Cute
It'd be great if more communities had close enough/nice neighbors to cook for you (never had cream stew tho i don't eat a lot of 'creamy' stuff as a savory dish/not sure if i'd like 'roux' but i guess better to test it/try it out for free than paying for it and being disappointed)
Potluck dinners can be a good way to try stuff like that, although cream stew's not likely to be something someone would bring. Maybe see if you can find any of those to go to to try new things. My church had one regularly when I was growing up and went to church. Some organizations do as well.
Man, Japan's really fucked up sometimes. I have no doubt at all that what Shikkari's mom said to her really happens to many lesbians in Japan.