Can you give me advice on learning to cook for myself?

Question

I'll be living in an apartment with my own kitchen next semester and would like to be as self-sufficient as possible. Can you give this sheltered college student some advice on cooking and maintaining a kitchen? What do I need in my kitchen, and what are some good things to cook on a tight budget? What should I learn to cook and where/how can I learn? Thanks a bunch for all your help!

Answer 1

I would say forget people mentioning cookbooks, this is year 2007 not the 20s
just www.google.com "quick recipe" or "quick pasta". Tightest budgest and best food!

the first thing you should learn is to toss some garlic on some butter and olive oil at low fire, then add some tomatoes (fresh or not) bit of chilly and at the end some basil. Salt and Pepper
Boil some pasta for 9 mins drain it and mix it all in, add some freshly grated parmesan cheese.
That is it baby, do JUST THIS and this is all you'll ever need to know to impress anyone. Fly the Italian Flag high!
Then, all the rest is variations of this.
You don't have to use olive oil if you don't have any and you can omit the basil. You can even leave out the tomatos and just have garlic and chilly. In that case it would greatly improve with some parsley. Parsley offsets the taste of garlic and work very well together.
You can use a pork chop instead of pasta, if so, try capers instead of basil, and add a touch of cream.
buon appetito

Answer 2

most of the time, u only need common sense to handle things
when i started college, i knew nothing about cooking and was able to finish college with enough knowledge to do cooking for myself even now that im working
first , u can buy a cookbook
if u watch tv, then watch lots of cooking shows, little by little u will get the principle on how to take care of simple things, like how to cut different kinds of meat
as a start, u may want to prepare those "instant " food with very little "cooking" needed
then gradually do more and more cooking as u feel more comfortable doing so

Answer 3

My suggestion is that you do more feeding yourself than cooking. Lots of fresh fruit, salads, nuts, whole grain breads and a good small piece of oven ware to bake lean cuts of meat or fish in...also a veggie steamer is essential. The more sauces, spreads, etc, you use the more empty calories you take in. Also the more time cooking the less time you have to study. Make more use of your fridge than your stove, yogurt, cottage cheese, fruits, veggies and natural dips are fast easy and healthy. Avoid frying at all cost. Prepared foods have many chemical preservatives, and nutrients are often a chemical addition. This is the perfect time to develop healthy eating habits to last you a lifetime. Especially with the time you'll be spending sitting in class, studying and writing papers.

Answer 4

I learned from cooking with family but here is how my mom learned....1)Buy a good easy to read cook book 2)purchase pots, pans, baking sheets, ect...(your cook book should say what you will need in front however you don't need to buy everything it says you will need) 3)follow the instructions and before ya know it you will be able to make just about anything with out your cookbook :)

Answer 5

There are inexpensive cookbooks out there for starters, Rachael Ray's got a lot of them, even ones with recipes for preparing fast meals in under a half an hour. If you remember any favorites your folks have prepared for you, when you're with them, why not help out and watch, learn, remember, write those recipes down. When your folks aren't around anymore, and you feel blue, sometimes a little of the comfort food you had when you were home might help you feel okay again.

Answer 6

The best way is to use cookbooks. Go to the library and check out a couple of really good cookbooks. See if they have the Betty Crocker Cookbock or Better homes and gardens cookbook. That is how I started out. You start with a recipe and make it a couple of times and you start thinking hmm this would taste good this way-you can change recipes around to suit what you like. That's the easiest way.

Answer 7

Steer clear of Ramen. It's like crack for people looking for something cheap & quick, and it's not all that good for you.

How about Tuna Casserole: Cook Mac & Cheese according to instructions, then mix in a container or packet of tuna, and a can of cream of mushroom soup, plus about 1.5 tablespoons of worchestershire sauce. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes with lid on, then for 10 minutes with lid off. Serve.

Answer 8

chicken, pasta, and more chicken is the cheapest stuff. Steak will cost more...but you can always make carne asada (that's pretty cheap)..Personally, learn to cook corn, green beans, rice and mashed potatoes. Rice is bit tricky (you might want to clean it to by washing it out) or you can buy the prepared stuff...the corn, green bean, can be steamed. Mashed taters just need some basic ingredients like water, butter and milk. Just follow the instructions and you'd be good.

