Bates Family: Babies Galore! Part 12

[catlady]

3 hours ago, twinmama said:

Mmm nothing like pasta with no sauce, some dry cheese, and raw onions!

i'll give him credit for the presentation, but boiling macaroni, shredding cheese, and arranging produce does not really qualify one as being an "awesome cook" in my opinion (and if there's any alfredo sauce included, ten bucks says it came from a jar).  i have a long-standing reputation of having poor culinary skills, and i could do the exact same dish.

so are the square plate and hammered silverware the same patterns that were on their giant wedding registry?

[season of life]

I'm utterly jealous of Brandon's crepes... I always wanted to make my own, but I'm worried they won't taste like crepes. Sigh.

[CorruptionInc.]

1 minute ago, catlady said:

i'll give him credit for the presentation, but boiling macaroni, shredding cheese, and arranging produce does not really qualify one as being an "awesome cook" in my opinion (and if there's any alfredo sauce included, ten bucks says it came from a jar).  i have a long-standing reputation of having poor culinary skills, and i could do the exact same dish.

5

Pretty sure your dishes would be much better than Bin's, @catlady

[catlady]

2 minutes ago, CorruptionInc. said:

Pretty sure your dishes would be much better than Bin's, @catlady

thanks!!  yesterday i made scalloped potatoes from scratch.  the white sauce was a little thin, and the final product was a little dark and crunchy around the edges of the pan, but nobody got sick or anything, so i called it successful.  i used a recipe from a 1965 Fannie Farmer cookbook i found at a yard sale a few years ago.

[Snarkle]

Today I taught our Unitarian-Universalist congregation's 7/8 graders Building Bridges curriculum, and it was Humanism week (basically they went through all of the deist/theist religions, and now we're moving on to those without a "God/god" per se).

I was looking up Humanist themes in literature and stumbled across this from the American Humanist Association:

The key is to be open for titles that present values with which humanists can agree. Fortunately, the best of today's mass market books for children and teens are all quite humanistic and almost never bring religious ideas into the picture. Therefore, if the American Library Association recommends it, then one can feel confident that the book is likely to be suitable for humanists. 

So go, librarians!  There also is this from the same Humanist Association, which I thought quite apropos regarding fundies and libraries:

Ironically, one good place to look for general book and film titles is through the religious right. By finding out what books and films have been negatively reviewed in evangelical Christian publications and websites, particularly those titles condemned as "secular humanist," one can often be led to excellent choices for humanist kids. (For example, Phyllis Schlafly once criticized The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss because of its not-so-subtle critique of the Cold War arms race. And, indeed, the book provides an excellent parable against the nuclear war doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction. Moreover, most of the books that Dr. Seuss wrote later in his career are particularly suitable for humanist children. They cover issues like pollution, racism, and many other social concerns. The Lorax, for example, is an environmentalist title.)

So I was contributing to the heathening of youth today, and I don't regret it a bit.  It feels good to tell kids, "There is no right answer.  What do YOU think?" and they kind of look at you suspiciously like there's some sort of a catch to be told that at church...

[anjulibai]

I loved The Butter Battle Book. Didn't realize the implications of it until I was older. I should get a copy for my kids. 

[Queen Of Hearts]

I think you guys are being way too rough on Ben and his pasta dish.  Sure, it wasn't the hardest thing in the world to make, and I personally think the raw onions on pasta sound gross, but he also cooked a meal for Jessa and even took time to plate it in a way that was clearly thought out to be visually interesting.  He comes from a culture where cooking is woman's work so the fact that he made Jessa anything at all really shows he isn't fully brainwashed into that awful Gothard culture.  

[JillyO]

6 hours ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

I think you guys are being way too rough on Ben and his pasta dish.  Sure, it wasn't the hardest thing in the world to make, and I personally think the raw onions on pasta sound gross, but he also cooked a meal for Jessa and even took time to plate it in a way that was clearly thought out to be visually interesting.  He comes from a culture where cooking is woman's work so the fact that he made Jessa anything at all really shows he isn't fully brainwashed into that awful Gothard culture.  

QFT. That's why I posted it. I personally don't think the pasta looks very appealing (though it's probably not so bad once you take the raw onions off), but I honestly don't understand why Brandon is being celebrated here and Ben is not. Yeah, it looks like Brandon is a better cook than Ben, but that's not really the point, is it? Both men are defying Gothard's gender roles by cooking for their wives, but only one of them is lauded for it. Because apprently the Bateses can do no wrong while everything the Duggars do is inherently evil. Or something.

