I can't cook!!

[ellorie]

I always figured that if you're boiling something in the water, you're going to be eating whatever crap is in the water. I always start with cold to be on the safe side.

[proton]

This thread is gorgeous. Thanks all.

[thatonekid]

I always figured that if you're boiling something in the water, you're going to be eating whatever crap is in the water. I always start with cold to be on the safe side.

This.

 

I know a chef who teaches at a culinary school and he said the students all learn to always use cold water when boiling something.

 

It's interesting that you start off with cold water when boiling the vegetables. I always thought that as long as the water wasn't going to eventually be consumed that you could just use hot water so that it boils faster, and then dump it out later. Whereas if you're making soups then you'd wanna use cold water...

[aravis]

haha, yep. don't want to use water that's already been sitting in an old hot water tank for a few of hours.

 

Another thing: one great investment would be a small rice cooker. I got mine for around $10 and use it quite frequently. If it has a non stick (teflon) coating, you want to be sure not to scratch it with any metal utensils. Same goes with your frying pans.

 

I like to add leftover meats (like ribs or rotisserie chicken) to my raw rice then cook it together. Tastes delicious cause all the meaty flavors get absorbed by the rice. Yummy!

[pluripotent]

For me, sometimes it's not the actual cooking that's the problem. It's the grocery shopping. I wish there was a website that would give me a grocery list (on a 1-, 2-, or even 3-week schedule) of stuff to buy fresh and stuff to keep in stock as non-perishables. I always run out of stuff to cook or buy ingredients that I use once and never again.

 

Similarly, if there was a list of must-have utensils in the kitchen, that'd be really useful... I find I'll look at a recipe book and say to myself, "I don't even know what that thing IS, let alone have one. How do you tell whether to buy a quality item or just snag one from the dollar store?"

[neoteny]

If you're a fan of curry, it's pretty simple to make too.

 

Dice some onions up, fry them in a little bit of oil. Add your meat/vegetables and a couple teaspoons of curry powder (available everywhere these days). Add some salt, cover and let it cook. Just lower the heat for the last part and presto!

 

 

Similarly, if there was a list of must-have utensils in the kitchen, that'd be really useful... I find I'll look at a recipe book and say to myself, "I don't even know what that thing IS, let alone have one. How do you tell whether to buy a quality item or just snag one from the dollar store?"

 

Depends what it is. Grab good quality knives, chopping boards, etc. You could probably get away with cheaper quality things for measuring, etc.... (can't think of other utensils...clearly I don't use very many utensils when I'm making a meal).

[isix]

Ugh. Grocery shopping. I have no tips for that whatsoever since I'm in the same boat.

 

As for utensils, I don't know about a list, but the common ones that you will most probably be using can be found in the dollar store. I bought my "first" utensils from the dollar store. I didn't want to buy expensive top of the line stuff if I wasn't going to cook that often or if I was just going to misuse it/wreck it (which I did...I fully set my wooden spatula on fire on the stove top)...I would suggest getting some relatively sturdy lookign ones from the $ store. If it seems like something you use a lot and something that should be better quality to be long-lasting, THEN purchase it from a proper store. Needless to say, there are some $ store utensils that I barely use...I'm glad I didn't spend lots on them if they'll be taken out once every couple of months.

[isix]

ooh, knives. Yes, those do need to be good quality!

[Renin]

For me, sometimes it's not the actual cooking that's the problem. It's the grocery shopping. I wish there was a website that would give me a grocery list (on a 1-, 2-, or even 3-week schedule) of stuff to buy fresh and stuff to keep in stock as non-perishables. I always run out of stuff to cook or buy ingredients that I use once and never again.

 

Similarly, if there was a list of must-have utensils in the kitchen, that'd be really useful... I find I'll look at a recipe book and say to myself, "I don't even know what that thing IS, let alone have one. How do you tell whether to buy a quality item or just snag one from the dollar store?"

 

You need at least 3 knives. Good knives. Cheap knives will drive you BONKERS. You need a paring/fruit knife. You need a cleaver for big chopping. You need a knife with a serrated edge for cutting soft things (like tomatoes or bread).

 

Next, you need to buy quality colander. Stainless steel. Sure, you can buy a cheap ass plastic one from Dollarama, but seriously; if it breaks and you are trying to strain out your cooked food, you will be so mad, you will kick your cabinets (speaking from experience).

 

You need cookware: one pot for making pasta and soups; one wok/frying pan; and you probably want a small pot for making things like ramen. We all know we make ramen

 

Dollarama buys that make your life easier:

- GLASS measuring cup (seriously. NOT plastic.)

