Prompted by a comment and close to my own heart as someone who has just about zero cooking skills...how do you start cooking?
In our 30s looking for healthy 30 minute meals!
Once I have my own place again I'd love to do meal planning and share our experiences. In the meantime what advice do you give those who are learning to cook literally from scratch?
Start with pasta. It seems so simple, but if you're really clueless, it's hard to tell a simmer from a rolling boil. And YouTube will also be your friend. Reading a description is harder than someone just showing you what to look for.
ReplyDeleteI also started learning how to cook in my 30's. The library is a good place to start. As a beginner I would recommend staying away from the chef authored cookbooks, many of them have hard to find ingredients. I've found that the best cookbook is Betty Crocker's. It taught me the basics on nearly everything and is still the cookbook I most often go back to. Another type of cookbook that I really like are the one's that churches, schools and community groups put together as fundraisers. Many of the recipes are easy to follow and use local ingredients.
ReplyDeleteOn this subject, I'm on the hunt for good crockpot recipes, that use summer ingredients ie tomatoes, squash etc... It's always too hot for me to cook during out hot California summers and I've yet to learn how to grill/barbecue.
I second Betty Crocker. My cookbook is 35+ years old and held together by duct tape. Definitely my go to book.
DeleteI second the crock pot. As a single working mom it was how DD and I ate well. Plus it's hard to screw things up.
DeleteCheck out crockpot365.com (I think that's the site) . All crockpot recipes.
And howdy Anon 5:26 from another Cali gal.
Jenn
Well Howdy Jenn! Thanks for the link for crockpot recipes...I'll be sure to check it out.
DeleteFannie Farmer was a good go-to cookbook when I was learning (I did not learn until my 20s). Now, I just google whatever ingredients I have on-hand (tomatoes, onion, beans...) and the the word recipes, and I'll come up with recipes that include those ingredients. I also like Allrecipes.com. They have a "search by ingredient" box.
ReplyDelete"Joy of Cooking." Was the cooking bible then, and still is. It can take you from beginner to expert with all things delicious in between and lots of explanations of terms, techniques, etc.
ReplyDeleteI would also suggest starting with what you and the family like to eat then check the Internet for easy recipes. Start simple too so you don't get frustrated.
ReplyDeletei also like Taste of Home magazine. They are home cooking recipes. They have a website also so you don't have to subscribe to the magazine.
I'd also steer clear of Martha Stewart and the celebrity chefs they can take a simple recipe and make it sound like rocket science.
Jenn
Any of the old school cookbooks that have been around for generations are a safe bet for a go-to basic cookbook. My favorite is the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. I remember my grandmother having hers propped up in a stand in the kitchen when I was a kid and cooking with her. Check out Pinterest too because there are lots of great and easy recipes. I haven't been updating frequently, but I have loads of recipes with instructions on my blog: livepuravida.blogspot.com Don't get intimidated! It's just reading, measuring and timing. Simple stuff :) ~A-M
ReplyDeleteThese are great suggestions - I'm definitely hitting the used bookstore to find these titles!
ReplyDeleteOverall I agree with avoiding 'chef' recipe books, but I've found that Jamie Oliver does have a couple of books that are geared towards people who don't cook that have simple recipes with common ingredients. One that we use a lot is Jamie's Food Revolution - we have found so many quick (15-30 minute) tasty weeknight meals that have become staples for us.
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for something old school, I definitely recommend one of the Farm Journal cookbooks, like this one:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Farm-Journals-Country-Cookbook-Nichols/dp/B000B65V7U/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429641534&sr=1-2&keywords=farm+journal+cookbook
Certainly nothing "novelle" about the food, just great country cooking. My mom had several different ones, as she was a long time Farm Journal subscriber, and after she died, my sisters and I fought over them. I was happy to find these on Amazon, so I got my own copies. : )
The Farm Journal cookbook is great, I use it and my mom got a lot of her recipes directly from the magazine.
ReplyDeleteI can't recommend Cook's Illustrated enough (http://www.amazon.com/The-Cooks-Illustrated-Cookbook-Americas/dp/1933615893)... I have a cookbook obsession and this one is _the_ go-to book on my shelf to learn how to do something new. They test then explain why certain methods/recipes are the best so that you learn the Why not just the How.
ReplyDeleteThe interwebs is a good free resource (I refer to www.thekitchn.com and www.seriouseats.com on an almost daily basis) but keep a journal or cookbook of your own detailing successes (and failures) so you can learn as you go.