Anyone Can Cook
by Ted Slater on 06/30/2009 at 3:30 PM
I was 18, sharing an apartment with a buddy in Houston. I was hungry. And I didn't know how to cook.
I searched the pantry. OK, it wasn't a "pantry," just a cupboard with random stuff in it. I pulled out a loaf of white bread and a jar of Prego.
Sauce went on slice of bread went in microwave went in mouth.
Yeah, I did not know how to cook.
I've since learned how stinkin' easy it is to make simple, relatively healthy meals. How hard is it to boil some whole wheat spaghetti, drain it after 15 minutes, and stir in a jar of mid-priced sauce? Not hard at all. Add some freshly sautéed mushrooms, and broil a few spears of asparagus, and you've got a respectable meal. That's Cooking 101 stuff. Stuff I wish I'd known when I was 18 and on my own.
I've learned that, in the words of Ratatouille's Chef Gusteau, "Anyone can cook."
I'd like to start a series here on the Boundless blog offering simple recipes, simple techniques, a simple approach to the therapeutic, hospitality-facilitating craft of cooking. I'll wrap up this first one with some photos I took yesterday of my little back yard garden that'll give you a sense of where I'm at now in my culinary journey: a pair of apple trees, rows of tomato plants, a pepper plant, squash, basil, dill, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, mint....
And to think that not so long ago I was content with microwaved spaghetti sauce sandwiches.
1. Christopher from Albuquerque said the following at 3:43 PM on Jun 30:
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As a physically disabled man who is courting a physically disabled woman who suffers from chronic, debilitating pain, I will likely be doing most (almost all?) of the cooking, if we marry-- and I am currently no cook! Therefore, Ted, my brother, let me thank you profusely in advance for this series! :-)
2. Louise from Chicago said the following at 3:44 PM on Jun 30:
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I agree that "anyone" can cook.
Just try telling that to my former husband.
:)
Nice pics, BTW, Mr. Slater!
I picked my first ripe cherry tomato yesterday so we're off and running again this summer.
3. Tami said the following at 3:53 PM on Jun 30:
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Ted -- what is that last plant?
I had one of those suddenly pop up in my yard...
4. JuliaH said the following at 4:09 PM on Jun 30:
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Thanks for the beautiful photos. Fresh ingredients are a pleasure to the senses. They look, smell, and taste better than their processed counterparts.
I think one of the best things about summer is new potatoes, boiled (not mushy though) and served with melted butter and freshly chopped mint from the garden. Yummy!
A note of caution: mint can be very, very invasive, so try to keep it as contained as possible or it may take over your whole garden.
5. Sean said the following at 4:13 PM on Jun 30:
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I thank God daily,that as a man,I learned to cook and cook very well at a young age.
6. Ted Slater said the following at 4:45 PM on Jun 30:
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Tami (#3) -- the last one is cilantro. It's a strange one -- I totally was not expecting the top part to flower like that, or for its new growth to look like dill.
JuliaH (#4) -- thanks for the tip about mint. I have noticed that new plants are springing up near it, and they all smell like mint rather than weeds. Hm....
Sean (#5) -- that is something for which to be grateful. I hope to read some of your comments in forthcoming "Anyone Can Cook" blog discussions! :-)
Yes, my Nikon D40 takes some sweet photos, hm? I'm using a relatively fast 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor lens for these shots.
7. Carl said the following at 4:53 PM on Jun 30:
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Ted, I cannot wait for this series on the blog! Thanks for sharing the pics!
8. Tami said the following at 5:03 PM on Jun 30:
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Cilantro? Interesting...
I did not ever plant cilantro. I have a feeling that some birds are, uh, "leaving behind" some seeds in the yard...
9. Julie said the following at 5:13 PM on Jun 30:
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Ted, how did you know I swoon whenever I encounter plants-that-smell-good? I didn't even have to crush the leaves on the pictures of your basil, thyme, mint, tomato plants to have their wonderful fresh scents fill my head. Yayyyy :) Thanks for that if nothing else, and I am sure there will be plenty else!
10. Julie said the following at 5:14 PM on Jun 30:
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And JuliaH is right - KEEP THE MINT IN A POT.
11. Emily said the following at 5:31 PM on Jun 30:
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I would love a food series!
I grew up on wonderful PA Dutch cooking, but it's not the healthiest fare you can eat. Although I've been married four years, I feel like I'm still learning to how to cook nutritious, delicious food.
