So you’re not into cooking! I get that! You work all day, take care of kids, try to keep your life together and now you have to cook!?! What! If only we had a chef to do it for us, then we’d be set. But we don’t, so the duty has now fallen into our laps.
Don’t give in to despair! There’s usually a good reason why we don’t like cooking. Maybe we were never taught the basics. We think cooking a meal for just one person is too much work. Maybe we haven’t learned how pleasurable cooking could be. Or we are just too tired! Whatever the reason is, I’ve got 5 tips to help you like to cook!
- Give yourself 15 minutes to unwind before cooking! For most of us cooking is a “mind-over-matter” thing. So you need to be in a relaxed state before you begin. For those of you who commute, this is the time to relax and dream about food you would like to make and review your recipe. If you drive home think about your meal and how wonderful it’s going to taste! Listen to your favourite music, not the news, and don’t let traffic get under your skin. Just think about what a wonderful time you’re going to have preparing your delicious meal! When you get home, chat with your mate or kids or pets! Water your garden, have a shower, flip through a magazine you’ve been waiting to read, go for a walk or just sit and relax!
- Invest in a good kitchen knife and peeler. You don’t need to have many knives to function well in your kitchen. I would begin by buying a Chef’s knife and a sharpener. IT MUST BE KEPT SHARP!! Your life will greatly improve if you can chop up your veggies and meat/poultry easily. A dull knife makes the job so much harder, wearing you out! There are many manufacturer’s but almost 20 years ago I bought a knife set from Rada Cutlery and have never looked back! Very affordable, well-made knives and accessories made in the U.S. I have bought several different types of their knives for different uses along with their peeler. Let me tell you! Peeling potatoes and carrots with this sharp, easy to hold peeler made me so happy that I no longer bemoaned the idea of peeling veggies.
- Plan your meal for at least 3 nights of the week. On Sunday morning look through your recipe books, on-line or my blog! Choose at least 3 recipes you can make and the rest of the nights can be your night off until you get more comfortable making nightly meals. Get all your ingredients on Sunday and do as much prep work in advance.
- Before you begin cooking, put on your favourite music! You must have music to enjoy cooking. Well, music is great anytime! But nothing gets a person relaxed and in the mode better than music. Whatever kind it is, get it going! Have a read over your recipe once more, set out your ingredients, pour yourself your favourite beverage and then begin!
- Don’t Give Up! Keep making the dish until you’ve mastered it and its divine, just how you like it. If you don’t like it at all, tweak it until the dish is right. Or scrap it and try making something different. No matter what, don’t give up!