I need help in the kitchen!!

[KimmiSav. 10]

Hiya, I've never popped into this group before so thought I'd say Hi

 

I'm really interested in baking and cooking but I am so rubbish it's embarrassing, I mean I can't even do microwave meals without blowing the place up, I manage to uncook or burn ready meals, its an actual joke. My partner of 2 years is brilliant in the kitchen but I hate how he works 12 hours a day and then has to come back and come for us. I've recently in the middle of weaning my 5month old and would love to be able to start giving her stuff of ours rather than jar food.

 

So, I ask of you; sheffield forumers...for tips, hints; teach me how to cook! I shall add pictures of my 'progress' or 'fail meals' lol. Might be a laugh??

 

Thanks, Kimmi.

[taxman 12]

Hello and welcome to the group.

 

I find the easiest things to do are those dishes that require few ingredients and little technique.

 

If you can chop things up, heat a little oil in a pan, stir and taste then you are well on the way to making a curry, spag bol, pasta and pesto, casserole etc

 

For instance - tonight I'm doing a curry, and cheating by using some Pataks sauce I have hiding in the cupboard. I've heated a little oil in a frying pan. I've chopped garlic, ginger and chillies. I've added them to the warm oil. Added some cumin powder, turmeric and whole mixed peppercorns. Chopped up a yellow pepper and added it. Chopped up and aubergine and added it. Stirred until the aubergine has taken on all the oil and flavourings. Added a jar of Pataks curry sauce (optional - I could have just added a tin of tomatoes and loads more flavourings), it is now simmering. Later I will add a handful of frozen spinach.

 

I will taste throughout adjusting the heat (chilli flakes for extra heat) and flavour (coconut, garam masala, whatever comes to mind) then when I'm happy I'll serve with shop bought naan bread.

 

Simple.

 

The technique is the same for spag bol. Heat oil, chop garlic onion, add mince, stir, add tomatoes, add flavouring, stir, taste serve.

 

Just don't overheat it and burn it and don't add too much of any one flavouring until you've tasted. One of my few disasters once was putting too much salt in something at the start of cooking - once in you can't take it out - foul!

 

Good luck.

 

Feel free to ask about any specifics, I'm sure people will be glad to help.

[kandy44 10]

Hiya and welcome to the site

Everyone can cook with a little basic know how and there is nothing wrong in a little cheating.

Try simple meals to start with i am what you would term a home cook!

Try this very basic dish to start with

400g dried tagliatelle

120g cream cheese. eg philadelphia

small packet of panchetta or sreakey bacon cut into small chunks

100ml semi skimmed milk or single cream

black pepper to taste

 

cook the tagliatelle as directed on packet normally 8-10 minutes

fry panchetta or bacon till crisp and set aside

drain pasta when cooked and leave in colander

into the same pan you used for the pasta add the milk and cream cheese and stir till melted

add the pasta and bacon to the now melted milk and cream cheese

finish with grind black pepper

simply serve with part bake or fresh bought ciabatta with dipping oil/olive oil

a glass of chilled white wine and you have a meal ready in around 15 mins

good luck

[armandine2 10]

Today I cooked cauliflower cheese from Simon Hopkinson's "The Vegetarian Option" recipe. I hadn't made a cheese sauce before and it turned out ok ... didn't use the nutmeg, clove and bay leaf; but did get all the right proportions of the main ingredients and didn't over boil the cauli. Glad it worked but I was lucky and would advise simulating a cook first to understand what and why you are doing what you are going to do, first.

[Graham82 10]

Confidence is key. I used to be like you, being absolutely dire in the kitchen. The main thing I found that caused it was a) getting distracted by the TV or whatever and b) Getting flustered by things going wrong and not knowing what to do. The first of those is easy to fix. The second of those is Confidence. Practice simple things first and get used to the idea that yes, you can cook and you can do it well. From there work your way up sticking to recipies that are fairly well described, occasionally mixing in new things that you've not tried before and keep going...

[chimay 10]

When I was at school we had domestic science lessons where we were taught the most useful basic skills needed to cook meals from scratch for a family. It is a pity that lessons like those are not on the national curriculum. I suggest looking for a basic cookery book to start with. If you can fry mince you can add a few ingredients to make several different meals. Good luck.

