10/17/07 09:06 - ID#41683

since we've had some food posts lately..

I have a confession: I can't really cook. Or I do cook, but not well, at any rate.

What's the best way I can learn to make real (simple( meals? Do you know of any good books/websites to help me get started?

I should mention my apartment has a stove and microwave, but no oven.

theecarey writes at 11:07:16 10/17/07 - Comment #26520: I think Rachel only makes stuff look easy.

I hear ya! I guess to get better at cooking it takes practice. I'd like to be able to learn to make a few things really well. OK, so you have a microwave and a stove top. Do you have a toaster oven? while not able to accommodate much, there are some things that you can make in one when you need an oven of some sort. (like cookies!)

I am usually looking for simple-easy myself, as I:

1. have a small kitchen with little room for appliances, prepping, storing, etc
2. often cook only for myself. Bowl of cereal usually works but sometimes want something more substantial. Raman noodles dont count.
3. hate following long drawn out recipes that require skill, aptitude in following directions and using correct measurements and ingredients.
4. like to create and come up with super yummy stuff, but not at the expense of spending hours, or tons of money to make a dish.

The following site (and others like it) is great for those days you have a bunch of random stuff in your fridge/cupboards but dont know what to make out of any of it. You plug in your ingredients and it generates a recipe for you based on those items. You'll see that it asks for an email address. You do not need to enter one. The recipe will come up in another window.
:::link:::

This is an 'easy recipe' site.
:::link:::

There are a lot of books available as well. I have quite a few that cater to 'simple and easy' while still be interesting and varied.

good luck :)

tinypliny writes at 10:57:39 10/17/07 - Comment #26519: I beg to differ from this popular praise for cookbooks and whatnots. I think the best way to learn cooking is by cooking.

Start with very basic recipés that you find on the web. If, for instance, you wanted to make a slightly Indian styled onion soup, check out my recipé on (e:Joshua)'s blog. Then, you just jump in and make it.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. So drink the soup. Now is the time to criticise the soup. Was it tasty? If the answer is yes, then congratulations!! You are a cook already! If not, don't agonize! Experiment. Add some more salt, or decrease/increase/modulate the oil, or modulate the spice level.

Practice makes perfect. Everytime you cook, you are going to learn something new, so I recommend that, instead of buying those glossy cookbooks, you crack the ladles and the pots and open up your laptop and march to your kitchen.

And don't forget to dance while you are making stuff, happiness always seeps into your dish and makes it tastier!! Don't rush your cooking, make sure that you have a nice chunk of time free, before you start! :) Remember that cooking is just that. Cooking.

Good Luck!

james writes at 07:42:51 10/17/07 - Comment #26500: no, no, no. They don't sweat by her, they swear at her.

museumchick writes at 07:41:20 10/17/07 - Comment #26499: (e:james)- thanks, I definitely will have to check Bitman's book out.

(e:libertad)- I've never really watched Rachel Ray, but I know a lot of people who swear by her.

libertad writes at 05:38:59 10/17/07 - Comment #26491: I heard Rachel Ray is good.

james writes at 01:37:57 10/17/07 - Comment #26455: Mark Bitman's How To Cook Everything is a great book for beginners. It is full of recipes of everyday things, delicious things, things you probably grew up eating. There are a few exotic recipes, a few guides to planning a party, a guide to equipment. It is a great book. I wish that was my first cook book instead of the crazy macrobiotic books I had.

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