Seewalds 18 - Spurgy and Henry

[Stormy]

11 hours ago, Kailash said:

It wouldn't surprise me if Jill and Jessa hate cooking because they had to cook so much when they were younger. They probably got a lifetime of cooking experience before they ever hit late teen years.

My grandma had a massive garden and essentially made my mom and her siblings into indentured servants stringing. My mom swore over strung green beans then that she'd buy all her vegetables from the store when she grew hip, and will have nothing to do with garden-related anything and has repressed whatever knowledge she had. Meanwhile, I have a tiny vegetable patch just for me that I started as a hobby!  I made the mistake of asking my mom to prepare something to compost and she went ballistic.

[PainfullyAware]

Maybe in the early years they couldn't afford fresh fruit and veggies (it can get expensive), and over time they got accustomed to it or the kids wouldn't eat anything else? Although the obvious thing would be to grow fresh produce in a garden, and pickle or dry it for the winter. With their love of pickles that should've been easy to sell. Eating canned everything is kind of the lazy choice when you have land and a small army to plant, weed, water and pick. They boys don't seem afraid to get their hands dirty sometimes, so it's clearly a choice not to garden rather than lack of options.

[VeryNikeSeamstress]

Even though the new Seewald spawn has a normal first name (thank goodness), his middle name makes me want to call him 'this little piggy' after Wilbur from Charlotte's Web, and that tickling game people play with children's toes.

[WhyNotJulie]

I'm about three months away from being a Degreed Law Professional (in Canada) so for me, Wilberforce always makes me think of Lord Wilberforce, who was a British judge in the House of Lords way back when. He was a BAMF though, so I'm kind of about it. 

[Dugg@rTime]

You may remember I posted on the previous Seewald thread about the petition to stop Trump coming to the Uk on a state visit.  Well, parliament debated it yesterday (no decision as of yet though) and the transcript is now available on line. It's an interesting read, no punches pulled in some cases!

I posted a link to it in the Politics board so as not to derail this thread too much.

[Kailash]

I agree with a pp poster who said the Duggar women were probably not taught to cook from scratch. They probably had several very specific recipes that they knew how to make, and that's what they prepared. It's a lot of speculation, but if that were true, they probably never want to eat certain foods again.  So cooking for just 2 adults and a small child might seem very daunting.  People who are not taught to think for themselves have a very hard time thinking outside the box, and I imagine that Jill and Jessa try to follow any new recipes they try exactly, while people who cook frequently usually make substitutions and adjustments for their specific tastes.

[Carm_88]

I wouldn't imagine that very much time or though was put into cooking good in the Duggar household. I imagine that you were just lucky if you weren't hungry when it was done. So I don't imagine that Jessa, Jill, or Jinger know a whole about cooking. I can't imagine, Michelle being such a hands on mother, that she would monitor them either.  

[Glasgowghirl]

They can only seem to cook in bulk and use processed food. I remember Josh buying a lot more food than he needed to on his honeymoon. He was used to buying in bulk and didn't think to reduce the amount for just him and Anna. Jill got stressed just making rice. 

[SweetFellowshipper]

I just checked out Ben's Instagram and in between the preaching there is a bunch of antiracist stuff calling out Christians for racism (one 5 weeks ago that seems to have been timed with one of the Trump edicts...), a prayer for Orlando, pics with interracial couples and a statement about white Christians being clueless on what black Christians go through. Pleasantly surprised. 

[VelociRapture]

If you look back through Jill's early Instagram posts, you'll notice she used to post about food she's made - like stuffed zucchini, baked potatoes, and beans and cornbread. The older daughters all likely know how to cook to a certain extent. Probably nothing fancy and easy enough to feed a small army while still living at TTH.

Spoiler

 

 

[VineHeart137]

2 hours ago, SweetFellowshipper said:

I just checked out Ben's Instagram and in between the preaching there is a bunch of antiracist stuff calling out Christians for racism (one 5 weeks ago that seems to have been timed with one of the Trump edicts...), a prayer for Orlando, pics with interracial couples and a statement about white Christians being clueless on what black Christians go through. Pleasantly surprised. 

