I can't cook!

misskool

SP123 wrote: »

Wow, loads of replies already!

I will check out the websites. I have never been able to co-ordinate times, judge how hot a ring should be etc. My cooking co-ordination is zero and I get very flustered. Plus, I don't enjoy it. My husband does all the cooking (he really likes it), but he works away a lot. It used to not be an issue as I'd have a proper meal at lunchtime and a sandwich at night, but as I've changed jobs that's no longer an option, so I have to learn. Ideally, I want to be able to cook up in bulk and freeze, so that it's just a quite reheat for the evening. I do not want to come home after a long day and than spend hours at the hob!

The basics have completely eluded me. What on earth does 'browning' mince mean, for example??? Is it cheating to buy packets and jars, or should it be tins of basics to make up sauces? It doesn't help that I am not a foodie and really don't care what I eat on a day to day basis.

We have decent pots and pans and kitchen kit, and I think we have a slow cooker. All I need is the know-how!

'Browning' just means putting mince into a pan and cooking it until it turns a slightly darker colour.

And no, it's not cheating to buy jars and sauces if you don't know how to make them and want to try to learn how to cook.

Lots of meals don't require slaving for hours at the hob. A good and simple meal is pasta and pesto. You just stick a pan of water on, salt the water a bit (this increases the temperature of the water so it boils hotter) and wait till it's boiling (that's lots of bubbles on the water) and then pop in the amount of pasta you'd like to eat (50g is standard, 75g for big eaters), boil for 8 minutes. Before I learnt how to tell spaghetti was cooked properly, a good trick I learnt was that it would stick to a tiled wall if you threw it from the hot pan.

But you could just boil it for 8 minutes (10 minutes if you like it softer) and then drain. Pop on plate, throw on some ready made pesto, a drop of olive oil (if you like). Mix and eat.

That's a cooked meal.

Judging cooking times is difficult, the more you practise the better you get at it. What kind of hob do you have?

buxtonrabbitgreen

Pasta and pesto (and pine nuts) is the food my ds cooks when he has to do it himself. he is only 16 and has picked up cooking quite well for himself. he is not very good at reading and following instructions (for anything) same for me. So we are trial and error merchants. Or as I say read the instructions as a last resort. We are both trying and suceeding to a certain degree, to teach his gf how to cook.
She always said she just cant cook. But I think it is a lack of confidence. She can now do microwave jacket potatoes, omlette, and bread in the machine if I help her out when she doesn#t know what to do next.

CCP

I'm a bit late responding to this one, I know, but...

I firmly believe that anyone can learn to cook - it's all a question of experience and confidence (and of course confidence comes with experience).

Don't panic about what you don't know - even the most experienced cooks don't know everything. Start with something simple - perhaps the pasta and pesto dish (which is utterly yummy, btw - it's one of my favourites! ) - and learn to cook that. Once you've got the hang of that you can try something else and, before you know it, you'll have a repetoire of meals that you can make. Once you get more confident you might find you enjoy cooking and fancy doing more complicated meals, and you can start the process again.

And don't forget, if you do get stuck, you can always come on here and ask for help - I've never met a more helpful, obliging bunch of people than the ones who come on this board!

Psykicpup

Is there any one dish you would like to be able to cook? Maybe something filling & easy or an old family favorite or even your personal idea of comfort food..

If you come up with a dish you would like to do, we can break it down into easy steps - think Mr Bad-Example - & that way you can build your confidence up :T

What?

Jamies ministry of food has really helped me although I had some basics. I never learnt to cook at home, and until I had children never cooked from scratch. I would say write down a couple of basic meals you like. BBC used to do basic cooking mag called Easy Cook which had loads of easy, healthy recipes and each edition did a family favourite such as omelettes, or chilli, etc.

Then aim to try one or two a week until you build up confidence. Don't worry about getting it wrong because you will sometimes. Even experienced cooks do. By learning a few basics you'll build up your skills to start harder recipes and gain the confidence to think "oh I could try this".

You can only learn by doing, and I know that that can be scary, but good luck.

Tish_P

I second whoever suggested a student cookbook! Cas Clarke's ones are particularly beginner-friendly.

Another book I'd really recommend is Nigel Slater's "Real Fast Food" which is full of really easy suggestions - some of them are almost too simple to be called recipes! - for quick dinners and snacks. It's also good in that most of the recipes in there are for 1 or 2 people rather than serving 4 like Delia usually does.

BexInLondon

I highly recommend:
a) getting someone who can cook and is very patient to teach you a few basics (I didn't learn at home at all but mother-in-law taught me)
b) Delia's How to Cook as it gives a lot of good information about ingredients as well as actual recipes. The pictures are great for beginners as it's helpful to know what you're aiming for and also to whet your appetite and make it worth spending the time on!

You can always buy jars then experiment with adding a bit of stuff to them (read the ingredients list) e.g. you can bulk out bolognese sauce with tinned toms, oregano etc. Eventually you're adding so much to it that you find you no longer need the jar!

zippychick

i found this free download yesterday on this site. Aimed at children but starst out with complete basics so might be useful.If it's too basic i apologise x I think it's a lovely little book! Really useful