Cooking 101

When I went to study abroad in Nagoya, Japan and no longer had a school cafeteria to feed me, I had the stressful realization that I didn’t know the first thing about cooking. I felt terribly self conscious and ashamed when others around me proclaimed they had just learned it on their own , while I would fumble mixing oil and water and not knowing it would splatter everywhere when heated.

I have poisoned myself with undercooked pork, spent over an hour cooking just to have it fail and to go out to a Family Restaurant (numerous times), smoked out a house making pork cutlet, and at times would be so disheartened that I would give up on cooking all together for weeks before attempting it again.

Every failure teaches you something, like the importance of beginner-level recipes and the value of good quality ingredients for overall flavor. I have to admit I wouldn’t be where I am without the help of others who were willing to cook with me. Living with an Italian and French roommate later on in life expanded my cooking ability exponentially, since I couldn’t even make a decent tomato sauce and pasta before then.

I guess what I’m trying to say is we’re all terrible at first, so don’t feel bad or like you’re the only one struggling to cook decent & healthy food. It can take some time but it is a skill worth investing in.

Random Advice

I can’t give a run-down of everything here, so enjoy some random words of wisdom:

1. If you’re going to start cooking a new ethnic food, find other recipes to use the same ingredients. Side dishes of the same ethnic group taste good together, and it’s depressing (and expensive) if those items you bought only had one recipe and you end up throwing away because they expired.
2. If you have pantry moth issues, you can try freezing or refrigerating items frequently affected (oats, flour, etc.) and do deep vinegar cleanings of cupboards. I haven’t found containers that are air tight enough, but I do trust the fridge door reliable.
3. We all want to save money on food, but cheaper ingredients are going to make cheaper food quality. Farmers markets can help you find produce in season and supports local farmers. I’m also a huge fan of organic produce. You can also try growing some vegetables or herbs like green onions if you buy them with the roots but don’t have time to use them up.
4. To avoid wasting ingredients, plan the meals you plan to make for the week and only buy the ingredients you’d need for them. This way, you’ll only cook perhaps 3 times a week and won’t need any side trips to the store.
5. Print the recipes you like. You can make your own notes, collect them in a book, and when you don’t know what to make for the week or a special occasion, you’ve got a quick flip-through of options that will float your boat.
6. High quality extra virgin olive oil should not be used for heated cooking! Use it to drizzle over salads, finished dishes like dakos and homemade pizza, and for dipping good quality bread. Light olive oil is better for sautéing, or you can use other oils like avocado oil or coconut oil.
7. Meat dishes should be refrigerated within 1-2 hours, and leftovers are best eaten within 3 days (those without meat may last longer).
8. If your brown sugar hardens like a rock, put a small piece of bread in the bag. In about a day you’ll notice the sugar flows again.
9. To avoid tough asparagus bits, hold it from the thick side and gently bend it until it breaks on its own. This should remove the tough part.