This mod already exists, but not sure where to post that: TreeCapacitor!! Its great to be able to chop down trees so quickly, especially when you first start.
I like the cuisine craft idea, but I don't think it would be good to make cooking mandatory. Rather allow preparation of food that will fully restore your food bar, or give you crazy bonuses like breath underwater for a few minutes, things like that. Also, you have like 4 different kinds of stove. Maybe just have an electric stove (compatible with IC2 would be cool), microwave, grill (could run off of coal/charcoal), and a few other appliances. Probably don't want to add a huge kitchen to your place, just a little something. Mostly make the appliances actually different rather than variations on the same thing.
I like the cuisine craft idea, but I don't think it would be good to make cooking mandatory. Rather allow preparation of food that will fully restore your food bar, or give you crazy bonuses like breath underwater for a few minutes, things like that. Also, you have like 4 different kinds of stove. Maybe just have an electric stove (compatible with IC2 would be cool), microwave, grill (could run off of coal/charcoal), and a few other appliances. Probably don't want to add a huge kitchen to your place, just a little something. Mostly make the appliances actually different rather than variations on the same thing.