Cooking is an invaluable skill that you can develop and improve over time with practice and experience. Most of the time, there is no better way to master a skill than through trial and error. When it comes to learning how to cook, it’s important to remember that you will have both successes and failures from time to time. However, you shouldn’t get discouraged or frustrated, as experimenting with different recipes will only make you a better cook in the long run. Once you feel confident with the basics, you will be able to tap into your creativity and come up with some amazing recipes. To make things easier, today we will share some of our best tips to create simple and delicious recipes every time.
Set Up Your Kitchen
Good organizational skills are crucial when you are learning how to cook, so you will want to set up your kitchen carefully and make sure you know where everything is. To avoid disappointment, it’s best to equip your kitchen with proper equipment and quality tools. Think of this as an investment, which will save you time and money in the long run. As a result, your cooking experience will be more enjoyable and satisfying, and you can simplify everything you will need to do on a regular basis, such as menu creation, grocery shopping, and meal prep.
Get A Pizza Oven
Learning how to make delicious pizzas takes time, but using an outdoor pizza oven can make things much easier. Ooni features an award-winning range of outdoor pizza ovens, such as Ooni Koda 16, which offers a sleek design, allowing you to focus on making the perfect pizza. Moreover, using an outdoor pizza oven ensures great results, which you are unlikely to achieve with a conventional oven. You can also use fewer, but higher-quality ingredients when making your pizzas, meaning that they will be more nutritious and healthy.
Read The Instructions
If you are a beginner, it’s always a good idea to stick to the recipes you have found to avoid frustration. It’s important to know what to expect from each step so you should carefully read the instructions. For example, if the recipe says that you need to pre-heat your oven, you shouldn’t ignore this step, as it can only make things more complicated after. Moreover, there is nothing worse than expecting a dish to get ready in 15 minutes and realizing that you were supposed to marinate something the night before. Nevertheless, every now and then, you will need to use your common sense to determine if a step is truly necessary.
Take Some Chances
Following the directions of different recipes is important, but you shouldn’t hang on to every single word. There might be times when you may be able to tweak a recipe slightly to suit your tastes and preferences. For instance, if you are making a salad and you want to replace one of the vegetables with a different one that is your favorite, you can take a chance and see how it turns out. You are likely going to create a new go-to recipe for your next lunch or dinner.
Vary Your Menu
At times, when you discover a few recipes that you like, you may find that it is easy to get stuck in a cooking rut and end up eating the same foods every day. This is why, it’s best to vary your menu by exploring new recipes and cooking techniques that you can incorporate. As a result, you can ensure that your meals will never become boring and you will always have fun in the kitchen. It might be a good idea to make an effort to try new foods and recipes at regular intervals. For example, you can make a decision that you will try one new recipe every month to keep things interesting.
Repurpose Your Leftovers
It’s likely that once you get better at cooking delicious meals, you will have a bit of everything at the end of the week. However, instead of throwing away any leftovers that you may have, you might want to consider repurposing them so that they don’t get wasted. For example, you can easily add some flavor to your leftovers by using seasonings, spices, and herbs. You can use lemon and lime juice or some red pepper flakes. If you have anything savory left, you can toss in some shredded cheese and make a brand new meal.
Create Your Own Salad Dressing
Instead of always buying the same salad dressing from your local store, it might be a better idea to learn how to make your own salad dressing. This can not only be a great way to vary your menu, but it is also a much healthier alternative. Moreover, it will allow you to explore your creativity and make something that you can use over and over again. Making your own salad dressing doesn’t need to be hard and there is no need to have a ton of ingredients in place. For example, you can use olive oil, vinaigrette, honey mustard, lemon juice, and anything else you like.
Use Herbs And Spices
One of the best things you can do to add variety to your menu is to use plenty of fresh herbs and dried spices. Using herbs and spices in your cooking is the perfect way to add flavor and depth to any dish. When it comes to dried herbs, it’s advisable to use them in recipes, which take plenty of time to cook. This allows dried herbs like oregano, thyme, rosemary, and sage to release their essential oils and flavor compounds. The best way to make use of spices is to treat them as an extension to your regular salt and pepper.
Learn How To Make Bread
There is something satisfying about making homemade bread, which can be a great opportunity to learn something new as a beginner. This will provide you with a sense of accomplishment and you can share the final product with your friends and family. Although the process might seem intimidating at first, once you have the basics covered, you will feel a lot more confident. Be sure to look for some online recipes and courses, that can help you learn how to make bread from scratch.
Make Easy Desserts
Everybody loves at least one type of dessert, so you shouldn’t forget to perfect your skills by making some easy and delicious desserts. Sometimes all you need to make your desserts stand out from the crowd is to add one more thing, such as an extra scoop of vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream. Also, remember that seasoning is not only meant to be used for savory dishes and you can add a pinch of salt, which will help to boost the flavor of various desserts.
Enjoy The Process
Last but not least, it’s important to make the process as enjoyable as possible, as this will motivate you to continue learning new recipes and using your creativity. Be sure to get your family and friends involved so that they can give you some of their tips and tricks in the kitchen. You will find that the more you cook and practice your skills, the more satisfying the whole experience will be. Remember that mistakes may happen from time to time, but you shouldn’t let them discourage you.
