There are many reasons that the skill of cooking should be a part of everyones life, even if it's at the most underlying level. I have prime a few that, for me, were the turning point of 'could barely boil water' to learning everything I could get my hands on. They didn't all show up at the same time in my life, but each occurrence added fuel to the fire, no pun intended, that got me to this point. I'm kind of like Scarlett in Gone With The Wind who said "I'll never go hungry again!" Let me give you a clue. If you can't cook, you probably will not go hungry, but there is a huge inequity in the middle of not starving and getting what you want to eat when you want it. I decided to take control and do something about my "cooking impaired" status. So here are a few conjecture that you may find interesting.
Access
How To Cook Salad
What would happen if you moved to a new geographic area and you could not get passage to your favorite type of food? That happened to me in the early '80's. Hands down, my favorite type of food is Italian and there were many perfect Italian restaurants in my city. I moved from South Carolina to Dallas, Texas - home of splendid steaks, barbecue, and TexMex, but not much available at that time in good Italian restaurants. Getting a reservation at a good Italian cafeteria took two or three months on a waiting list. Momma Mia, wake up call number one.
Cost of Eating "Out"
What is the mean cost of a meal today for two consisting of Veal Marsala, Fettucine Alfredo, antipasto salad, garlic bread and a glass of good red wine at a restaurant? If you can get out for less than .00, together with tip, you're doing great. Now, cook that same meal for two at home. I just did and it cost .07. As an added bonus, I have enough left from the block of Parmesan cheese, the Marsala wine, and the pasta for many more meals to boot. The total prep and cook time was 47 minutes. At some restaurants, you may have to wait that long just to get your table and order your food. Note: Marsala wine is for cooking, not for drinking.
Health
I know I am beating an old drum here, but cooking at home with fresh ingredients is much better for you and your family than "eating out" or using processed, convenience foods. Out of curiosity, I checked the expiration date on a well known breakfast bar. It was three years from now! Do you wonder what they put in those things to make them last for three years? I don't have to wonder because I know. My 'day job' takes me into manufacturing plants of just about every product under the sun. Some fun to tour, some not so fun. I see a lot of processes that people who consume food should never have to see. Processed food not only costs three to four times more than fresh ingredients, just think about the methods these 'foods' trip through to become the end product that you buy from the grocery store shelf. I will not name names, so you manufacturing guys can quit checking your Visitor Log-In Sheets. A good rule to ensue is fresh first, frozen second, canned third and processed Never. If an ingredient does not look anything like it should, don't use it. I don't think I've ever heard of a 'puffed cheese snack tree' have you? Make Cheese Straws from scratch. It's easy to do using natural ingredients.
Every man that cares about their health and their families' health should discover their attitude about an certainly considerable part of life. You've gotta eat! How you choose to approach that branch is, obviously, up to you. Cooking does not have to be drudgery. It's a lot of fun and spicy when everything turns out to your expectation. Start small with things you can conduct and then build your knowledge about cooking wholesome dishes to add to your arsenal to fight against cancer, heart disease, diabetes and all the other illnesses plaguing today's generation. If a food product wasn't available 100 years ago, you probably shouldn't eat it now because it is a man made 'food' and not Natural. Natural is healthy, man made is not. Don't substitute convenience for good health.
Learn How To Cook - Three Big Reasons Why You Should Do So Immediately
1 comments:
Yes! When you learn to cook you have great power over food. But, how do you learn to cook?
Written recipes won't teach you to cook any more than having sheet music will teach you to play piano.
The biggest frustration for the home cook isn't cooking, it's following the written recipe. Recipes have inherent flaws and variables that make them impossible to duplicate and always let you down.
When a recipe calls for "one onion, chopped", how big is this onion? When a recipe says "cook under medium heat", how do you define medium? And, worst of all is cooking by time. "Saute for 3-5 minutes" can mean raw or burned depending on the stove, pan, ingredient, etc...
Why is cooking the only art form that has a strict set of instructions? You'd never tell a painter to "paint with 1.7 ounces of green paint for 22 minutes, and you'll have a landscape". No, he'll use as much green paint for as long as he wants until the landscape is complete. This is how people should cook.
I've taught thousands of people to "Burn Your Recipes" and cook like a chef at home, with basic cooking methods and the ingredients you desire.
Concentrate on the basic cooking methods of saute, steaming, braising, roasting, grilling, poaching, simmering and you can create an infinate amount of recipes that a book will never tell you.
Chef Todd Mohr
WebCookingClasses.com
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