Edited January 4, 2011 by chimay
typo

[kevin johnso 10]

Hiya, I've never popped into this group before so thought I'd say Hi

 

I'm really interested in baking and cooking but I am so rubbish it's embarrassing, I mean I can't even do microwave meals without blowing the place up, I manage to uncook or burn ready meals, its an actual joke. My partner of 2 years is brilliant in the kitchen but I hate how he works 12 hours a day and then has to come back and come for us. I've recently in the middle of weaning my 5month old and would love to be able to start giving her stuff of ours rather than jar food.

 

So, I ask of you; sheffield forumers...for tips, hints; teach me how to cook! I shall add pictures of my 'progress' or 'fail meals' lol. Might be a laugh??

 

Thanks, Kimmi.

 

Go to Sheffield college basic course under Chef Pete Mara ...never looked back cheers - K

[kevin johnso 10]

When I was at school we had domestic science lessons where we were taught the most useful basic skills needed to cook meals from scratch for a family. It is a pity that lessons like those are not on the national curriculum. I suggest looking for a basic cookery book to start with. If you can fry mince you can add a few ingredients to make several different meals. Good luck.

 

We text again ....lol...this time on a different subject of food hope ya well ....cheers - K

[discodown 11]

What you need is practise at making something simple then you can progress as your confidence and skills allow.

 

Best way i can think of is to make a "base" recipe, from that you can make loads of other things. So for example learn how to do basic mince and onions. Then from that its only a short step to making chilli, bolognese, shepherds pie and a few other things.

 

Then once you've mastered bolognese you can progress to Lasagne and cannelloni and then as you do that you'll learn how to make a white sauce and so on and so on.

 

Cooking isn't difficult. Once you understand there are really only a few basic techniques and from these everything else is a spin off

[chimay 10]

We text again ....lol...this time on a different subject of food hope ya well ....cheers - K

 

So we do..........:)

[sumayyah 10]

my mother was an awful cook ( sorry mum ) if it didnt come out the freezer onto an oven tray then it would of had dolmio sauce and was served on over cooked pasta

 

ive learnt over the years by following cook books, i own a bookcase full of them and its been trial and error to get them how i wanted the dishes to be.

 

im lucky in that my group of friends and exes have taught me thier home foods so am now comfortable making more complicated stuff

 

maybe invite a friend over when you have some free time ( hard with a child i know ) and ask them to talk you through how to make a few dishes as you make them

 

for your child right now its purees, very easy to do.

 

my daughter loved carrot and potato, just cook the two, blend them up and thin out to the right consistancy with the childs milk, i used to freeze them in baby sized pots so i always had something to hand. experiment with flavours. stewed apple and pear, peas and parsnip, sweet potato and parsnip etc

 

as she got a little older sunday roast was a firm favourite of hers, made her a roast one weekend, blended it and she lived on it for the next month, lol

 

if your child doesnt seem to like something then wait a few days and try again. my sister was a fussy eater as she was fed the same things so my daughter was fed anything and everything, i cant handle spicy foods in more than very small doses ( am white and english despite my screen name ) but my daughter she eats scotch bonnets without so much as a blink, shes grown up on the stuff

Edited January 8, 2011 by sumayyah

[gina2007 10]

Cheat. Simply cheat. I do! I know theres plenty on here that can, and do, cook from scratch but I honestly dont think (like you) with a child its do-able everyday. Take a look at http://www.schwartz.co.uk/ourrange.cfm?gclid=CMWVmsn3taYCFcoe4QodAVe9Gw or, the next time youre shopping, have a look at the stands (usually where the gravy granules are etc) and find a packet. On each one (oh, and colmans too) there are ingredients lists. It tells you what you need, how much you need and has basic instructions. Dont fret over small things, I used too it'd say 250g of mince beef - but the only packs in supermarkets were 300g... I just used it all. It is trial and error. Im lucky that my mum brought us up to help out and we we're taught basics, my aunt also taught us basics (ie scrambled eggs in the microwave. Its fresh, its easy, its tasty.) Its only hard if you make it hard