r u about 21 yrs old? can you cook?

[kaizen604]

Dude, I'm 21, but I learned how to cook from my family, and eventually through cooking school, only b/c I chose that route. Anyways, a good cookbook, I'd suggest "The Culinary Institute of America: Cooking at Home" if you want to learn the low-down techniques. Also, just celebrity books are good too. Like one post said, the Foreman grill, it actually works!

[decypher]

Today i added a slice of Garlic dill pickle to my tuna sandwich and it opened a whole new dimension to my specialty cooking skills.

[Kelster]

first off go stock up on spices and such, the stuff you will always be using. for me it's olive oil, salt/pepper, chillies, fresh garlic/onion, brown rice, soy sauce, sugar. those are my basics, and i think, a lot of other peoples...but everyone likes diff kinda foods.

if you're really that clueless start out with simple things - pasta with tomato sauce, curry, stir fry's..that's all i make when i'm at my boyfriends, you're kinda limited if you're limited on spices and herbs.

knowing how to cook just takes time, i love it. but do yourself a favor, never eat fast food again. stay away from processed foods.

oh yea, get yoruself 2 big pots, a frying pan, a strainer, couple big bowls, ladel, spatula, wooden spoon, cutting board, big knife, peeler, can opener....those are the things i need when i cook


...oh yea, i like good food. you can always chose the easy way out and eat pre made foods, but you're really depriving yoruself of easy fast quality meals made from scratch...don't do that to yourself.

[mikey]

I'm 21, and can cook pretty well.

[Erin]

Originally Posted by mikey

I'm 21, and can cook pretty well.

You cook VERY well.

I can only cook about 4 things. One being breakfast.

[cerah]

Originally Posted by Kandyapple

An ex taught me it's all about timing.

I got that timing thing down pat! Whenever I make a few different dishes I always manage to get them all done at the same time. I haven't really cooked much since I lived on my own though. I used to be a crazy busy body running around in the kitchen preppin n cookin n cleanin n settin the table.

I miss living on my own :(

[hardstylin]

I can cook like a motherfucker..

[bebu*funfun]

i cant cook too well but if i was to live on my own right now i know exactly what id buy. its all about the frozen chinese foods.. like dumpings/steam food. and lots of noodles..all types of noodles and tons of soup. you dont need to know how to cook a 3 course meal to get by. get ure mommy/daddy to teach ya =) im sure they have a few tricks they can show you.

[SteveO13]

Im fukkin insane at cookin mmhm and im 20

[Jaytimer]

I'm 21 and I am a cook.

[SteveO13]

Originally Posted by Jay_Time

I'm 21 and I am a cook.

well ya same here

[Mr Ektion]

interesting how a few of you who can cook, but don't post a little more. after all.. this is a forum. break off a little more than 'yeah, so can i' =j

Yeah, noodles and frozen foods are a good idea too. I'd ask my parents to teach me to cook, but as you know, we don't have the patience for each other. but good suggestion for others i'm sure.

Are there any wines you guys suggest? I know i could ask a wine maker, and i will. but i don't wanna just trust one opinion. I wanna taste test and see what you guys dig. Shake and Bake. mmm... ok, we need more veggie tips. like, steaming and stuff. =) all this stuff you guys are suggesting are awesome. Thanks =)

[TheCooker]

I can cook...Grill, Broil, saute...steam...set your flava yo

[mojo]

i thought this was going to be about you looking for a women or something.

[Moon]

vegetables are good steamed.... steaming is a good thing to know how to do as well.... there are those bamboo dimsum things which steam well but you gotta clean em properly (drain em in bleached water) then into the dishwasher cuz they mould easily.
stirfry is good too..... trick is to cook the veggies in a hot pan/wok with lil oil, toss em around till they get some nice color and load up the white wine or sake and cover the pan so it steams up... mmmhmmm. then throw in some oyster sauce or teriyaki... or you can try korean style with chilli paste mixed in a lil water and corn starch.

