Crash Course Cooking: Unveiling Our New Learn-to-Cook Series

~ Welcome to Crash Course Cooking! I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid, but it’s time to up my game … and I want you to join me! ~

Hey, guys! Amy here.

With the New Year and new resolutions, it seemed liked the perfect time to embark on a brand-new adventure in cooking, and I really want you to join me! To become a better and faster cook, a more confident cook … a healthier and happier cook!

Why Crash Course Cooking?

It’s recently come to my attention that there are a lot of people out there who have absolutely no idea how to cook (gasp!). I was kinda surprised, since we cook all the time at my house, and I just assumed that’s how everybody rolled, ya know?

(That’s me when I was five.)

I honestly think most people who feel like they don’t know how to cook just have no idea where to start.

Most everyone wants to be able to cook. We all know how many calories and dollars you can save by making your own food at home. Not to mention how nice it would be to impress someone special with a scrumptious, home-cooked meal!

But it can feel pretty daunting to start off, especially if you haven’t been surrounded by cooking your whole life!

The noblest of intentions can go straight out the window when the first line of a recipe contains words like sauté or allumette.

What does it all mean? That’s not even English!

I totally get it!

But, I absolutely believe that you don’t need to know everything about cooking in order to be a great cook, and to have lots of fun cooking.

You just have to get started.

Why I Want to Learn More

On one hand, I feel like I’m a pretty good cook, thanks to all the time my family has spent cooking together through the years (especially all the time we spend creating and testing recipes, now that we have our own food blog!).

But at the same time, I often feel like I’m still missing so many basics, too – like there’s just so much more to learn. So many questions I still have!

I mean, even though I’ve been cooking all my life, and growing vegetables and herbs in our garden practically since I could walk …

… I’m still not super well-versed in culinary jargon or measurement conversions. I still have only the foggiest idea how many tablespoons might be in a quarter cup! And, when I’m in the kitchen, the pleasant lilt of, “MoOooOoommmm! What does this mean??” often floats up the stairs.

I’m off to college in a couple of years. What will I do when mom’s not standing right next to me (or hanging around upstairs, waiting for me to ask about those tablespoons and quarter cups)? Am I really prepared?

So, let’s up our game … together!

The Not-So-Big Secret …

Friends, let me reveal to you a well-hidden secret that can take many years to discover. It’s been passed down by chefs since the dark ages, and is very closely guarded. I risk my life to reveal it to you here.

Ready?

There are very few basic culinary skills or methods that are actually difficult to learn. With a fundamental knowledge of cooking (and maybe a quick YouTube tutorial or two), you can pretty much cook up anything you want. And that’s really cool, not gonna lie.

So Let’s Resolve to Do This Together!

This year, I’ve got several New Year’s resolutions. One of them is to become a better cook … and to help get more would-be-cooks up off the ground and to that first ladder rung of culinary ability. From there up, it only gets easier.

This semester, I’m even taking a course at school called Culinary Fundamentals, hoping to pick up some knife skills and useful vocab and whatnot. And I’m super excited to share what I’m learning with all of you!

Because there really is always more to learn. (And because I’ve always envied the culinary students roaming our halls with plates full of yummy food. Sure seems more fun than whatever I’ve just done in the chem lab! 😉 )

Nope, I’m certainly not pretending to be an expert. (We’ll be learning together!) But I do think I have a few ideas for some pretty neat tricks I can share …

• For all you busy mommas tired of being the one to bring store-bought chip dip to every party.
• For the college kids who know there’s something better than ramen out there.
• For the teens who would love to be able to whip up a snack after school.
• For anyone who wants to enjoy cooking more, and get a little better, day by day.

I’ll be sharing some of my favorite, tried-and-true tips, along with some advice from others, and some of the new stuff I pick up in Culinary Fundamentals. And hopefully, I’ll give you wonderful readers all the knowledge (and confidence!) you need to fill in the gaps.

I’ll say it again: all a good cook needs is a starting point. Stick with me, and I’ll try to give you just that!

Welcome to my new post series: Crash Course Cooking.

Psssssst … want a jump-start in our little cooking class adventure? My mom’s already written lots of her own posts about cooking tips and tricks! From How to Zest a Lemon to Is It Safe to Use Frozen Meat in Your Crock-Pot?, there are already plenty of tips on our site for you to explore! Check ’em all out HERE!