12. Leah said the following at 5:36 PM on Jun 30:
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One reason I'm looking forward to eventually owning my own house (instead of renting) is to have a veggie/fruit garden. I currently have a little herb collection in pots though. I have mint, basil, chives, oregano, coriander, parsley and spring onions. I've only had them a few weeks and the parsley has already tripled in height!
13. Leah said the following at 5:39 PM on Jun 30:
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I will also point out, just for the sake of discussion (:P) that any decent camera (and I mean even a prosumer camera as opposed to an SLR) can take photos like that :P But the manual focusing of an SLR is easier :)
14. Mark said the following at 5:40 PM on Jun 30:
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cooking is one of the simple joys of life. it cuts across cultures, races, and socio-economic levels. Some of the best food i've ever eaten has been from the places you'd least expect it.
cooking is also an incredible tool for facilitating all sorts of relationships. its great for small group interaction, great for mixers (try an international dinner where each person brings a dish from a different culture, it's great!), and it's also an amazing date.
what's not to like about cooking!??
15. Sarah Haas said the following at 5:44 PM on Jun 30:
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AWESOME! I'm a college student, and I've been meaning to use my summer at home learning how to cook. But so far I haven't been able to move past the few (mainly boxed) recipes my picky family sticks to, and setting out into the wide world of way too many complex recipes on my own has been rather intimidating. I check Boundless every day, so some cooking help sounds WONDERFUL! THANK YOU!!
16. Jaime said the following at 5:59 PM on Jun 30:
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How cool is this? My husband and I have planted our first garden this year. The peas are done, and we've got tiny tomatoes, beans, squash, zucchini, and cukes coming on.
I learned to cook and bake by watching as a kid and teenager. I love it and I'm good at it, but I enjoy teaching other people how to do it, you know, take the mystery out of doing something that really is relatively simple that has outstanding results.
Kudos to you all for wanting to do that. I look forward to the learning (and teaching) opportunities this will offer.
17. Chris said the following at 6:25 PM on Jun 30:
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We finally got mint to take in a certain part of our yard. It's already growing like a weed. Mint tea, fresh mint to chew on, mojitos on a hot summer day. Yum.
As for cooking, I think people often over think cooking. People comment on how good a cook my wife is (and she is). Her secret? She tries new stuff. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But she's developed a knack for flavors that go together. Then she experiments.
My good friend is the same way. Whenever I'm at his house (which is usually a party), he starts dinner by asking, "Well, what cha in the mood for?" Then he just starts pulling stuff out of the cabinet. He could be a chef at a world renowned place with his dishes....all made from scratch and on the fly. How does he do it? He experiments.
All cooking is chemistry. And how is chemistry advanced?
Experiments.
18. Lj said the following at 7:33 PM on Jun 30:
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Wow, beautiful pictures Ted!
I love to cook too, but I have no green thumb. You remind me of my Ma. She's really good with plants and gardening and stuff like those.
Looking forward for the recipes! I just wish we have some of the ingredients here in the Phil. :)
19. Amber said the following at 7:38 PM on Jun 30:
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My friend is growing an herb garden and she told me when the cilantro starts to grow, it doesn't even look like it at first. Well, I don't know what cilantro looks like before it becomes recognizable, but I believe her. Anyway, I had to learn quickly that if I wanted to eat a decent meal (and healthy) that I would have to learn how to cook. I'm a college student, so any healthy meal suggestions would be wonderful. Like you said, cooking is pretty easy and it's not hard to make some pasta, saute spinach and garlic and you have yummy meal. I like soup alot and there are so many good and easy soups to make. Recently I had a chipole lentil and sweet potato soup. It was so good.
20. Tami said the following at 8:21 PM on Jun 30:
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OK, looked at the plant in my yard again; not cilantro. But still, a mystery. I still "credit" the birds...
21. Jen said the following at 8:25 PM on Jun 30:
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I'm so excited for this! I will be a senior in college this year and will be on my own (hopefully) come May, and even this summer as I scramble for jobs, I'm so lazy and incompetent at cooking healthy meals. This is totally needed!
22. brx said the following at 8:35 PM on Jun 30:
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Tasty technique I learned Sunday:
take fresh branches of rosemary and put them on the coals, under the meat.
Cooking for guys - marinades, salsas, and guacamole are fun to experiment with and hard to mess up.