[thebobman]

Bobman's Broke-Ass Bachelor's Shopping List:

1. Extra Lean Ground Meats: Beef is aight, but Chicken & Turkey occasionally are cheaper, and are beater for you anyway. Pork isn't bad either. Do NOT cheap out and get regular stuff, sick to extra lean, you'll get better quality meats & you won't have to drain as you cook it.

2. Lipton Sidekicks: This is essentially KD for big kids. Brute simple to make. For added laziness get the ones that don't require milk.

3. Bulk Size tub of Peanut Butter: C'mon, this stuff is GOLD. Stupid high in stuff you need, it's like the ultimate in sandwich material & it stays good for forever and a day.

4. Margerine (I recommend Becel): 1st, unlike butter, margerine never, ever goes bad, or at least takes a LONG time to do so, keep it refrigerated anyway tho.

5. Condiments: Salad Dressing (ranch is usually the most flexible), Ketchup, mustard, & hot sauce, you can pick up other stuff if you want it too.

6. Tonnes of Pasta: krisamata's right, you can buy sauces monthly and stick 'em in the fridge, combine with some of the ground meat or some random mean you've chopped up & fried up it's instant meal.

7. Random Pasta sauces: For pasta from above.

8. Milk: You'll have to pick this up weekly, but the nutrition it contains will iron out most of the missing stuff in your diet.

9. Frozen mixed Veggies: C'mon their frozen, you don't have to worry about pickin' up fresh stuff. If there IS a small vegetable stand near you hit it up every week for fruit that you'll eat (banana's, oranges & advacado's are my favs).

10. Some tinned tuna: This is kinda optional, I personally can't really stand the stuff, but you can do some stuff with it.

11. Bulk Piece of Chedder Cheese: This stuff is so handy, you can make sandwiches with it or add to meals.

12. A couple cans of Campbell's Chunky Soup: Only use in an emergency, you can keep KD around as well, this stuff's better for ya tho.

13. A couple tins of refried beans: This is for my burrito recipe, it's like $1.50 a tin, you'll need 1 or two depending on how you want to do it.

14. Flour Burrito wraps: See above, this is for a specific recipe, in the fridge these keep about two weeks.

15. Jar of salsa: again, for the burrito receipt.

16. I also usually buy a loaf of bread for sandwiches with the tuna, cheese & peanut butter, this stuff goes off faster then you remember unless you get wonder bread so take note.

**===========================**

Receipes (for Disaster):

Burritos - Costs about $10 to make with the optional ingredients, CHEAPER THAN FROZEN ONES AND BETTER FOR YOU.

1. Fry up your ground meat in a big pan (I recommend a wok since you can pick up cheap and you can use it for frying up pretty much anything.
2. When the meat is cooked dump in the tins of refried beans.
3. When the mixture is clearly warmed up (the refried beans won't feel super thick anymore (don't worry they don't need cooked) add in some of the salsa, don't put a lot in or it'll get runny.
4. Add hot sauce to taste
5. Optional: You can add in a chopped tomato (get italian ones they're more substantial) or a green/red/yellow pepper to 'em, you can also add grated chedder cheese, I HIGHLY recommend the pepper and the cheese, it really improves the taste.
6. Take your burrito mix and put it in a big tupperware tub in the fridge
7. when you need a burrito take about two or three heaping table spoons out and reheat it in the mircowave (usually takes 30s or so) then dump it in the middle of a flour wrap and wrap it up (rembmer to fold in the bottom)
8. 1 package of ground meat (like, std. store size) & 1 tin of refried beans usually makes about 8-14 burritos dending on how big you make 'em. In the fridge the mix will keep for two weeks without any problems.

