My sim seems to autonomously use the grill now, I can't remember if she has tried to cook on the stove since the patch.
That issue with the "care for self" thing is annoying. Although they are indeed "caring for self", the little lightning bolt thing is not there, so you can't switch to a sim not on your current lot, or make them do something else ie skill building. I had to take my sim home just to tend to the other sim.
Played my original sim and since the patch made aspirations easier, she completed about three I had been working on before, including Friend of the World. I hope that Beloved trait actually works now.