Grace, peace & adventures with spice!
23. Susie said the following at 9:24 PM on Jun 30:
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Hey Ted!
I like the pics! Glad to hear you are starting this series. Being chronically cooking-challenged myself, I need all the help I can get! Got any tips for crock pot cooking? I'm hoping to get one soon, since I hear that they are good for cooking with, but I've never actually used one.
24. Kelly said the following at 12:01 AM on Jul 1:
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"Sauce went on slice of bread went in microwave went in mouth."
That is TOTALLY cooking. ;) It's time-efficient and blends two different things!
However, I'd suggest a raw carrot on the side to make it balanced.
(Then again, I'm the girl who thinks that dinner = whatever raw vegetables I have in the fridge, washed arranged on a plate.)
25. Ross said the following at 12:15 AM on Jul 1:
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I have a few staple dishes that I cook regularly; usually pasta or stir fries, and ocasionally I try out a new recipe. If there's any menfolk reading this who don't know how to cook, then by all means learn.
26. obewan said the following at 6:14 AM on Jul 1:
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After working 20+ years as a manufacturing engineer, I agree anyone can cook. Following a recipe is no different than following the detailed manufacturing procedures (work instructions) I write for the shops.
I got my start in Jr. High, but my dad objected. He thought it was wrong for a man to cook – he called it sissy stuff and all that. My mom did not agree and said I needed to know how in case I was single for a while before getting married.
I really got my start after graduating from college. I mostly could do chili and roast beef.
I later got into nearly every cuisine. I have three entire shelves on my bookshelf dedicated to cook books. I have every nationality, and every specialty cuisine.
My computer has even more. One program alone has over 20,000 recipes. It has so many it is hard to keep track of which ones are good. If you put in teriyaki sauce, you will get about 30 variations. The Internet is even worse though.
I have calculated that if I try three new recipes a day and live to be 85, I will not even scratch the surface in terms of trying them all.
27. Blue Sarah said the following at 6:41 AM on Jul 1:
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Ted, you'll want to chop out the flower stalks on your coriander or else they'll quickly run to seed and then it's bye-bye leaves.
Although, if you have more than one plant you could let some of them set seed. These "homemade seeds" are super delicious when toasted, crushed and sprinkled. And don't forget you can use the roots as well -just give em a good wash.
28. LouiseinPA said the following at 6:56 AM on Jul 1:
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Sounds like an interesting series! I am especially interested in how to make healthy and affordable dishes and maybe even more on growing a garden. Currently I grow tomato plans but want to grow more. Nothing makes food taste better than fresh ingredients which are unfortunately often expensive in the store!
29. Dan Gill said the following at 8:20 AM on Jul 1:
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I love to cook, and kind of miss it now that my wife has retired and takes care of almost all of it. For a long time I was the main cook in the family because of our work schedules and commute times. That, and the fact that she couldn't cook when she was pregnant with our daughter.
What I can't seem to do is grow tomatoes. We both seem to have a black thumb.
30. BAC said the following at 8:38 AM on Jul 1:
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Susie (#23),
Crockpots are awesome and just about the easiest cooking tool to use!
They are great for soups, stews, casseroles and making sure roasts and things of that nature come out as tender as possible. Basically, you just put in you favorite ingredients along with some herbs, spices and water (or stock), turn it on low and walk away.
They are VERY convenient for people who have hectic schedules or work during the day because you can turn them on in the morning, go about your day and come home to a great meal! I would DEFINITELY advise you to get a crockpot!
They are also great for experimenting with different flavor and ingredient combinations.
31. Patricia C said the following at 8:57 AM on Jul 1:
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Aw, Ted! Your meal makes me sad. My parents often left me home alone a lot as a child for days at a time (bad childhood) so I learned to cook to survive. God used that time and blessed it by cultivating it into an ability to cook well. I love cooking for others and hope someday I'll be able to bless my own family with my cooking. I'm always on the search for better recipes and methods so I'm looking forward to this series!
32. khalil said the following at 3:15 PM on Jul 1:
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lamb shank + crockpot = yum
I think it was one of my best meals I ever made. I had never used a crockpot before and kept taking the lid off to check on the shanks. They went in tough but came out so tender they basically fell off the bone :)
33. Ruth said the following at 4:20 PM on Jul 1:
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Great idea, Ted!! I can't wait to see the recipes!