----

Sidekick Surprise:

1. Fry up your random ground meat
2. Cook up a side kick as per it's directions
3. boil and drain some of your mixed frozen vegetalbles.
4. Combine 'em all.
5. Optional: Cook additional pasta and thin it out, some of the sidekicks are really heavy on the sauce so this is totally doable.
6. You can refrigerate what you don't eat for a week without problems

[Euro Dollar]

you fucking bastards!!! I'M STARVING!!! STOP IT!!!
lol going to my dad's place tomorrow to eat, my dad's really good at cooking because he is very creative, once you got your basics down, creativity is the key.
Try buying seafood and other exotic stuff like rare vegetables, rare spices, check
the bakery at urban fare or on granville island, get some cocaine and baking soda as well... if you're cooking for yourself then i guess the presentation isn't that important it's all about the taste, but if you're cooking for yourself and others, then culinary art is what it's all about. That is exactly why i suggested getting rare spices and exotic veggies, stuff like that can look alot neater on your plate then potatoes and cucumbers... fuck this i'm going to macdonalds!

[Only_Glory]

Originally Posted by crookedking

i heard that the george foreman grill works wonders as well.

i got this as a gift for xmas from a buddy

holy crap i put everything inside that fucking magic box

[Crazy Dave]

Hey just get a girl friend...

or simpler just watch mommy do it. (cook that is)

[crookedking]

Originally Posted by mojo

i thought this was going to be about you looking for a women or something.

naw, he's already got one and he wants to impress her with his extensive wine collection and his culinary skills.

[Kelster]

Originally Posted by .Forwerd

interesting how a few of you who can cook, but don't post a little more. after all.. this is a forum. break off a little more than 'yeah, so can i' =j

what a bunch of twats, eh? jk, i think cooking is something you gotta personally show a person..it's hard to post over the internet how to cook.

i hate cooking veggies. i either eat them raw or i incorporate a tons of em into my meal. like my curries are full of carrots, brocolli, peas, cauliflower, peppers or whatever goes.
when i do cook my veggies i find boiling em in salt water the best. boil up a pot of water, add a lil salt then throw the veggies in till they're soft but don't over cook cause there's nothign grosser then overcooked veggies.

eat salad, very easy and soooo good. go to costco grab a tub of mixed greens and a bag of romaine. i eat salads like meals so i normaly throw in a lot of diff stuff like roasted peppers, tomatos, cucumbers, olives, feta cheese, eggs, artichokes, roasted walnuts/pine nuts/sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and whatever else i find. i also make my own deressing, super easy. olive oil, mayo, dijon mustard, sugar and salt and pepper.

[crookedking]

Originally Posted by Only_Glory

i got this as a gift for xmas from a buddy

holy crap i put everything inside that fucking magic box

my friend says that he makes toast with it, but i don't believe him. have you tried that out?

[dapimpstress]

def hard to post howta cook...


my housekeeper (who used to make us dinner every night) quit to retire the summer before 8th grade... quite a while ago... and since both my parents worked all the time, suddenly I was the one making dinner, every fuckin night, and its hard man, u haveta be real creative....
a couple SUPER easy things that i like to make are...

HOMEMADE MAC N CHEEZ

u will need 1 saucepan, 1 pyrex dish (brownie pan styl...) 1 spoon.

>preheat oven to 350

>boil water for noodles

>in the saucepan put 1/2 stick of butter, then measure out 2 tablespoons flour and dump it in, simmer it (lower heat) and stir until the mix is bubbly...

>then pour in the milk, make sure to keep this stirred as u dun wanna burn the milk, its easy to do.

>salt and pepper, to taste...

now, u have a white sauce (these can be used for lots of things, i.e. alfredo sauce (just add parmesean) or cheese sauce (perhaps on calliflour... mmMMmm) among other things)

so, while u were doing that u should have
>grated A TON of cheddar cheese,

and boiled some noodles, make sure these noodles are al dente as they will cook more in the oven...
>Put the noodles into the pyrex pan, and
>pour your white sauce over the top.

make sure to stir it around a bit as u want the sauce to be evenly distributed.