Answer 9

Not only are there cookbooks at the library, but you can get recipes online! You can even enter the things you have in the kitchen & it will pull up recipes with those items. It's really cool!

Go to: www.bettycrocker.com

Good luck!

Answer 10

Utensils:
1. Small cook pot (1 quart will usually do for 1 person)
2. Wooden cooking spoon
3. Small pan (either Teflon or Stainless Steel)
4. Spatula (plastic for Teflon, metal for Stainless Steel).

In your pan, you can cook eggs and bacon.
If you put it on top of your cook pot with water in the cook pot, you can melt cheese for your own macaroni and cheese.
The processed stuff is cheap but not good for you.

You can cook bacon, eggs, sautee fresh vegetables, melt butter and do a variety of heating stuff up quickly in the pan.

You can heat water in the small pot, cook a 1-person serving of pasta, boil eggs, cook 1-2 small potatoes.

For breakfasts, consider quick grits or quick oatmeal. You can add your own flavorings, it's much cheaper than buying the pre-packaged envelopes. Oatmeal is good. It keeps your bowels moving, lowers cholesterol and assists brain function (important for a student).

If you like meat, consider cube steak. It's a lot cheaper than 'real steak'. The only difference is that it is a normally tougher cut of meat but comes pre-tenderized without chemicals.

I've eaten a lot of vegetables out of cans without heating them. Yellow corn, green beans and green peas taste really good when you just dump them from the can and add some salad dressing, for a cold vegetable salad. Dice a little fresh onion in with it and maybe cut up a tomato. It's delicious, easy to clean up after and fairly healthy.

Try to cook your green vegetables as little as possible. You can eat most of them totally raw, but if you like them more tender, cook them for only a few minutes so that their natural vitamins don't get wasted. Cook with very little water, being careful not to burn (small flame or low heat on electric burner), then save the cooking water, add a little butter, and you have a simple sauce.
If you like your sauce thicker, add a little Wondra. It's a flour that won't clump, so use it according to directions to thicken sauces.
When choosing fat to cook with, consider that the higher cost of Olive oil is offset by better health and less medical bills later. Do avoid shortening and margarine.The myth that eggs have too much cholesterol is just that: a myth. Shellfish is MUCH higher in cholesterol, so is beef, and the egg itself is nutritional well balanced.
Avoid margarine. Rats won't eat it and humans shouldn't.
Peanut butter contains way more fat than protein.
Spices:
The human body has taste organs that respond to: salty, sour, sweet, bitter, spicy.
Western cuisine seems to only know 'salty' and 'sweet'. Invest in spices and herbs. They are good for your health and add variety to otherwise bland foods. It improves your health and your mood.
Most canned foods already contain more salt that the human body wants or needs. To add more zest, add cayenne pepper, not salt.
Cayenne pepper is really good for your health. It improves circulation and adds the digestion of all foods. Be careful, it's potent :)
As much as you can, buy food in bulk. A 10 lb bag of potatoes will go a long way, and there are dozens of ways to cook potatoes.
A large package of whole wheat pasta will last a long time and is much better than any prepackaged meal.
Watch out for monosodium glutamate. It destroys brain cells, artificially stimulates appetite, therefor encouraging overweight conditions, and is generally unhealthy. For some cruel reason, the FDA allows it in food. Most 'ready meals' have it. Read the labels.
When buying bread, realize that 'enriched flour' means that the grain has been processed and robbed of over 21 natural ingredients that make it worthwhile to eat. Then, 11 of those are added back in, and it is called 'enriched'.
Stick with bread that has 'Whole Wheat' listed as a FIRST ingredient. True whole wheat bread is in itself good food. You can spread cream cheese on it, add tomatoes, mushrooms, or even some preserves, and it makes a great snack.
Get used to tasting different fresh foods. Use your imagination to combine flavors.
I cooked a cube steak recently but also had some Blueberries I was snacking on while cooking. The taste of the blueberries suggested adding them to the sauce for the steak. It was yummy! (The boyfriend liked it, too)
Food can be a lot of pleasure and adventurous as well. Don't be afraid to experiment.
With only 1 pot and pan and a few essential utensils, you can have a lot of fun cooking for yourself!