Can you please post some easy ones that contain cheap and easy to find ingredients for all the students roaming this site? Thanks!
34. farmer Tom said the following at 6:58 PM on Jul 1:
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I stayed home from prayer meeting tonight, I've got a head ache and I'm very tired, so I may ramble on.
Speaking of food. Ted, we butchered our chickens on Saturday. 8 weeks and 4 days old, they all averaged nearly ten lbs. Got that, ten pound chickens. We bought an 11 pound turkey for Thanksgiving last year.
Oooh, Oooh, I'm going to be the first to post a recipe. This one is a two part recipe, must be done exactly as I describe.
First, cook a nice beef roast for Sunday dinner, say 3 to 5 lbs. To cook the roast, simply season to taste with salt and pepper, then cook in oven or crock pot, making sure to keep plenty of moisture around the meat. Nothing worse than a dry roast beef. You must make a large batch of roast beef gravy. (Personally I pour the gravy on the roast beef and skip the potatoes, your mileage may vari, I'm not a big fan of the potatoes). Serve it with frozen sweet corn from the garden, mashed potatoes and for desert, fresh strawberry pie.
Now the second part. Say Tuesday or Wednesday evening after your roast beef dinner on Sunday.
Cook 2 cups of white rice in 2 cups of water, season with salt, pepper, butter and minced onion. Cool when rice is throughly cooked.
In a pan on the stove, warm 2 cups of finely chopped beef roast from previous meal. Add salt, pepper and onion to taste. Remember, that you have seasoned the meat the first time it was cooked, so don't overdo the seasoning. Pour the left over beef gravy on the beef warming in the pan.
Let the beef mixture cool a moment and go back to the rice. Mix two eggs(I prefer three) throughly with the rice. This will make the rice very sticky. Heavily grease a deep casserole dish, then making a cavity in the middle of the dish, line the bottom and sides of the dish with the rice, saving about a quarter or so of the rice. Pour the roast beef with gravy in the center of the dish, then after leveling it off, cover the top of the roast beef and gravy with a layer of rice. Bake covered at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour. I personally like to take the cover off after about 40 minutes, so that the rice/egg combo is golden brown on top, almost crunchy. Serve with fresh garden peas or green beans, and a couple of large glasses of whole milk. Homemade ice cream with fresh raspberries for dessert.
Bon Appétit
For the record, this is a recipe I stole from my mother, and cooked for my wife, back in the days BK (before kids). It immediately went into the recipe file, and is a regular in our menu rotation.
35. Lady Akofa said the following at 2:30 AM on Jul 2:
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Ted, this is will be good. I'll love to learn to cook foreign dishes. Bring it on!
36. Esther said the following at 10:42 AM on Jul 2:
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I host a Bible study in my home every Wednesday, and last night was no exception. One of the things I love about it is the chance to experiment with cooking new stuff when I have a crowd to eat it. I'd be a little nervous about using guests as guinea pigs, except that college students and 20-somethings are very forgiving and seem to eat almost anything. So, last night I made baked chicken breaded with cheezits (sounds crazy, but really very good!), a salad and dinner rolls, with a quick apple- blueberry crisp for dessert. It all turned out very good (except for almost burning the rolls) and we had a great time, though I had to kick everyone out around 11 so I could get some sleep!
37. Kim said the following at 7:07 AM on Jul 4:
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I would highly recommend the following cookbook for people just learning to cook:
College Cuisine by Leila Peltosaari
Easy, Cheap, Fast, Nutritious Recipes for Students
They explain EVERYTHING. How long different foods last in the fridge / on the shelf, how to recover from cooking mistakes, how to reuse leftovers, how to store foods...
Two other healthy food sites I love are:
www.whfoods.org - Recipes made with the "world's healthiest foods" (highest nutrition to calorie ratio). They give good food prep techniques with some of the recipes (like a visual of how to chop an onion)
And a blog dedicated to cooking with vegetables. She has a save "money at the grocery store" series as well as delicious recipes.
38. Kirsten said the following at 3:56 PM on Jul 4:
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If you want recipes that are good to follow, I love the cooking section of the Pioneer Woman's blog. She is so good at taking great pictures of every part of the process. I cook with my laptop on the counter when I try a new one of her recipes, and they are all fantastic!
39. Rachael said the following at 12:32 AM on Jul 5:
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Recipes are often easy to follow or mostly follow.