>then toss the cheese on top, and

>throw it in the over for about 20 min, or until the cheese is all melty and a lil bit brownish..

MMMMmmmmMMMM homemade mac n cheese...

in our NEXT edition of COOKING WITH ASHES we will be making PORCUPINE MEATBALLS! yay!

[MissBehavior]

This is going to sound really cheesy, but if you have cable, watch Food TV. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to cook, and I watch it more than anything else (except CSI. :p). You can pick up so many tips for cooking (basic skills and recipes) and it's easy to do when you just want to relax.

Pasta sauces are EASIER THAN HELL to make...You don't even have to use fresh ingredients if you don't want to (it'll taste better if you do though).

Here's some tips:

-+> Use canned tomatoes in the winter (fresh ones are only good in the spring and summer)
-+> Grow your own herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, etc). If not, still try and use fresh ones...LOTS of basil in a tomato sauce! SO YUMMY!
-+> Fresh garlic is a MUST. I mean, the wet stuff in the jar will do (never the dried stuff), but if you really want the punchyness of good garlic, you HAVE to chop a few cloves up yourself.
-+> Brown your meat in a frying pan with some olive oil and fresh herbs (for beef rosemary is nice; for chicken, try some tarragon, or basil and a bit of oregano).
-+> GET A PEPPER MILL! DON'T use the pre-ground stuff. It just doesn't have the same flavour as fresh ground pepper. White peppercorns are hotter than the black ones, and add a different dimension of taste. Hell, if you want, buy a salt mill too, and grind sea-salt into your food!

And it's all about equipment too. There's a few essentials everyone should have in the kitchen.
-+> A heavy-duty pair of shears (for cutting through chicken bones/joints, cutting up meat if you're in a hurry, opening packages)
-+> 3 knives: 1 paring knife, 1 7-8" kitchen knife, and 1 7-8" serrated bread knife (can be used for cutting bread, tomatoes, etc)
-+> A plastic cutting board (you can throw it in the dishwasher if you have one, and you can soak it in hot water to clean it)
-+> 3 pots: 1 large dutch-oven type pot (for soups, chilis, stews, pasta sauce, etc), 1 med size (for things like boiling pasta, *cough*makingKD*cough*, side dishes), 1 small for warming up/steaming veggies, making sauces like cheese sauce)
-+> 1 12" frying pan
-+> 3 wooden spoons (always handy to have, and if one gets broken or gross, you still have backups)

I'm hardly a professional cook/chef, but if you ever want any ideas for stuff, hit me up on MSN. :)

[lou_belle]

Originally Posted by .Forwerd

Damn. I'm useless when it comes to cooking and i think i'm going to run into a problem soon. Can YOU cook? How'd you learn?

What can you cook? WHAT SHOULD I DO!?!?!?

I don't wanna live on take-out/fastfood/pizza. I'm great at breakfast foods. and basic pastas. but when it comes to dealing with like.. vegetables and meats... oh man.

Honestly, I have never had any training and I can cook whatever you throw at me. It is all about being confident and thinking about food on a chemistry level. I create every dish by making an equation in my head. Like as an example. I wanted to make pudding, I had never done this, but I knew that cornstarch (thickens sauces and gives it this real jello-y texture)...so I decided to give it a try. I melted chocolate in the pot(chocolate pudding) some milk(to make it creamy) added sugar(to make it sweet) and wallah....pudding, now I make it nearly every night.

TIP* when adding powders, always mix with cool liquid to dissolve, then add to the hot pot stirring. This avoids clumping. And you look like you know what you are doing even if it tastes like shit.

Once you cook every night, even if you don't have recipes, everything will come to you.

It is all about your mentality going into cooking. If you look at it like a simple task then it will come much easier to you. Everyone always makes bad dishes, but you have to learn from those. Whatever you do, don't follow recipes down to measuring spoons. You won't learn anything and it will scare you from trying to create your own recipes. Watch cooking shows and write down some good flavour combos:P

I LOVE FOOD:P