Cooking takes forever!
Chopping carrots AND onions AND
potatoes for a stew seems to take forever – especially when you are
using a dull pairing knife and a unstable cutting board. The best way
to improve your kitchen skills is practice but a half-way
decent knife ($30-50 range) and a stable cutting board
(put a tea towel under the board for stability) will drastically
improve your kitchen life. It still might take you a long time to cut
huge amounts of vegetables and that's okay. Move your set-up to the
table. Have a seat. Listen to a podcast. Get your prep done. You'll
feel better about the amount of time it takes to prep a stew if you
have leftovers to stock your freezer with so make extras!
No one helps me!
Your non-cooking partner can help you
prep while you focus on the timing of a different aspect of the dish.
Utilize pre-washed greens or
pre-chopped vegetables because cooking is more important
than chopping! Experiment with the aspects (cooking versus cleaning)
and type (quick and dirty versus day-long kitchen adventures) of
cooking that you enjoy. Avoid
cooking for large gatherings, special occasions and
holidays before you have a good base of cooking knowledge. Special
occasions and holidays are stressful for the cook regardless of
experience level (remember that when your bubba cooks Christmas
dinner for you!) Consider meal
planning.
I can't find anything!
No matter the size and layout of your
kitchen or the amount of kitchen equipment you have (or don't have)
an organized kitchen will make any cooking experience more
pleasant. Store knifes close to the cutting boards. Use the drawer
closest to the stove to store spatulas and wooden spoons. Donate
kitchen items that you dislike, were once owned by an ex, or that you
never use. Discard broken kitchen items. All the equipment you
really need is a few pots and pans, a cutting board, and a sharp
knife.
I don't know what to cook!
Focus
on learning some of the basic
forms of cooking (like
sautéing or roasting) as this will give you the freedom to cook
without a recipe. Libraries have a plethora of cookbooks which can be
great resource. Food blogs can be beneficial but sites were recipes
are crowd sourced (like allrecipes.com) are more reliable than most
food blogs, especially if you are a beginner with limited kitchen
intuition. Sometimes you will have zero motivation and no ideas for
supper and this is when a stocked
freezer is a blessing.
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