Go Feed Yourself
Everyone should know how
Our culture of convenience has caused us to grow less and less self reliant in many different ways and feeding ourselves is no exception.
You should know how to feed yourself, and by that I mean you should know how to cook. Cooking your own meals can be a more cost effective and nutritionally sound way to nourish yourself and others around you, and you don't need to know how to prepare Michelin starred cuisine to survive, but it doesn't hurt.
Having been a chef for over 15 years I think the main idea that I would convey to my younger self is to ignore recipes. I know, in my last article I provided a simple tortilla recipe but lets ignore that for now.
Recipes that actually work can be useful once you have learned a few basic cooking methods. Learning methodology in place of a recipe will give you a better understanding of how your food got from a raw product to a meal on your plate.
Get to know your staple foods. Familiarizing yourself with a few basic ingredients will make everything else you do in the kitchen seem less intimidating.
Staple ingredients are foods that make up the dominant pat of a populations diet, are consumed regularly and act as a major source of a persons nutritional needs.
Some staple ingredients in the United States and throughout the world are, Grains such as oats, quinoa, and rice. Meats like beef, chicken, and fish. Chicken in it’s various forms is the most widely consumed meat in America. We all love chicken wings right, and we can’t forget vegetables.
There are 5 categories of vegetables, dark green vegetables, beans and peas, starchy vegetables, red and orange vegetables, and other vegetables. The most widely consumed vegetable in the United States is the potato with the average American consuming up to 120 pounds per year. That’s a lot of fries!
Lets talk about some basic cooking methods:
Boiling (submerging food into water heated to 212 degrees Fahrenheit) cooking in boiling water is one of the most common ways to prepare some staple foods like rice, quinoa, and potatoes.
Roasting (Cooking with dry heat) Chicken, Beef, and Fish such as Salmon are all foods that take well to being roasted.
Sautéing (Cooking in a shallow pan with a bit of oil or any fat) use this method with fresh vegetables such as mushrooms and shellfish like shrimp.
Braising (cooking with a small amount of liquid at a low heat) Meats such as beef chuck, lamb shanks, or chicken thighs turn out very tender when braised.
Cooking can be intimidating and for some even anxiety producing but just remember to take small steps. You can start by cooking one pot meals or soups. If you feel that you need a recipe, get a reputable cookbook that will not only give you recipes but some methodology, as well as guide you on what equipment you will need to prepare the dish and what the final product should look like.
If you are a creative person, you are one step ahead of the game, if you are not then figure out your palate, what foods that you like? What foods would like to try?
Remember you don’t need that frozen entrée or convenience product, you can do this, all you have to do is try. If you fail, good, you just learned what not to do, and try again. You got this.