I hardly cook at all. I want to, but think it's impossible. Prove me wrong.

In My Humble Opinion
21

When I first started cooking, my great grandmother gave me a cookbook which had been put together and sold by her church. It was full of old fashioned, interesting and some downright weird recipies, but it also had a lot of great tasting and easy recipies. That was about 20 years ago, and since then I’ve picked up some more “church cookbooks” at garage sales, etc. (The local chapter of the Junior League also typically puts them out, as well as the local hospital and the Red Cross.)

My family still wants the cornbread and biscuts from “Mamaw’s cookbook”, and there’s a cake in there that I bake for potluck dinners that causes everyone to rave over it. I’ve also used stews, casseroles, meat and vegetable dishes, etc. from it–and they’re all so basically easy (and made with “common” ingrediants). I’d suggest this as to be a great starting point.

22

Hmmm… leaper, as far as the “pickiness” thing, think about the fact that a lot of the stuff you may not like on their own change quite a bit when they’re cooked up and mixed with things. If you eat frozen dinners or eat out at restaurants, chances are you’ve eaten some of that stuff you say you don’t like and haven’t even noticed it.

As an extreme example, most people I know don’t like anchovies. I put anchovies in my marinara sauce (and various other things). Many people have told me my marinara sauce is some of the best they’ve tasted. These same people would probably say that they’d never ever ever eat an anchovy.

I learned to cook way-back-when with the Frugal Gourmet series of books. They tend to be easy recipes that taste good. I think they’re still in print.

If you’re worried about waste, I’ll echo what other people have said: even if you throw away a lot of stuff, cooking from scratch tends to be cheaper than buy processed food, even if you end up throwing away ingredients. Also, if it really bothers you, plan out a few meals that use the same ingredients. As an example:

Buy a roasting chicken, some potatoes, frozen or fresh vegetables, onions, celery, carrots, mayonaisse, bread. Grand total: maybe $15, less depending on where you live.

  • Sunday: Roast chicken (not nearly as hard as it sounds), boiled potatos, Vegetable of choice (frozen if that’s easier). Save the bones.
  • Monday: Leftover from yesterday because you boiled more potatoes than you could eat, and you make more frozen vegetables. This takes no time at all to heat up, so you spend 20 minutes picking the rest of the meat off the chicken bones, put bones in pot with some onions, celery, carrots, salt & pepper. Allow to simmer for 2-3 hours. Drain, put stock in fridge overnight.
    Tuesday: Make chicken soup by using stock you made yesterday, some of the chicken meat you picked off the bones, noodles, and carrots or other vegetables of choice.
    Wednesday: use remaining chicken to make chicken salad (chicken, mayo, celery, onions) and have chicken salad sandwiches.

Even if you throw away some chicken or other ingredients, you had 4 meals for $15. The mayo, celery, and onions will last at least a few weeks, so plan next week’s meals to use them.

See what I mean?

23

Four-ingredient cookbook!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0962855030/qid=1073576267/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-7160338-9403933?v=glance&s=books

24

I’d recommend Alton Brown and Cook’s Illustrated. Their respective TV shows are “Good Eats” on Food Network and “America’s Test Kitchen” on PBS. AB has two books out and Cook’s has a quarterly magazine (available in a lot of grocery stores) and many, many books. They are both food-science based, although AB is more fun.

If you know why the ingredients in a recipe are there and what they do, you can change them with confidence. AB is very good about telling you what you can substitute and why. Also, check out cookbooks from the library. That way, if you don’t like any of the recipes in a book, you just return it-- you aren’t out $40. If you find a book worth keeping, you can go out and buy it.

25

If you are that afraid of cooking, start small.

Take something you know you like, and that you can cook, (it can be anything, even mac and cheese from a box) and play with it. You mentioned being a picky eater, but if you can list 3 or vegetables you like, a couple of meats, and maybe a few spices, herbs or flavoring ingredients (like onion or garlic) you can make hundreds of different dishes.

