LifeHack(s): Up your cooking game, no matter your level
...with some tips, links, and tricks you may not have heard or seen before!
I’ve been learning how to cook and refining my skills since I was old enough to help my mom press a fork into peanut butter cookies to make that iconic “grid” pattern we all love.
In the mumble mumble 30 something years I’ve been cooking, I’ve learned a couple things I think will help you all out.
When you’re starting out
- Use vintage or classic cookbooks
Vintage cookbooks like the Better Homes and Gardens or Betty Crocker books, often have pages where they describe basic techniques, show you what ingredients look like (for example, when they say “soda” do they mean soda-pop or baking soda?) and give general tips.
- Use cooking magazines
Extra life hack tip: if you have unused frequent flyer miles (say, you’re at a level where you have too few to upgrade seats or buy tickets) you can purchase magazine subscriptions with them. I subscribed to a bunch of cooking magazines with my unused flyer miles, and once every couple months I sit down with a stack and a glass of wine and tear out all the recipes I think look good and keep them in my file
- Read the inserts or help pages in cookbooks or on cooking websites
The Kitchn Cookbook has several pages that go over kitchen tips and hacks to making food taste and look great. (For example, toasting your quinoa before boiling for a richer, nuttier taste and better mouthfeel) Many cookbooks have these pages and most cooking websites have categories for cooking tips and help at all levels.
- Join a cooking group on social media
The group “Food 52” shares recipes and tips and produced a crowdsourced cookbook. I’ve also gotten tips from advice forums or even product websites (King Arthur Flour’s baking site comes up frequently as a site to know and follow in discussions online).
When you’re building your skills
- Build your cookbook collection cheaply
Give cookbooks a test run by checking them out from the library and testing a few recipes.
I have added to my cookbook collection considerably with this method: SuperFoods Every Day, The Kitchn cookbook, I Quit Sugar, Easy Gourmet…and I’ve also avoided costly mistakes of spending 35$ or more on a cookbook that just isn’t me.
- Build a core recipe file
I have a handful of no-fail recipes that I love to make, that are relatively easy, and that are crowd pleasers (my parmesan cheese puffs and my grilled romaine hearts with buttermilk dressing are just two of my go-to recipes). Once you become more familiar with what works for your kitchen, budget, skills, and tastes, you can start a little file of favorites and go-to’s. Then keep the basics for those items stocked, and simply pop by the store for the fresh or perishable ingredients the day of.
- Stock your pantry
I have more than one list of pantry basics torn out of magazines and saved, for a good reason. One of the barriers to home cooking is that you need so many pantry basics. Salt, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, cornmeal, cornstarch,, various grains…and let’s not even talk about the vinegars! Balsamic, white wine, rice, distilled white, sherry…ugh! Take an aisle per week (baking, condiments, sauces, etc.) and head to the grocery store to stock up. In about a month you should have your basics covered.
Then use a list app to keep track of what you’re running low on. In time, it will become second nature to keep a mental running tally of what you have, what you need, and what you’re running low on.
When you’re ready to go beast mode
Pick a night when you’re typically at home and have an hour or so.
Go through your cookbooks with your partner or family (or roommates, if you do the cooking with or for them) and jot down or set aside (if you use torn out magazine pages, like I do!) the interesting recipes you’re thinking about for the week.
Then organize them into the order that makes sense for you. If you have a cheat day in your diet, or you need a light-meal day (say, the day after a birthday dinner blowout meal, ahem!) plan around that. If you’re buying very perishable food (ripe peaches, seafood, dairy, pre-made sides) plan for those as well.
Then make a list of your meals. After the meal list is complete, go through and pick out the ingredients you need, jot those down. If you want to take it a bit further, you can organize by grocery section, so that when you get to the store you aren’t zig- zagging around between produce, frozen, and dairy.
Bonus points: make note of what worked and what didn’t. You can just write on the recipe itself or in the margins, or use a calendar app to schedule the meals, then go in and edit “Wife loved this!” or “Use pears next time”.
Inspiration
Sometimes cooking the same old quinoa salad with tomatoes and zucchini just isn’t doing it for you. When I need inspiration, I go to Bldng 25, the Free People blog, and check out their food section. I also read The Kitchn for their recipes, which are organized into easy to understand and use categories. When I want a break from picture-perfect Pinterest and Instagram layouts, I go “real life” with a visit to the library, where I try to pick a cookbook out of my usual zone: all cupcakes, grilling, food from a culture I haven’t tried before.
Restricted Diets
- Borrow cookbooks from friends
My sister has cycled through a few diets: Vegetarian, Paleo, South Beach. Her cookbook collection is extensive, and I’ve borrowed specialty books like “Paleo Nom Nom” to get a jump start on my own inspiration and new directions.
- Alter existing recipes
My boyfriend and I are attempting to do a moderate low-carb diet, so I when I see a “whole meal” recipe layout, (like “deviled eggs with salmon roe on southern style biscuits”) I just mentally cut out the items I don’t want right now. Of course if you’re on FODMAP or GF, this is considerably more challenging, but for things like salads, sides, and “whole meal” dishes, this can work pretty well.
Of all places, the “Ask a Manager” blog’s Open Forums, which runs every weekend, is a great resource for tips, tricks, and ideas on various restricted diets. Get recipes for just about every type of diet out there. There’s a bit of a focus on slow cookers, but the community is friendly, well-moderated, and helpful. Check out food manufacturer’s communities or blogs, they often have recipes and ideas.
Challenge: Take one of these tips and try it out this week!