I've noticed this as well. Ben's kinda dopey but he seems to show genuine concern and care over people other than his fellow fundies, and not just in a "I need to convert them!" way. His posts sometimes miss the mark a bit but it's a step above what we've seen from most (all?) of the other people in that family, and he's leagues above Derick in that regard.

 

1 hour ago, VelociRapture said:

If you look back through Jill's early Instagram posts, you'll notice she used to post about food she's made - like stuffed zucchini, baked potatoes, and beans and cornbread. The older daughters all likely know how to cook to a certain extent. Probably nothing fancy and easy enough to feed a small army while still living at TTH.

  Hide contents

 

 

I hope Jill has gotten her own crockpot by now. Those things are fabulous. I used the heck out of mine when I had a newborn.

[GotCaughtDancing]

Looking at the first photo of Jill with the stuffed zucchini makes me sad for her. She used to have happy eyes and they have all but disappeared.

[shiverful]

I think that both Jill and Jana enjoy cooking and will make fine home-chefs. That is if Jill doesn't have too many babies, and sadly it seems as if she's already halfway there. I remember the early episodes of her as a newlywed doing projects such as when she experimented with cooking that Nepali dish and inviting her younger sisters over to a tea party. I think that she really enjoyed having free time of her own for the first time of her life, while Dereck worked. As pregnant and caring for a soon two-year-old she seems overwhelmed and not like her old self.

I have been re-watching a bunch of all episodes and what strikes me the most is the number of times that Jessa is referred to as a bad chef. Even by Duggar-Standards, which is hardly gourmet, she is constantly teased by her mother and siblings during her courtship with Ben for not having spent more time in the kitchen. 

I remember the dinner theatre-episode where Jessa overcooked the meat to the point where it was inedible (watching Jim Bob trying to eat it without giving her away was priceless!), and she also struggled with the pies they were making. 

[LurkerOverThePond]

Remember when the J'slaves gave Erin Bates a recipe collection as a wedding gift because she was known to be a bad cook? Well, look at them now. Blessa is serving a well done oven manual as a main course, and JillyMuffin struggles with cooking rice for three. Meanwhile, Erin seems to have learned to cook and bake and really enjoy trying new non-Duggar recipes, and based on her IG those creations actually look tasty and healthy.

Duggars, how about taking a look at your nearest mirror.

[imokit]

Erin has been featured in the Bates show talking about her discovery of vegetables shortly after her marriage, and trying to get the youngest Bates to eat them.  It was actually as close to a dig at their fundy parents as those kids get.

[singsingsing]

I think the "lol teehee we don't know how to cook! Silly us!" was totally manufactured by TLC. They can obviously cook basic meals. We've seen the evidence. 

[GotCaughtDancing]

46 minutes ago, singsingsing said:

I think the "lol teehee we don't know how to cook! Silly us!" was totally manufactured by TLC. They can obviously cook basic meals. We've seen the evidence. 

Has to be. I don't expect them to be Martha Stewarts, but to act like they do is weird. Maybe they act silly and helpless in front of the cameras because it makes their headships happy?  Making their headships feel manly and in charge while keeping them in their place.  Such an odd thing since cooking, cleaning, birthing, and sexing are their 4 duties in life, you'd think they''d take pride in it.

[singsingsing]

I think we have to remember that everything we see on the show is because TLC wanted us to see it. They don't just show up at their house and say, "Oh, Ben's going to a Flame concert today? Jill, you're going to the doctor? Cool, we'll just follow along and film that." They come up with scenarios and plots for episodes, they edit everything carefully to fit whatever plot they've contrived, they ask them leading questions in the talking heads, and they pick and choose exactly what they're going to include in an episode and what they're going to leave out.

[VelociRapture]

5 hours ago, LurkerOverThePond said:

Remember when the J'slaves gave Erin Bates a recipe collection as a wedding gift because she was known to be a bad cook? Well, look at them now. Blessa is serving a well done oven manual as a main course, and JillyMuffin struggles with cooking rice for three. Meanwhile, Erin seems to have learned to cook and bake and really enjoy trying new non-Duggar recipes, and based on her IG those creations actually look tasty and healthy.

Duggars, how about taking a look at your nearest mirror.

Can we please just kill the whole "trouble making rice for three" as evidence she can't cook? It was filmed for the show and it's entirely possible they had her "struggle" with it in order to justify having Jana there to help or to highlight what a "servant's heart" Jana has or to show that they have normal sibling relationships or...

