Learning to cook

courtesy of FreeFoodPhotos.com

I thought this was a good topic to start with as it is necessary for eating the way we now eat. I grew up in a family where my mom was ill the last 10 to 15 years of her life. I was 21 when she died. My dad owned a Dairy Queen that had a full food line so I bet you can guess where we ate most of the time. I did learn a little bit about baking from my mom and how to put together a few casseroles (like every good Norwegian) but that sums up my cooking knowledge learned at home. I certainly don’t blame my mom and to be honest even if she had been healthy and lived I really don’t think I would have been interested or had the patience at that point in my life. I tried out a few cooking skills when I was single but until I was married I really didn’t cook much. 

courtesy of FreeFoodPhotos.com

 On to married life and life with kids. Like many people this is the first time I cooked a lot. John doesn’t like to cook so early on we made a deal: I would cook and he would do the dishes. We still have that deal and I love it! During this time I turned to cookbooks (it was pre-internet) and tried my hand at lots of things in them but really mainly casseroles and crock pot recipes and later things on the grill. I had a few things that the kids like but really I was not a very good cook. One of the things really lacking was vegetables. I was a very picky eater when I was young and it wasn’t until after college that I was willing to try them. I still think I have a ways to go with that but I do eat quite a few veggies now and have some recipes both John and I love.

So when did I actually learn to cook? About 2 years ago. As full time RVers, one of the things we do is work-camp which is basically volunteering time in exchange for our RV site. Sometimes these gigs pay but not this one. We were in Northern California near the little town of Winters. This is such a beautiful area and is still one of my favorite places we’ve stayed. Our commitment was for 4 months and usually we both work but to our surprise when we arrived, they didn’t need me but needed John for 24 hours. This campground is in a great area but sits next to the mountains/hills between it and Napa so there was no cell service, minimal wi-fi was provided by the park (enough for email) and there was zip for TV reception. We were, however, able on our site to get a dish signal. This is when I truly discovered the Food Network. I  also learned to knit when I was there so while John worked, I knitted and watched the Food Network. Now when I tell others that is where I learned to cook their response is usually about how they always make complicated dishes and use ingredients they can’t find. That is true some of the times but I found plenty that were accessible.  What I really gained were techniques that I was truly clueless about:

• How to cut up an onion, there was a much better way than I was doing.
• Knife skills in general and the best way to cut up a variety of fruits and veggies
• How to saute, braise, caramelize etc.
• Tools like the immersion blender, which is now one of my most used appliances.
• I never knew you needed to let meat rest after cooking, I always served it hot out of the oven.
• What a roux was and how to make it.
• Parchment paper, no one ever explained how to use this wonderful stuff!
• Roasting vegetables, now my favorite way to eat them.
• Differences in what oils you use and when ( however we limit the types of oils we use, check out Gillespie’s Big Fat lies for the reasons).
• How to blanch vegetables (like I said, I was clueless).

courtesy of FreeFoodPhotos.com

That’s just a sampling but I am so thankful for the time I had to learn these things because I was truly clueless. I am sure many of you have much more knowledge than I did and if you learned it from your mom make sure you thank her for it and give her a hug. (I would love to hug my mom again for any reason.)

The other thing northern California gave me was a love of good, fresh, organic produce. We were only 20 miles from Davis, where they have a year round permanent farmers’s market. We went about every other week and nothing will make you a vegetable lover like amazing produce. We still visit farmer’s markets every chance we get but we have not found a market that we have enjoyed more.

So if you feel like you don’t know how to cook and you have access to the Food Channel, I am hear to tell you to turn it on. Watch not just the recipe but the techniques and I am sure your cooking will improve. I’m going to end this here but  if you are planning on learning to eat better, learning to cook is a must.