For example, you mentioned fixing pasta, with butter and cheese… Ok, that’s a great starting point, you take that in a lot of directions with minimal investment. Step one. pick a vegetable you like, pretty much anything will work really (although if you choose something like eggplant you will need an extra prep step). Stop at the grocery store on your way home from work, and purchase a small amount (just a serving) of said vegetable. This should cost you less than 1-2 dollars, even in the most expensive markets, there will be none left to go bad in the fridge, because you’re cooking it tonight, and if things go really wrong, you are wasting very little. If said vegetable is hard or very crunchy in it’s natural state, steam it a bit… stovetop steamer is fine… if you don’t have access to one, cut up your vegetable, put it in a microwave safe container with a lid, add a little water, and microwave it for a minute or two… If you smell the vegetable when you open the microwave it’s done. Prepare your pasta, add butter, cheese, and the vegetable. (maybe a little pepper/salt) and eat. Look, dinner. no recipe. Next time you’re in the mood to cook, pick a different vegetable, or add a spice. What happens if you add a little cream, or wine? Or meat (buy a small already roasted chicken from the grocery store, or Boston Market etc) and just cut up the meat and add it to your pasts dish. Try the same techniques with potatoes, rice, beans etc. This way, your main investments are in inexpensive, shelf stable “base foods” you can keep in your cupboard long term. This should help limit your fears about spoilage, and expense, and free you up to be a bit creative.
Don’t be afraid to start small. What I described above may not sound like cooking, but it is. And a few successes with basic dishes like this will raise your confidence enough to move on to using cook books to get ideas about different combinantions, or new cooking techniques.
As a fairly picky eater myself, I find it helpful to have a non-picky friend or family member as back up. If I’m trying a new food, I will cook only a small amount to try. If it turns out that I don’t like it, I will donate the remainder to a non-picky friend. I know it will get eaten, not wasted so I don’t feel guilty.

Good luck

26

A few classes are the best start, as others have said. Barring that, a Chinese stir-fry is one of the best ways to experiment with ingredients. Since a stir-fry is a combination of ingredients from several lists, such as crunchy veggies, soft veggies, meats and poultry, etc., you can pick and choose. Quantities are relatively unimportant, as you can put in more of what you like best.

What this dish will teach you is how long it takes to cook different textures, and how the flavors go together. You can make it differently every time to experiment.

If you plan your meals for a week before going to the store, you will waste less (if you stick to your meal plan).

Try making something you already like, like the spaghetti with butter and cheese and add a little fresh herb such as thyme or rosemary, or a little of each. You can find guides to herb use on the internet. Experimenting with herbs is inexpensive and adds considerable depth and variety to your dishes.

27

Cookbook-shmookbook! I make some kick-butt stuff and I sure as heck don’t follow one.
(Keep in mind that about all I eat is fish and poultry but I don’t see why it won’t work with some beef and pork stuff.)

Harmless’ Guide to Life, Cooking, and Everything. :smiley:
Buy a bag of cut up frozen chicken (boneless skinless breast is my favorite). Buy all the canned veggy stuffs that you like (shrooms :stuck_out_tongue: , corn, greens, etc.). Keep some minced garlic in the fridge (you can buy a big bottle of it that’ll last a while), the occasional onion, and an array of spices (garlic salt, mixed pepper and ALWAYS goya!).
Now when you get hungry, throw a couple of the breast, frozen, into the pan with something to keep it from sticking (spray, butter, oil whatever), sprinkle some seasonings, throw in some veggies, cover and cook. Make a side dish of rice or pasta and ta-da! Dinner with minimum fuss.

My favorite dish I came up with is:
Louis Rich Turkey Sausage, sliced
Chicken breast, frozen
A big bottle of Mojo (Goya)
Onion and garlic
Throw it all in a pan on medium, cook for about 1/2 hour, turning the chicken as needed. When the chicken looks about done, start pulling it apart with a fork (like shredding it but don’t ruin your pan!) and let it cook in some more of the juices. Pour off some of the juices and make your yellow rice (add green olives if you feel funky).
My family loved it. I came up with it from the ingredients out of the fridge, so if it turns out to be an actual dish, it’s a coinky-dink.
Let me know what to call it besides good :wink:

Anyways, if it sounds good and the ingredients complement eachother, just go for it and good luck!

28

I would add to the suggestion that you find a mentor. Do you know any older people with a little time, or alternatively any parents who can cook? I can tell you right now that as a SAHM of two little kids, I would be more than happy to teach a starving person how to cook if they were willing to chop a few veggies for me and watch stuff simmer. --Hey, you don’t live in Northern CA, do you? :slight_smile:

Cooking classes are also a neat idea, but I’d be willing to bet that you can learn for free.

