cooking lessons required

jodie114

lol i have a Slow cooker, george foreman grill and normal cooker,(ohh and a micro), but want to start making more meals for the family. is me, oh, and ds who is 4. i buy all packet stuff at the mo ( steak pies, kievs etc), apart from mince and beef that i do in the sc. i see so many people on here making thier own pies, cakes bread and want to get into the action - to save money and know what i am putting into our bodies.
anyway long post - sorry

hoping for ideas

jodie

trying-very-trying

There bis a recipe thread, but I can't get the link to work. I've also been reading Blacksaturns meal planner and she's got a lot of recipes in there as well.

ravylesley

My advice would be to start with the basics and work from there.If you can make pastry start making your own pies,if you cant make pastry buy yourself a good cookbook like the Delia one that teaches you how to cook and start experimenting.But bear in mind that there will be disasters to begin with and dont get downhearted by them

Lesleyxx

mrbadexample

You can learn to cook on here. I know, because I have!

Just start a thread, and say what you want to cook. Someone will turn up and give you a recipe, and then an army of supporters will give you step-by-step instructions on what to do. Take a few photos as you go along to keep everyone entertained when it goes wrong.

Look here and you'll see what I mean. The stew thread and the pie challenge thread are probably my favourites.

noonesperfect

This is a brilliant website. It has a skills by numbers section

http://www.cookingbynumbers.com/frames.html

and one where you put in what you have in your cupboards and fridge and it suggests what you can make with them and a brief recipe.

jodie114

aww thanks for those they are great, love the idea of putting in what u have. i have managed to burn/muck up most things in the past, bakery being my worst, and i would love to be able to make cakes ( and of course eat them!)

noonesperfect

I would recommend the Bero recipe book then. It's not massive or expensive or filled with high-falootin things you will never make. Better than that, I've jut found their website and it grades how easy (or otherwise) their recipes are. I use my book alot as I Know the recipes give reliable results.

http://www.be-ro.co.uk/f_insp.htm

If you have a fan oven remember to reduce the heat by 20%. i.e. recipe/instructions say 200C, reduce heat to 180C.

PS I would recommend having a go at the "fruit cake" (not easy fruit cake or celebration - just fruit cake). It's made by the rubbing-in method which is more forgiving than a creamed cake IMO. I usually sprinkle some flaked almonds on top. The recipe is for mixed dried fruit but there are other variations for orange and spice or choc chip if you don't like dried fruit.

I like this website there's more recipes than in the book I've got and lots of step by step instructions for beginners.

mrbadexample

jodie114 wrote: »

aww thanks for those they are great, love the idea of putting in what u have. i have managed to burn/muck up most things in the past, bakery being my worst, and i would love to be able to make cakes ( and of course eat them!)

Ok....cakes can be much easier than you think. Have a go at this Chocolate Yoghurt Cake - if I can make it, anyone can! You are unlikely to make any mistakes that I haven't already made! :rolleyes: Honestly, it's a doddle:

Buy ingredients as per recipe. Put in bowl and mix. Transfer to cake tin. Put in oven. Take out when it's done. It's really simple, just like me.

It doesn't need icing, or decorating, just eating. Once you've made a couple, your confidence will magically improve, and you can then move on to Carrot Cake, which is fabulous. :drool:

TNG

mrbadexample wrote: »

Ok....cakes can be much easier than you think. ....... Honestly, it's a doddle:

Never thought I'd see the day when you typed THIS, mr be

Generali

If you want to learn to cook, get a copy of one of the Delia Smith books. Very easy to follow and you can usually pick them up 2nd hand easily enough.

Food cooked from scratch is better for you, cheaper and tastier than that packaged rubbish.

margaretclare

Hello jodie

You can't do better than beg/borrow/buy second-hand a copy of Delia Smith's 'How to Cook'. She really does start with the basics.

To make pies, you start by making pastry and then putting in whatever filling you choose. However, it's possible to buy ready-made pastry and all you need to do then is to roll it out and put in the fillings.

What you could do is start with making a few jam tarts. Kids LOVE jam tarts, especially if they get involved with putting in the jam, licking their fingers etc!

You need a board to roll out pastry and a rolling-pin. You need a bag of flour. Pastry needs to be kept cool while making but then the jam tarts are baked in quite a hot oven. The Be-Ro book which someone else recommended will tell you exactly how.

To make a simple meat pie, buy some good-quality mince, chop an onion, cook it gently in a saucepan with a beef Oxo cube. Roll out your bought pastry. To make a pie, you need a pie-dish and you need a top and a bottom of the pastry. Line the pie-dish with pastry then cut out another circle for the top. Put the cooked meat and onion into the pie-dish and put the top on. You need to sort of pinch the top and the bottom together by going round the edges with finger and thumb.

I could show you so much easier than having to explain it like this! Isn't there anywhere near you, a community college or similar, that does basic cooking lessons?

Don't bother with chicken Kievs, waste of time.

HTH

Margaret