Intro
Hi all. I decided to start this blog because of a certain dismal show on Food Network that they insist on running, even tho the host is a blithering idiot. It is perfectly possible to have good meals using off the shelf products, but she goes so far over board that by the time she gets done with something, it is very horrible and more expensive then if you decided to make it from scratch. I'm sure the original premise of the show was sincere, but it seems to be a lesson in product placement and how much primp and mugging time before the camera the host can get.
So, what I hope to do with this blog is to help those who either haven't a clue what to do in the kitchen, be it because they were never taught how to cook by their parents (and I know there are a lot of folk out there in this situation), whose parents tried to teach them and either were not that good at teaching or what the parent said went in one ear and bounced back out (I unfortunately did this with my grandmothers and dad when it came to gardening, so I am now doing serious catchup of stuff I should have learned long, long ago) or are folk still living at home who've realized their parental units can burn water and if they want to live to get out into the world had better learn to cook or eventually waste away from lack of food and nutrition.
We'll start off with the basics, work our way thru learning the skills needed in the kitchen, come up with yummy meals using the semi-homemade idea and eventually work our way in to making all the previous from scratch.
I am a firm believer in cheats, I will admit it right now. Even a lot of my from scratch recipes use cheats in them and there is absolutely nothing wrong it, sometimes I use the cheat becasue I don't have time to do it totally from scratch. Let's face it, in todays modern world not every one has time to spend all day in the kitchen, so this is when convenience food comes in so darned handy.
I also tend to be brand loyal on certain items, only for the simple reason they are things I grew up with, but that is personal taste on my part. In a great many cases I find the store or generic brand of something to be as good as or even far superior to a name brand item.
So, until school starts, you have a bit of homework :D See the links on the right side there? The ones under Food/Cooking links? Tip toe thru some of them. The first is for Accuchef, it is a cookbook program I use at home, there are lots out there I just happen to like this particular one. Just take a peek at it, you may or may not ever need something like that, but it is handy if you start cooking a lot and either want to collect recipes or write up your own and don't want to have a lot of paper laying around (I keep the program on the laptop and boot it up when I am in the kitchen).
Some of the sites haven't been updated in a while, some are for food/cooking blogs that are way more advanced then this one will be, but it is neat just reading thru some of the more fancy stuff. Some are people who are also in the process of learning to get around in the kitchen or are honing their own skills.
And then there is the Alton Brown links (All praise the great Saint Alton!), who I will probably be refering to a LOT in this blog. Think Mr Science meets Julia Child. He explains things in ways that even I can understand LOL. If you have cable or satellite and get the Food Network, I highly recommend watching Good Eats with Alton Brown. Not only does he explain the why's and wherefores of things, he makes cooking fun :) The Good Eats Fan Page forum is a great place to hang out even if we aren't discussing Alton's latest episode. I lurked there for quite a while absorbing the wisdom of others and have gotten a lot of good tips and such myself.
See ya soon :)
So, what I hope to do with this blog is to help those who either haven't a clue what to do in the kitchen, be it because they were never taught how to cook by their parents (and I know there are a lot of folk out there in this situation), whose parents tried to teach them and either were not that good at teaching or what the parent said went in one ear and bounced back out (I unfortunately did this with my grandmothers and dad when it came to gardening, so I am now doing serious catchup of stuff I should have learned long, long ago) or are folk still living at home who've realized their parental units can burn water and if they want to live to get out into the world had better learn to cook or eventually waste away from lack of food and nutrition.
We'll start off with the basics, work our way thru learning the skills needed in the kitchen, come up with yummy meals using the semi-homemade idea and eventually work our way in to making all the previous from scratch.
I am a firm believer in cheats, I will admit it right now. Even a lot of my from scratch recipes use cheats in them and there is absolutely nothing wrong it, sometimes I use the cheat becasue I don't have time to do it totally from scratch. Let's face it, in todays modern world not every one has time to spend all day in the kitchen, so this is when convenience food comes in so darned handy.
I also tend to be brand loyal on certain items, only for the simple reason they are things I grew up with, but that is personal taste on my part. In a great many cases I find the store or generic brand of something to be as good as or even far superior to a name brand item.
So, until school starts, you have a bit of homework :D See the links on the right side there? The ones under Food/Cooking links? Tip toe thru some of them. The first is for Accuchef, it is a cookbook program I use at home, there are lots out there I just happen to like this particular one. Just take a peek at it, you may or may not ever need something like that, but it is handy if you start cooking a lot and either want to collect recipes or write up your own and don't want to have a lot of paper laying around (I keep the program on the laptop and boot it up when I am in the kitchen).
Some of the sites haven't been updated in a while, some are for food/cooking blogs that are way more advanced then this one will be, but it is neat just reading thru some of the more fancy stuff. Some are people who are also in the process of learning to get around in the kitchen or are honing their own skills.
And then there is the Alton Brown links (All praise the great Saint Alton!), who I will probably be refering to a LOT in this blog. Think Mr Science meets Julia Child. He explains things in ways that even I can understand LOL. If you have cable or satellite and get the Food Network, I highly recommend watching Good Eats with Alton Brown. Not only does he explain the why's and wherefores of things, he makes cooking fun :) The Good Eats Fan Page forum is a great place to hang out even if we aren't discussing Alton's latest episode. I lurked there for quite a while absorbing the wisdom of others and have gotten a lot of good tips and such myself.
See ya soon :)
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