One really important thing to learn is that people who can cook do not consult cookbooks 90% of the time, unless they’re trying something new or just glancing to remind themselves. All you have to do is learn a few techniques and remember what you like, and you can produce tons of meals without anything more than your head and your fridge/pantry.

(Go read pages 37-39 of Home Comforts : The Art and Science of Keeping House on why it’s such a good idea to learn to cook. You can read it at Amazon, but I can’t seem to get the link to work right.)

29

I just read your post on the other thread, and I think it may be the saddest thing ever. I may cry. You can learn to cook! Come to my house! I will feed you yummy things that will feed your spirit and your stomach! Abandon all those soulless, chemical-filled, sodium-laden prepared foods that make you unhealthy and sad!

Excuse me. I have to go bake cookies now and give them to somebody. sniff

30

Leaper, I’ve got a few lists I put together of things to keep around the kitchen and fast/easy/cheap recipes and such for an email group. I’ll be more than happy to email them to you if you’d like. Most of the stuff on the list is stable for the long-term (except for the milk and salad, but you can buy those in small amounts as needed. The recipes are for stuff like Caesar chicken sammiches, garlic fries, Thai peanut pasta (comes out like cheap rip-off of Pad Thai), that sort of thing. If I can cook these things with no trouble, anybody can.

(Out of curiosity, when you talk about stuff spoiling, are we talking “The milk’s soured and I forgot about this package of chops in the fridge and the bread’s molded” spoilage, or are we talking “why is my flour moving and why does the salt taste funny” spoilage?)

31

Sounds like you could really benefit from spending some quality time with Pam Anderson’s How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart. The focus of the book is on learning a variety of basic cooking techniques (one or two per chapter) that can be adapted readily to a wide range of ingredients. For instance, there’s a chapter on sauteing, one on searing, one each on making omelettes and fritattas, one on stir-frying and other Asian cooking techniques, one on roasting a chicken, chapters on salads, soups, and desserts.

In each case, Anderson starts off by describing the basic cooking technique (noting differences for different types of ingredients), provides a set of basic recipes using the technique, and then several pages of variations on the recipes based on the technique. The reason I think this would be perfect for you is that she does provide detailed ingredient lists and measures and instructions for all of the recipes, so you can start out where you’re already most comfortable (exactly following a recipe) and as you learn the techniques and what combinations of things work well together, you may become comfortable enough to begin experimenting. Even if you never get that comfortable and continue to follow the recipes exactly, there’s enough different recipes and variations in the book that you could cook several nights a week for a year without getting too repetitive.

32

Nigel Slater’s 30 Minute Cook is a good starting point. He’s cheap in that book. Less so in Appetite. Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson are not for beginner cooks who are scared IMO.

I second the idea to find someone to teach you to cook. If you lived near me, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

33

All right, I’m a terrible, terrible cook. I always have been. I always will be. But I have learned how to make food from scratch, because I had to.

  1. George Foreman type grill: I got one that has removable grills that are easier to wash. Get a bag of frozen chicken breasts and a bag of frozen veggies. When you’re hungry, take a chicken breast out, rinse it, put it on the grill.

Ten minutes later, grab two forks and poke them into the center of the breast. Pull them apart. If the chicken is done, it will pull apart easily and there will be no pink at all.

If it’s not done, cook it a little longer and check again.

Pour some frozen veggies in a bowl. Microwave til hot.

Supper’s ready!

  1. Same as above, but put BBQ sauce on the chicken.

  2. Now that you’re braver, buy some little steaks. When you get home from the store, rinse them and grill them RIGHT THEN. Put them in the fridge and microwave later when you’re hungry. They’re not as good as when they’re fresh grilled, but you won’t forget them in the bottom of the fridge for two weeks.

  3. Crock pot: Do you know how long it takes to burn something in a crock pot? I do! But it’s a looooong time, and I hardly ever have that problem.

Buy a roast. It’s easy, they’re label “roast.” Don’t laugh, it’s the only way I knew what to buy.

Buy a bag of those pre-washed, peeled, baby carrots. Also buy a couple of cans of new potatoes. You can find them with the other canned veggies.

Put it all in the crock pot. Salt it a little. Leave it for many hours.

If you like softer carrots, use canned carrots instead of fresh.

34

Also: Before using the indoor grill, put a piece of foil over it. Tear off a piece big enough to cover it, fold it slightly, and slide it into the grill. If it covers the drip area, just fold or tear that part. This makes washing the grill very easy.