- Measuring spoons

- Spatula; silicone

- Veggie peeler

- Dispenser/holder for your paper towels

- Parchment paper

- Alum foil

- TWO oven mitts. Not potholders. MITTS.

[SpicyNoodles]

You guys are gold! I love everyone's contribution so far

 

Just wondering...how open are you guys to potlucks?

I was thinking of bringing up this idea to my future classmates, since we're probably trying to lower the cost of expenditures and if a number of people each brought over a dish to a designated meeting place, we could all enjoy an assortment of foods. Okay, I'm totally bumming off people's wonderful cooking, while I'm contributing something like garlic bread JK. And to prevent the possible occurrence of everyone bringing salad, for example, you could always write down all the appropriate dishes to bring and put it in a hat and have a draw of who's responsible for bringing what...Obviously not something you'd do everyday, but maybe once or twice a month.

[mlbn]

You need at least 3 knives. Good knives. Cheap knives will drive you BONKERS. You need a paring/fruit knife. You need a cleaver for big chopping. You need a knife with a serrated edge for cutting soft things (like tomatoes or bread).

 

Next, you need to buy quality colander. Stainless steel. Sure, you can buy a cheap ass plastic one from Dollarama, but seriously; if it breaks and you are trying to strain out your cooked food, you will be so mad, you will kick your cabinets (speaking from experience).

 

You need cookware: one pot for making pasta and soups; one wok/frying pan; and you probably want a small pot for making things like ramen. We all know we make ramen

 

Dollarama buys that make your life easier:

- GLASS measuring cup (seriously. NOT plastic.)

- Measuring spoons

- Spatula; silicone

- Veggie peeler

- Dispenser/holder for your paper towels

- Parchment paper

- Alum foil

- TWO oven mitts. Not potholders. MITTS.

 

 

Yes to all of these! I bought mine at Homesense, it's still cheap but the quality is much better than Dollarama, I bought a Swiss stainless steel knife set with it's stand for $15. Best investment to date

[mlbn]

And in terms of recipes, I like my healthy made-up version of Fajitas. Spray frying pan with oil (uses less oil than just pouring) and brown 1/2-1 onion chopped length wise. Add in 1-2 chicken breasts cut in 2 inch strips, and cook for 5-7 mins, and finally add in green/yellow/red pepper and finish cooking on medium heat. Season with salt,pepper, and whatever other spice you like. I find garlic powder goes well. As for the tortilla bread, I like the Weight Watchers whole wheat one.

[<abstract>]

And in terms of recipes, I like my healthy made-up version of Fajitas. Spray frying pan with oil (uses less oil than just pouring) and brown 1/2-1 onion chopped length wise. Add in 1-2 chicken breasts cut in 2 inch strips, and cook for 5-7 mins, and finally add in green/yellow/red pepper and finish cooking on medium heat. Season with salt,pepper, and whatever other spice you like. I find garlic powder goes well. As for the tortilla bread, I like the Weight Watchers whole wheat one.

 

 

MMMMmmm, I just had fajitas yesterday for dinner, this reminds me of that!.. I love fajitas, i will try this recipe..

 

 

If you like eggs for a weekend breakfast, try an egg-white omelet. Either purchase egg whites or separate eggs yourself. 2 eggs should do it. Whisk together egg whites with seasoning (salt and pepper to taste). Dice your favourite vegetables into small pieces. Heat frying pan to medium. Grease pan with butter, or spray with olive oil for a healthier option. Pour eggs in first, then add vegetables. Cook until all the egg whites have been cooked through, it helps to cover the pan about half way through the cooking process. When cooked, you can add cheese if you like to one half of the omelet and flip the omelet so it looks like a half moon.

 

Bonappetit

[bj89]

one thing i've learned about cooking this summer is that it's just not worth it to invest in cook books anymore. youtube has really made cook books almost obsolete, because you can search up almost any recipe and watch a video on how to prepare food - much better than reading and looking at pictures

[notmeadoc]

Oh I feel like a mommy!!!

 

I am a mommy. You have to learn to cook. If you eat right, exercise and sleep enough you can do anything.

 

There's two cookbooks that are fantastic. They are healthy, easy to follow, delicious and many of the recipes will last you multiple days.

 

They are Eat Shrink and be Merry, and Crazyplates. I learned to cook from these books.

 

The salad recipes in them are insanely good.

