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Farm Kitchen:  Cooking for Beginners?  |
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moxieblossom
True Blue Farmgirl
121 Posts
USA
121 Posts |
 Posted - May 12 2008 : 10:50:04 AM
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Hi all,
This is a little embarrassing, but here goes... when I was growing up, my mother pretty much made only processed foods due to time constraints. Everything came out of a box or can, so I really never learned how to cook properly or make things from scratch. Now I've been married for 6 years and my husband and I are starting to develop digestive problems from eating so much processed/pre-prepared food. I want to try to start making more wholesome meals, using more raw or natural foods, but recipe books and the grocery store seem overwhelming! Are there any good cookbooks or instructional guides you can recommend on learning how to cook or meal planning that would work for beginners? Budget is an issue as well, although we're willing to pay a little more for food if it turns out to be better for us.
Oddly enough, we both grew up on southern home-cooking... but it was our grandmothers who knew how to cook. Our mothers were the first generation to work outside the home and relied on convenience foods, and the grandmothers didn't get a chance to pass down their recipes to us. It's quite sad... my grandmother could make made-from-scratch chicken and dumplings that convinced three different men to marry her. ;) |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - May 12 2008 : 11:58:33 AM
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Hi Stacy...I grew up in a household like yours...my mom just wasn't a cook, and she really didn't have time to try :)...oddly enough, I think that made me strive to be a really good cook!!! The first cookbooks I ever bought for myself were published by junior league societies, and "in house" publishers, like churches and ladies auxillaries. Very easy, very good recipes. And you get your basics down that way. Sure, some "terms" may be different, but usually in the back of these cookbooks are great referenced guides. I armed myself with some good tools in the kitchen, like quality measuring cups and spoons, and I made sure to have all the basic ingredients on hand, so I could whip up a cream sauce, or a batch of biscuits and have virturally the same ingredients for both. I was also a strict vegetarian for 8 years, and unless I wanted to die of boredom, I HAD to learn how to prepare some new things!!!!
My two cents, anytime you see a fundraiser cookbook for sale, buy it. There are just some good "home cooked" recipes in there to familiarize yourself with starting to cook--baking chicken in a casserole or out, making pot roasts, etc...and then, you can branch out. I have to be honest, I cook every night and the cookbooks I DON'T use are as follows: The Joy of Cooking, The New York Times Cookbook, and the James Beard cookbook...these were all given to me, and I'm not a chef--I'm a good cook, so unless I'm looking for a way to braise lamb or something like that, I haven't even cracked em'.
It's to the point now, that 4 out of the 6 days I cook at home, I don't use recipes--just make something up on my own. You'll get that way, too!!!!
Feel free to email me, as everyone knows on this forum, I love to cook and offer up recipes :)
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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DearMildred
True Blue Farmgirl
223 Posts
Amanda
Tulsa
OK
USA
223 Posts |
Posted - May 12 2008 : 2:09:48 PM
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Alee that looks like a nice book!
I also like better "Homes & Gardens Potluck Favorites" cookbook - it gives you a photo of every recipe and the instructions are pretty simple. It also gives you the ingredients in two quantities - so you can make a large OR small batch. Handy if you want to freeze leftovers. The recipes translate pretty well to ordinary dinners.
You know, my mom always cooked and now she does it for a living, but I never had much interest in it until I was all grown up and moved away. So now she's basically teaching me to cook over the phone. Hand-written recipe cards from her are my future treasures!
That's another good idea is to find someone who cooks a lot, and ask them if you can help them out in the kitchen.
~Amanda in OK~
Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered by your old nonsense. -Emerson |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - May 12 2008 : 2:24:11 PM
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I would suggest getting a subscription to "Taste of Home" magazine.Or even go online and sign up with Weight Watchers for their newsletter for healthy recipes.
Also kraft.com has a magazine and newsletter that you can sign up for with nice recipes.
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
visit me at:
http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/
and at www.stliving.net
you can also check out my etsy shops at:http://GardenGooseGifts.etsy.com |
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moxieblossom
True Blue Farmgirl
121 Posts
USA
121 Posts |
Posted - May 12 2008 : 3:44:35 PM
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Thank you for the suggestions ya'll, this is helpful and I will definitely check these books out!
It also reminds me that if I ever have kids, I'll need to either show them how to do things or write the recipes down for future reference. ;)
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venuscarroll
Farmgirl in Training
18 Posts
Jessica
Portland
Oregon
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - May 12 2008 : 3:47:50 PM
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Real Simple Magazine has a cookbook with recipes that are quick, easy and budget conscious. It is called Meals Made Easy.
Farmgirl Sisterhood #174
Being in the city I always think, "Oh to be in the country." |
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ennoid
Farmgirl in Training
22 Posts
D
FL
USA
22 Posts |
Posted - May 12 2008 : 6:51:17 PM
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| I go through phases of wanting to cook recipes from my Williams-Sonoma cookbooks with really obscure receipes to trying my hand at Southwestern/Mexican food to cooking downhome Southern basic recipes like my Mom and Nana make. I love to watch cooking shows on the Food Network to learn techniques and tips. Also, I think great cooks need great tools. I enjoy cooking so much more since I bought better quality knifes and cookware. |
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tziporra
True Blue Farmgirl
234 Posts
Robin
Seattle
WA
USA
234 Posts |
Posted - May 12 2008 : 9:31:08 PM
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For straightforward, easy, "plain" foods on a budget, I wholeheartedly recommend Not Just Beans: 50 Years of Frugal Family Favorites by Tawra Jean Kellam. It's self-published, so the format isn't the most professional, but the cooking tips are fantastic, and the recipes are straightforward.
I'm a big foodie, always hunting down the "authentic" ethnic recipes, but for comfort foods I always go back to this one.
A vegetarian classic is Laurel's Kitchen.
Have you considered taking a cooking class at your local community college? These can be really amazing sources for learning the basics.
And as everyone else has said, having the right tools makes all the difference, but buy them only as you need them (i.e. one quality chef's knife instead of the entire block full).
Best,
Robin |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - May 12 2008 : 10:34:32 PM
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You know what I like...if you go to your nearest County extension office or 4H, or even go online and order (if you go to the office they often have a rack of books for sale) a beginning cooking leader book it will have fun things to make from scratch. I have one that I used in 4H in 5th grade and have a different version for my own kids. They love it and it is fun. I try to cook from scratch as much as I can and am teaching my kids that now, but alot of people didn't have the opportunity. I love the good old Betty Crocker cookbook too.
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2008 : 06:25:32 AM
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Jenny, I forgot about Betty Crocker. I like that and my stand by, Fannie Farmer. "The cream sauce that won the man!" as Justin named it, I learned from Fannie :)
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Farm Kitchen: Cooking for Beginners? |
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Cooking for Beginners?