35

Oh, my. I just read your posts in the other thread, and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anything so self-indulgent. I’m afraid that will have to stop right away. It’s completely counter-productive to learning anything, and it’s kind of annoying.

Tonight, you are going to cook dinner, and by God, you’re going to enjoy it. You’re going to put on a pot of water to boil, and you’re going to march yourself over to the cabinet and get out the spaghetti, the peanut butter, the Worcestershire or soy sauce, and the ground red pepper (Cayenne). If you don’t have any ground red pepper, you can use crushed, or you can substitute a bit of hot sauce. If you don’t have any red pepper or hot sauce, your dinner will be a bit bland but still perfectly tasty.

While your spaghetti is boiling up, measure out 1/4 peanut butter, 1/8 cup Worcestershire or soy sauce, 1/8 teaspoon red pepper, and a splash of your boiling water. Stir it up till it’s nice and smooth. If you happen to have some carrot around, grate it up. If you happen to have green onion, slice some up. If you don’t have carrot or green onion, don’t worry about it. Drain your pasta and toss it with the peanut sauce you just made. If you have a bit of meat laying around, toss it on top.

There, you’ve cooked dinner. Now shut up and eat. :slight_smile:

36

CrazyCatLady: But I don’t LIKE peanut saaaauuuuuuce!

::ducks&runs::

Just kidding. In fact, the only peanut sauce I’ve ever had is Thai, and even though I hated that, there’s no reason to believe I wouldn’t like your suggestion. Mebbe I’ll try it sometime!

37

Er. I hate to sound like a bit of a bitch here, but if you’re such an amazingly picky eater, why don’t you tell the nice people trying to help you out here what you won’t eat (or will, if it’s a shorter list) so they can give targeted reccomendations? Is it ethnic food you’re unwilling to experiment with? Do you not eat much red meat? Do you not like greens, or fruit, or what? Does handling raw chicken give you a case of the icks? Do you not like food that’s too greasy? Do you hate rice and love pasta, or the other way around? If you’re eating packaged foods, what kind are you eating? Is there a “genre” of ethnic food that you like? (Americanized Mexican, tomato-sauce Italian, buffet Chinese?)

The suggestions given by other posters here have been great generalized ideas, applicable to many people, but if you don’t like Thai peanut sauce maybe some specifics are in order. (I thought everybody liked Thai peanut sauce?)

38

Another idea is to find a pantry cookbook. It isn’t as frugal as some things in the other thread (but is more frugal than eating out), but a pantry cookbook will use a lot of things that come in boxes, cans and pouches - nothing goes bad and its a fairly low risk way to start. I have one called the Monday to Friday Cookbook by Michele Urvater (which isn’t a strictly pantry cookbook and which is a little odd). I’d spend some time browsing the cookbook section of a bookstore.

39

Wow, is that the sole reason you’re wondering about my pickiness, with all the “foods I hate” threads on this board? I almost threw up the first time I tasted Thai peanut sauce! Obviously it’s not quite as universal as you think! :slight_smile:

Anyway, to answer your question… Hrm. Here’s some of what I don’t like: peppers of any sort (not including pepper the condiment, of course - why’d they have to make those names so close?!), onions (unless cooked to softness and a minor part of the recipie), green onions, beets, cabbage, raw tomato, alcohol of any sort (unless a cooking medium as opposed to a flavoring agent, but note I won’t drink any remainder), green beans, most kinds of sprouts, avocado, zucchini, and seafood (I ate way too much fish as a kid, and after a break, never recovered my taste for it). That’s all I can think of at the moment; there would probably be more, if I thought of it.

As for genres, I love Italian (both pasta and most meat/chicken dishes), some Americanized Mexican, and some Asian (though I’ve never warmed up to Thai completely). Love mushrooms, cheese, rice (having grown up with the sticky kind), and pasta, among others. There are few meats I dislike, although I’ve never tried veal or lamb (yet, anyway).

Enlightened any? And has anyone heard of that book mentioned by phraser near the start of this thread?

40

Ok, I have been having a think, and I can’t remember the name of that particular book, but there was another one by Reader’s Digest called “One Dish Meals” which had a chapter of stuff like i was telling you about in the back of it, which would be a place to start.

I don’t know if it’s still available or not, though.