> 1. Why do you cook? Is it to save cash or is it recreation? Or something else?
Cooking is an old human activity--and I mean OLD! It's easy to forget what you are in this day and age. Tilling, growing, harvesting, cooking, and eating together helps me remember.
> 2. Do you plan ahead? Like a weekly meal plan?
I've tried that. No.
> 3. What kind of things do you cook usually?
Veggies. Sometimes I'd pick a random vegetable that I didn't know the name of, then take it home, figure out what it is called, check the indexes of a couple paper cookbooks, google it, see the types of things people make with it, and then throw out all that research and just try cutting it into cubes and baking it in a shallow pan with other veggies I'm more familiar with. :)
Turnips, parsnips, rutabaga!
Radishes, beets! A dozen types of kale. All the brassicas. Heirloom tomatoes (the flavors vary a great deal).
Most of these things are harder to prepare than the contemporary American Standard veggies: tomatoes (two types), broccoli, lettuce (two types), peppers (three or four colors), cauliflower, carrots, etc. And they all have richer flavors.
Personally I think that mustard greens make a great lettuce replacement for a burger. Just rip the stems out first if you find this too ... chewy.
I also slow cook different hunks of meat with veggies and different curries. I visited an eastern grocery of some kind a while back and took advantage of their promotional pricing on curries. With the types I got, it seems that you're suppose to COOK with the stuff, rather than adorn what you cook. I'll put half a cup of cinnamon-based curry into a slowcooker with a pork roast and some hours later I have heaven in that pot, heaven that falls apart when you put a fork to it.
Oh, bread machines are awesome. I've only made a couple of loafs so far... Super easy.
Speaking of bread, industrial-scale bread is terrible. It turns into dense material in your gut. Get some bread that isn't completely homogenous--if it's too hard for you, try warming it or moistening it. Soak it in butter, or milk, or soup. (Don't those things sound sort of familiar?)
> 4. Do you follow any diet? Atkins, Slow Carb etc.
Wut? I like butter. And bacon. Does that count? Wait, I also like my butter on bread, and bacon in my salads.
> 5. Do you have any life hacks, tips to be more productive as a cook?
Remember: cooking is older than the internet. It's older than your favorite economic system.
The recipes that have survived across time are not just tasty, they are also easy and cheap (but maybe not quick). The food species that have survived across time are themselves tasty, easy, and cheap. For both, you might need some knowledge to utilize them... And you'll certainly screw up a few times. But, you can be sure that people with less resources (perhaps including mental resources) successfully ate these things--keep at it and you'll not just catch up to your predecessors, you'll exceed them.
If you are the sort of person who carefully peels garlic, try this tactic whenever you encounter some hard or annoying work in the kitchen: ask yourself, what would a cave person do? Yeah, the husks just fall off when you smash the garlic. The same is true for a variety of veggies. I also find that for some leafy greens, ripping them produces better results than cutting them.
I've said a lot about OLD things. Before someone associates me with that whole paleo diet thing, let me point out that I'm not following a fad, I'm following my stomach and common sense. I'm also an emacs user. :)
ALWAYS wash your greens as if you'd just submerged them in a muddy rain puddle--get into the nooks and crannies with running water and your fingers. It's not just about the E coli, it's also about the actual mud and grit. Plants come from dirt!