[Kak]

28 minutes ago, JillyO said:

QFT. That's why I posted it. I personally don't think the pasta looks very appealing (though it's probably not so bad once you take the raw onions off), but I honestly don't understand why Brandon is being celebrated here and Ben is not. Yeah, it looks like Brandon is a better cook than Ben, but that's not really the point, is it? Both men are defying Gothard's gender roles by cooking for their wives, but only one of them is lauded for it. Because apprently the Bateses can do no wrong while everything the Duggars do is inherently evil. Or something.

I agree with you in principle @JillyO, but the pasta looks awful to me too. But if they usually eat eggs or cereal then I guess the pasta/cheese dish is a step up.

Why do men who need cheerleading for cooking? Honestly, even that little detail gets me all annoyed about the stupidity of their worldview.

[IrishCarrie]

Whenever I see a man showing off his cooking, the first thing I think is "Yes, very good, very nice, but can you cook anything else?".... My ex had two things he could cook. He made the best mashed potatoes in the world and he was also excellent at preparing and frying fish (lifelong fisherman). And every time he made either of these dishes, we practically had to organise a marching band to tell him how amazing he was.

Kudos to both Ben and Brandon for preparing a meal for their wives. But one dish, once in a blue moon, doesn't cut it. So, what else can you cook, what's next on the menu? 

 

[Kak]

And, does he clean up after himself?

[jas]

6 hours ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

I think you guys are being way too rough on Ben and his pasta dish.  Sure, it wasn't the hardest thing in the world to make, and I personally think the raw onions on pasta sound gross, but he also cooked a meal for Jessa and even took time to plate it in a way that was clearly thought out to be visually interesting.  He comes from a culture where cooking is woman's work so the fact that he made Jessa anything at all really shows he isn't fully brainwashed into that awful Gothard culture.  

True. The other thing to remember is that Ben is barely out of his teens. I have always loved cooking, but I definitely made some similarly awful looking dishes at that age.

Brandon is a bit older (26 I think?) so he has had more time to practice and, while it looks lovely, crepes are hardly rocket science. 

[is.it.real]

3 minutes ago, IrishCarrie said:

Whenever I see a man showing off his cooking, the first thing I think is "Yes, very good, very nice, but can you cook anything else?".... My ex had two things he could cook. He made the best mashed potatoes in the world and he was also excellent at preparing and frying fish (lifelong fisherman). And every time he made either of these dishes, we practically had to organise a marching band to tell him how amazing he was.

Kudos to both Ben and Brandon for preparing a meal for their wives. But one dish, once in a blue moon, doesn't cut it. So, what else can you cook, what's next on the menu? 

 

Such a good point! My best friend (who is a guy) loves to cook, but only on special occasions or when the food in some way is advanced. His wife usually cooks the everyday-meals. So yes, he is a great cook, but I don't like to cheer him on for it, because he is only doing the fun cooking and is letting her do the boring day-to-day work. It annoys me so much! And I telling him to take responsibility for all food and than expect praise.

[Dutch_girl]

1 hour ago, Guilty pleasure said:

Such a good point! My best friend (who is a guy) loves to cook, but only on special occasions or when the food in some way is advanced. His wife usually cooks the everyday-meals. So yes, he is a great cook, but I don't like to cheer him on for it, because he is only doing the fun cooking and is letting her do the boring day-to-day work. It annoys me so much! And I telling him to take responsibility for all food and than expect praise.

That's what I told my DH when he said "but you like to cook, so it's not a chore" (In response to my "Why don't you fold the laundry, then I'll cook dinner"). Yes, I like to cook. On the weekends, when I have time too search in cookbooks and make something special. Not after a loooong day, trying to make something edible, quick and healty, while staying within budget.

[HereticHick]

JillyO, I do not think that the "Bates can do no wrong." I do think that Brandon made some lovely crepes. This is the Bates thread. Ben's pasta dish has been discussed  pretty thoroughly on in the Duggar forum.

It is entirely possible to admire a specific thing without endorsing an entire worldview. My thought processes are not that simplistic.

[nickelodeon]

I feel like treating your husband's cooking like a miracle from heaven (now in theaters!) is on par with praising him for "babysitting" his own kids, so I'm cringing a bit. Look at what my hubby made me!! #DoingTheVeryLeast #PouredSkimMilkOnSomePasta #GiveHimTheNobelPrize

But yeah, if you think of it in the Gothardite context it is kinda edgy.

[elliha]

I am not picky and I would eat Ben's and Brandon's food with no issues including the raw onion but I think it is different what is worthy of being posted online or not. Ben's dish? No. Brandon's dish? Maybe. To be honest I see both as examples of pretty standard food but I admit that Brandon's looks tastier. 

