boneless quarters: two âairline breastsâ (which we would then cut the drummettes from), two boneless leg quarters, two wings, two tenderloins, and a carcass for stock. We didnât serve the tails, so I would sometimes cut those off and cook them for my lunch.