 

My secret to my family having great food while I'm in school full time has been the following schedule.

 

1. Make a Lasagna for the hardest 2 days of the week(for me this o.chem lab day). The Do-re-mi-fa-so Lasagna on page 104 of crazyplates(yes I know this off by heart) is delicious. Better yet - prior to the semester starting freeze 13 of them. 1 for each week of the semester.

 

Make 2 salads at the beginning of the week. They can be your lunches. The salads with chickpeas and bulgar are filling and satisfying.

 

Great salad recipe:

1. Toss together 1 little container mini-tomatoes, 1 little container mini-bocconcini(this is little soft cheese balls), 1 can chickpeas, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, chop up 1 bunch of basil and toss it all and add salt and pepper to taste(or leave out the salt if you want to be really healthy). This salad is great for 3 days and travels well.

 

2. Have salmon once per week. Salmon is sooo easy to put together. You can do it and have it in the oven in 3 minutes. Buy a fillet(good time coming up for fresh salmon...try to freeze some). Tablespoon of lemon juice, bit of and some dill. Delicious. There's lots of easy salmon recipes. Check out epicurious. Throw some rice in the rice cooker(get one because it's easy). Steam some broccoli and boom...dinner super fast and lunch for the next day.

 

To make broccoli amazingly delish - steam it like you would normally until it's pretty tender. Then just as it's about to be done throw it into a pot of boiling water that has 1.5 tablespoons of sugar. Boil for about 2 minutes.

 

The last night per week either turn the salmon into a pasta dish, or do chicken, rice and a green veggie.

 

Make Friday take out night(sushi is always good to finish off the week with).

[thatonekid]

You need at least 3 knives. Good knives. Cheap knives will drive you BONKERS. You need a paring/fruit knife. You need a cleaver for big chopping. You need a knife with a serrated edge for cutting soft things (like tomatoes or bread).

 

Next, you need to buy quality colander. Stainless steel. Sure, you can buy a cheap ass plastic one from Dollarama, but seriously; if it breaks and you are trying to strain out your cooked food, you will be so mad, you will kick your cabinets (speaking from experience).

 

You need cookware: one pot for making pasta and soups; one wok/frying pan; and you probably want a small pot for making things like ramen. We all know we make ramen

 

Dollarama buys that make your life easier:

- GLASS measuring cup (seriously. NOT plastic.)

- Measuring spoons

- Spatula; silicone

- Veggie peeler

- Dispenser/holder for your paper towels

- Parchment paper

- Alum foil

- TWO oven mitts. Not potholders. MITTS.

Nice list. I'd add a plastic serving spoon and spatula (not metal since it'll scratch some pans) to the dollar store list though.

[seeking1]

Not sure if this is of any interest to the OP, but I found this once and thought it was a good idea, so I bookmarked it. I haven't read through it really, but this girl seems smart about food and cooking: http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/.

[cnb88]

Haven't read the whole thread, but I just wanted to say: be VERY careful when buying cooking products (and food!) from the dollar store. Some of the things say explicitly "do not use for cooking"/"do not use for food/drink consumption". Ikea has some good cheap stuff around $1 for spatulas and such, so I would personally go there before the dollar store. I mean, if they've found lead paint in children's toys that say "lead-free", can you really trust something that your food is SUPPOSED to be going on?

[dblu7]

I haven't read all posts, so please excuse if this has been covered, but I use my immersion blender a LOT. They're super cheap (bought mine for 20 bones, and it's glorious).

 

I mostly use if for making hummus (dead easy), or any pureed soup. If you like soup, and low-prep meals, soups are dead easy, fast, and travel/store well

 

Basic recipe that makes any kind of puree'd soup:

 

Take your base veg (squash, sweet potato, leeks, carrots, pretty much anything), soften it in a pan with some garlic, EVOO, and whatever spices tickle your fancy.

 

Cook until a little soft, then dump in some stock (either homemade, or the storebought low-sodium one), let simmer until the veggies are fork tender (i.e. can be broken up by the blender), take off the heat, take out some of the liquid, blend, and add back in liquid until the desired consistency is reached.

 

Instead of stove-topping the veggies, if you have starchier or hardier veggies (any of the squashes, yams, potato, etc.) you can also toss them in oil and spice, roast, then do the same thing with the broth.

 

Last but not least, learn how to make chicken stock. It's dead easy, tastes great, and is super cost effective (it's cheaper to cut up your own chicken then buy it boned and skinned, AND you can use the bones/scraps for the stock).