[JillyO]

1 hour ago, HereticHick said:

JillyO, I do not think that the "Bates can do no wrong." I do think that Brandon made some lovely crepes. This is the Bates thread. Ben's pasta dish has been discussed  pretty thoroughly on in the Duggar forum.

It is entirely possible to admire a specific thing without endorsing an entire worldview. My thought processes are not that simplistic.

Fair enough if you just wanted to point out that Brandon made some nice-looking crepes for Michael. However, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, then, to post this picture with the comment "I'd like to see a Duggar husband do this." If you don't want to make this a comparison between the Bateses and the Duggars, don't make a comment like that. If you do, don't be indignant when someone points out that Duggar husbands have, in fact, done similar things.

By the way, I was neither saying nor implying that you are endorsing the Bateses' world view. I was merely pointing out the very different standards by which the Bateses and the Duggars are measured on this forum lately. And to me, your post fit right into that trend. If it wasn't intended as such, then I'm sorry for misinterpreting, but I still don't see how else I could interpret your post.

[nelliebelle1197]

On 3/19/2016 at 8:22 PM, Fundie Bunny said:

Awww. Hers was the first fundie wedding I attended on FJ. Hot Pink and malibu blue? Joshley instagramming the whole thing... It's a same I wasn't registered then, I could have had so much fun with those bridesmaids dresses

Yeah, this is why I always laugh hysterically when people talk about her brilliant taste.  Well, that and the cheap hooker shoes she used to pin to her wedding Pinterest board

[19 cats and counting]

4 hours ago, JillyO said:

I honestly don't understand why Brandon is being celebrated here and Ben is not., 

Could it be that Brandon has a job and actually can provide for his wife without relying on a reality TV show.

[Kak]

17 minutes ago, nelliebelle1197 said:

Yeah, this is why I always laugh hysterically when people talk about her brilliant taste.  Well, that and the cheap hooker shoes she used to pin to her wedding Pinterest board

Absolutely. 

I was watching some BUB at the weekend, and I also find the Alyssa lauding laughable. She seems to me like a typical fundie who's allowed to dress differently than she did when she lived at home. She got married and pregnant at 19 and that's really all we have to judge her on so far.

[19 cats and counting]

33 minutes ago, nelliebelle1197 said:

Yeah, this is why I always laugh hysterically when people talk about her brilliant taste.  Well, that and the cheap hooker shoes she used to pin to her wedding Pinterest board

Unpopular opinion-- I liked her wedding colors.  They were fun and fit her personality.  Not everyone needs to be 50 shades of beige.

As for Michael's colors--- pink and brown could have been done better in my opinion.  Pink and chocolate brown would have been much better than the beige.

(I'm single as fuck and have my wedding dress and colors already picked out).

[ClaraOswin]

I think that in the REAL world, a husband making dinner is not a big deal at all. My husband makes dinner most of the time because he enjoys it and is a better cook.

But for the Duggars and Bates' I suppose it is something to be 'praised' in their circle.

[JillyO]

21 minutes ago, 19 cats and counting said:

Could it be that Brandon has a job and actually can provide for his wife without relying on a reality TV show.

Yeah, except that exchange was specifically about that fact that Brandon and Ben both cooked for their wives, yet Brandon was celebrated like he's Husband of the Year and Ben was trash-talked.

(Also, I personally think there is little more reprehensible than working for ATI, but YMMV.)

[AnywhereButHere]

4 hours ago, jas said:

True. The other thing to remember is that Ben is barely out of his teens. I have always loved cooking, but I definitely made some similarly awful looking dishes at that age.

Brandon is a bit older (26 I think?) so he has had more time to practice and, while it looks lovely, crepes are hardly rocket science. 

My brother is an awesome cook. Now. One of his first forays as a teen was to add some soy sauce to boiling pasta water and call it Chinese spaghetti. You live, you learn, you choke down icky tasting noodles and find out what does not work in the kitchen!

 

My husband can also really cook. In fact, he’s making Easter dinner. So yay me. Unfortunately, he subscribes to the “I cook – you clean” mentality. Thank god for my new dishwasher. He also, more often than not, has the “you cook-you clean” mentality for all non-holiday meals. One night, he actually cleaned up everything but then got all mopey and pissed off afterwards. I guess I had thrown out a “oh thanks” to him, but he was expecting some over the top, lavish praise for cleaning up the kitchen. I was like, seriously? Do you ever thank me or give me flowers for doing the dishes? They’re dishes! We both eat off them, one of us has to clean them, usually it’s me. Get over yourself. It was like watching a big old light bulb go off over his head. He’s not some authoritarian, headship type guy and would be horrified to see those traits in himself, but ingrained stereotypes die hard.