Like @singsingsingsaid, TLC doesn't include anything they don't want people to see. It's entirely possible they were attempting to sell a certain narrative. 

[Screamapillar]

I don't doubt that Jill's, and her siblings', math skills are subpar due to the School of the Dining Room Table, but the rice thing was a scene staged by TLC and who amongst us hasn't said some dumbass things aloud to ourselves while cooking?

[Carm_88]

Hey I will full on admit to struggling with some things in the kitchen when I cook. If you're trying something new, it will take you time to figure out how to do it without thinking. TLC definitely staged the Nepal meal and there's no doubt that maybe bad math skills came into play. (I have them too and I'm not SOTDRT, I'm just bad at math.) Hopefully, they all find something new and love being in the kitchen. 

[SassyPants]

When I talk about cooking, I am not talking about opening cans of already prepared food, blending them and then heating them in the oven. The Duggars are able to do dump cooking. Just about anyone could heat up already cooked food.

Remember, in their world, which they consider superior to our world, women are domestic queens, except in the Duggars' case, they seemingly are not.

 

And I agree with Carm. I have no doubt the Jill was confused with the rice proportions. She was also the teenager that when Jackson, #15 was due to be born, thought it was neat that he was a boy because then the sexes would be "50-50". Jackson was boy 10 and there were 5 girls.

Not everyone is good at on the fly, no paper and pencil, quick math.

[VeganCupcake]

7 hours ago, SassyPants said:

 The Duggars are able to do dump cooking. Just about anyone could heat up already cooked food.Remember, in their world, which they consider superior to our world, women are domestic queens, except in the Duggars' case, they seemingly are not.

 I have no doubt the Jill was confused with the rice proportions. She was also the teenager that when Jackson, #15 was due to be born, thought it was neat that he was a boy because then the sexes would be "50-50". Jackson was boy 10 and there were 5 girls.

I don't think any of them are strong in math (or academics period) but I think Jill knew that 5 is not half of 15. She meant to say there would be half as many girls as boys, but accidentally "half and half." 

And yes their "cooking" is horrendous! If they weren't so lazy they could learn how to make meals from scratch. They could cook ahead and use all their freezer space for healthy pre-made meals instead of processed crap. It's quite hilarious that cooking & cleaning is basically all that's expected of these girls, and yet they can barely make anything. After they struck it rich they kept the same cheap, processed way of eating. 

Jessa's tutorials on YouTube are still dump cooking, but at least now she uses fresh produce instead of cans. However, nobody needs a tutorial on how to throw onions, sweet potatoes, and ground beef into a pan and put it in the oven. 

[Audrey2]

1 minute ago, VeganCupcake said:

I don't think any of them are strong in math (or academics period) but I think Jill knew that 5 is not half of 15. She meant to say there would be half as many girls as boys, but accidentally "half and half." 

And yes their "cooking" is horrendous! If they weren't so lazy they could learn how to make meals from scratch. They could cook ahead and use all their freezer space for healthy pre-made meals instead of processed crap. It's quite hilarious that cooking & cleaning is basically all that's expected of these girls, and yet they can barely make anything. After they struck it rich they kept the same cheap, processed way of eating. 

Jessa's tutorials on YouTube are still dump cooking, but at least now she uses fresh produce instead of cans. However, nobody needs a tutorial on how to throw onions, sweet potatoes, and ground beef into a pan and put it in the oven. 

Remember, for Jana, Jill, Jessa, and Jinger, especially, but also Joy, these girls became sister moms (really moms- I can't do the strike through typing on my phone) at the age of 8. Michelle pushed off six month old babies on the girls, and they were charged with their care on top of their chore jurisdictions and whatever schooling they could grab. I, too, wish the girls could cook better, but I think their homemaking skills are at the basic survival level. I think, after the laundry room meltdown, Michelle focused on two things - being joyfully available and caring for the infants until they were six months. I know there are stay at home moms, much older than these girls were, who feel overwhelmed with caring for one or two children and managing a house. I can't imagine doing this at the age of 8, then having more sibling children a few years later to care for.

---

 

[Carm_88]

Hahah love those facial expressions! Jessa posted a bible quote later but that's not s interesting to me!