Becoming a Cook

I wouldn't call myself particularly gifted, or overly skilled. Heck, I still grate off the tips of my knuckles regularly when using the box grater, and don't even get me started on my lack of knife skills. I'm still afraid of using the food processor. However, I have done what not many Americans tend to do, at least before starting a family for whom they have to regularly cook for: I have developed a repertoire.

Don't get me wrong, developing a repertoire is a challenge. Most adults you and I know probably have one to a limited extent. They can cook a certain kind of soup, or pasta, or meat dish. Maybe a specialty they dust off for company, or holidays. They fill the rest of their meals with a mixture of take out, boxes, frozen dinners, and cans. I know this was how I was raised, and how many of the people I know were raised (and are starting to raise their kids.)

It has its benefits. For example, most box dinners are easy to assemble. Early in my twenties, boxed chicken and dumplings was one of my regular meals about every 10-12 days. All I had to do was to open the packages in it and put them in a casserole dish in the oven. I didn't have to get out a cookbook, or figure out whether or not I had all the ingredients. Another regular choice was a frozen meal that held the ingredients for a stir fry for two, and for about 6 weeks, frozen fried chicken cooked in the microwave.

Other meals I got from my mom; jarred spaghetti sauce and boiled angel hair, or, for a little extra, pour it over noodles and put cheese on top and bake. Baked potatoes or English muffin pizzas made quick meals, or possibly a quick trip to the pizza place or Taco Bell. My specialties were my mom's lasagna and meat loaf, still using jarred sauce, fresh French bread, home made chicken soup, and my grandmother's cinnamon rolls. I'd usually top these off with a can of corn, lima beans, or green beans, possibly apple sauce. Sprinkle in a liberal amount of going out to eat, and family barbecues or pot roasts on Sundays and you have my diet. It wasn't surprising I put on 30 pounds; I don't know how I managed to take it off.

I also know why I was so bored with my food. Every new meal became a stress to me. What should I eat? What should I prepare? How do I get the nutrients I need? How do I limit calories/fat/etc.? Do I have all the ingredients? Do I have the energy to put them together and the time to make the food before I get so hungry I eat my arm off? More often than not I settled for Taco Bell, jarred spaghetti sauce on pasta, or oatmeal for lunch or dinner. These options were easy, and they were the reason I was able to put off for years developing my cooking skills.

It is also pretty hard work to develop a cooking repertoire. It has taken me about 3 years to get to this point, and I don't even feel I'm really done yet. I want to have a couple of summer soups up my sleeve, and I'm planning on cooking through a good number of seitan recipes to find my favorites. It also wouldn't hurt to find a way to make my own aloo palak. I'm still flirting heavily with Asian and middle eastern cuisine, not ready to settle down with a few good recipes yet.

But the point is, I have a good number of recipes that I can count on, time and again, to deliver for me. I know what goes into them, how long they take to cook, and which ones make good leftover. I know which ones will make a quick dinner when I'm starving, and which ones I make on Sundays to use for lunches and even faster dinners on nights I am simply exhausted. A good number of them are healthy, some are a little higher in fat and calories. All are things I love to eat, and there are enough to give me a good variety of nutrients, and for the sake of avoiding boredom. I know how to stock my pantry keeping all these things in mind. And I make them all from scratch. (Okay, I still rely on some canned beans, as well as store-bought ketchup, but you get the idea.)

You to can get to this level of lower cooking stress and higher enjoyment! I will teach you how, or at least, give you advice based on my experience, over the course of this month, to develop a reliable stable of home-made recipes. Face it, you'd rather be out enjoying the spring weather than spending extra time cooking this month, right?

The first step is finding about 3-4 soups you can rely on, something I will cover in the next post.