It will be neat to grow in the area of automatically knowing of yummy or okay combinations.
a few thoughts -
1) allrecipes.com -it's nice that you can search for the recipes by ingredients and that you can see the rating.
2) Betty Crocker cookbook is a nice one to have.
3) See what you might check out at a library. I'm borrowing "Prevention's Quick and Healthy Low-Fat Cooking" from 1993. If I get around to it and find it online for a good price I may buy it.
4) Those cookbooks that focus on just a few ingredients. I have one... I may have made something from there before... I don't access it all the time, but, some people who don't want to do multi-ingredient cooking may like it.
40. the most frequent Kate said the following at 1:53 PM on Jul 5:
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yay I am excited about this Ted!
Will you be collecting suggestions from readers and trying them out for publishing in the series at all? If so I can share a few recipes and tips on saving on healthy eating... just make your request in a blog post because I don't have time to read all the comments on articles anymore now that I'm working so much...
...which sadly means I haven't gotten to cook as much lately, but luckily I managed to teach my husband enough that he's been doing a good job of it and branching out on his own as a cook!
I can't resist though, tip number one for saving $ on healthy eating is make your own yogurt. It's easy, much cheaper, tastes better, is healthier since you don't need to add all the sugar that comes in store-bought flavored yogurt. All you need is as much milk as you want yogurt, a few Ts of starter yogurt with active culture, a container to hold the mix, a way to heat that milk to the appropriate temperature, a way to incubate that yogurt mix for several hours (a pre-warmed cooler works great to incubate it), and a food thermometer helps. A lot of the directions online make it seem more complex than it needs to be!
41. Amanda said the following at 10:28 AM on Jul 6:
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I totally agree. Anyone can cook. As a Chef, I love to encourage people of all ages to get into their kitchens and start with something easy. Summer cooking is all about keeping it simple and fresh. I love grilling chicken or steaks and serving them with a fresh corn salad-follow link for an tasty recipe-(http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fresh-corn-salad-recipe/index.html) or a bed of greens and some fresh veggies from the garden or the farmers market.
The number one rule in cooking is: Season. Salt and pepper can "make or break" any recipe. Use it with care.
Have fun cooking!
P.S. Love the pictures!
42. obewan said the following at 12:35 PM on Jul 6:
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Since we are posting favorite books and websites, I have to state mine which are classics:
1.) The Fanny Farmer cookbooks
2.) The Joy of Cooking book
3.) epicurious.com
4.) cooks.com
5.) Americas' Test Kitchen show and website.
43. Nathan N. said the following at 1:54 PM on Jul 6:
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My wife and I love trying different recipes. On occasion, I shop the clearance section of the local bookstore to get new cookbooks. I also frequent www.foodnetwork.com. It works well for me because people leave comments about the recipes.
Food is fun. It is so more than just something to eat. It can be art, an act of love, and an occasion for fellowship.
44. Rachael said the following at 8:01 PM on Jul 6:
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I kind-of want to look at cookbooks at a used bookstore or half-price books.
Today I checked out another couple recipe books from the small local library again - one called "Secrets of Fat-Free Cooking" and one called "Cooking Light Annual Recipes 1997." In the first of these is includes some information about some ingredients and substitutes.
Someday I may try doing fat substitutes, especially if I have the substitutes handy and don't experiment on something I don't want to mess up on. It's okay to mess up if it's just me and my husband or something, though.
Maybe I'll take some notes on this book...
45. Sadie said the following at 9:35 PM on Jul 6:
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When my father was in 9th grade he asked his mother for cooking lessons, his reasoning was that to catch a nice girl one had to be a good cook, he also figured that he might be on his own for awhile. His interest in cooking has only grown. My father uses cooking and baking as his therapy after a long day at work. We have benefited from the delicious dinners, yummy Saturday morning breakfasts, and lot of bread, fudge, cookies, and other treats.
My mother on the other hand would rather be doing something else outside of the kitchen. She likes to make cookies and can fruits but that is about it.
46. Ken said the following at 8:55 PM on Jul 7:
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Ted,
I've recently learned to cook by watching YouTube videoes from Chef Todd Mohr. He believes in teaching cooking methods rather than recipes - sort of like teaching someone to fish rather than just giving him a fish. I think the videos are a great resource for those in our age group who are beginning to live on their own and are tired of fluffernutter and mac & cheese from the dorm days.