How many of you can cook?

I fail to see the difference, however, I am a master "eater" as compared to a "snacker".

But how do you buy ingredients?

Depends on what you are making. Some recipes MUST have fresh herbs and spices, while others, the dried option would work just as well. Only purchase what you need, thats actually pretty common sense...why purchase a 48oz container of chopped garlic if your not gonna use it within a year?

So for example recipes that have a teaspoon of pesto, or a garlic clove or some rosemary...I'd hate to go out and buy those things just to make one meal and then waste the rest...whereas at home my mum can build up a cupboard of all these little ingredients..

Rosemary you can get dried or fresh. Fresh, just get one sprig/stem - a little goes A VERY LONG way! Dried can be found at a dollar store (at least Ive seen them around here)

Garlic cloves - they are cheap enough to purchase just one bulb's worth and if you use garlic every day, then there is no waste (you should see the amount of garlic I just put in my soup stock just now! OH BABY!)

Pesto is available either in jars (I dont like jarred foods) which are small enough for you to consider.
Otherwise, a traditional pesto would be fresh basil-leaves (prices vary everywhere), olive oil, salt, pepper, pignoli nuts-optional, little garlic (hint hint), but you would be capable of controling how much you want to make so there is little waste.


Unfortunately I think you may be looking at this whole 'diving into cooking' with the wrong mind-set. Its really not rocket science. There are tons of great cookbooks out there for college kids to consider. There are free resources online - TONS AND TONS of recipe websites. Youtube.com has TONS of cooking related video how-to's...

Its up to you to do the research on this stuff because only you know what you need out of this...

Have fun in the kitchen!

I am definitely a cook and not a preparer. But for me it was something I got into because I really enjoy it. I spend a decent amount of time reading recipes and food blogs. When looking for something new to make I'll often look at a few recipes and see what they have in common. I really started getting into it a few years ago when I started watching Food Network. I'm a visual learner so I picked up a lot of techniques that way.

For a long time, maybe a year, my husband and I reserved one night per week as 'experimental' dinner night. We'd try out a new recipe and add it to our repertoire if it turned out well.

The best advice to beginning cooks is cook something you like. If your favorite food is macaroni and cheese, find a recipe try that first. You'll feel a lot more ownership over the meal and will work hard to get it right.

I think I can cook. Sometimes I prepare foods, but other times, I make stuff up on the fly with whatever ingredients I have on hand and those end up being the best meals.

I cook. In fact, I'd say I don't prepare. I like to look at cookbooks & watch cooking shows for inpriation and ideas, but I never follow a recipe-- except when baking. That's why I loathe baking & love cooking-- cooking is a fun, creative experience, following a recipe is boring. It's like painting, versus painting by numbers.

eta: Pesto is super easy to make, as long as you keep a good garden in the summer. In the summer, I usually decide most meals based on what I have fresh-- pesto is just garlic, basil, and you have to have basics like pine nuts & EVOO on hand. The rest of the year, I don't just walk into the pantry and decide what to make-- I still have to think "OK, if we want brocoli with dinner tomorrow night, I'll have to buy some today." It doesn't mean (to me), that you haven't given the meal a bit of thought beforehand.

I can cook. I had to teach myself when I was first married. I did cook a little as a teenager, but my Mama was a fabulous cook and never imagined she'd die when I was 17 and hadn't learned yet.

I love spending hours in the kitchen and love to cook and bake. I generally follow a recipe, but am good at adapting or changing a recipe if it would better suit my family's tastes and/or nutritional needs. But I started by following a recipe exactly and doing it again and again until that recipe came out perfectly every time. I do still need to set timers for almost everything, as I'm the Queen of Distraction. I might not let things burn, but I definitely can get distracted doing another task while task 1 is just waiting for me.
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You sound exactly like me!! When I first started cooking, I was definitely more of a preparer as that's how my Mom was (and still is - she's a great baker though because she's all about following explicit instructions). But hubby's got some mad cooking skills and has passed on a great deal of his knowledge and experience to me so now I feel more like a real cook. A co-worker of mine is about the same too. We joke everytime we find a new recipe how we immediately get ideas on how to change ingredients around or if we share one, we have to give the original then a laundry list of things we did to tweak it.

I like to cook, but I follow a recipe. My dad cooks without recipes, but I haven't mastered that skill yet. For weight loss purposes I find myself to be a very bland preparerer. Simply because it is easier to log and in general gives fewer calories. My meals typically are rice/sweet potato, a lean meat that is grilled and a green veggie. Boring...I know...but works for me.

But how do you buy ingredients? As a student I live on a weekly basis and buy my food shop weekly (namely because there is only one of me, so don't want food going out of date, and because I eat a lot).
So for example recipes that have a teaspoon of pesto, or a garlic clove or some rosemary...I'd hate to go out and buy those things just to make one meal and then waste the rest...whereas at home my mum can build up a cupboard of all these little ingredients..

I'm having to learn how to cook, and I scour the Internet for healthy recipes. Eating Well has been giving me some good ones. If they turn out good, I post them on my blog. But if you make enough recipes, you start to understand what herbs go best with what meat, or how lemon can add a dash of taste to veggies or fish. For me, it's all about soaking it in. I'm an experiential learner, so I have to do to learn. As for budgeting, I'm not sure this is good advice, but I'm on a budget too and this is what I do. My freezer is very important to me. I'll buy chicken, separate it into freezer bags when I get home, so I can grab an individual portion when I need to defrost it for a meal. Same with ground beef. I'll weigh it out, split it up into servings, and freeze it. As for things like spices, you can get away with buying dry, but if I get fresh and am afraid it'll go bad, I freeze them. Use them as needed. And frozen veggies are a staple, so are big bags of rice and beans, which aren't expensive and last a long time. Also, go generic. There's no need to buy name brand. Bread can be frozen too and defrosted the night before. Butter sticks can also be frozen. For fresher produce, consider going to the store twice a week. Get what you need for a few days, then go get what you need for the rest of the week. It's another trip, true, but you won't be wasting food by letting it go bad. Also, google some websites that tell you how long you can expect things to last in the fridge or freezer, and that will give you a better idea of when to buy.

I cook and I love it!! I had the best teachers ever MY mom and grandmom both are born and raised in the south so they cook and cook BIG ! My brother is also a chef so when there is a gathering ITS ON ! we are all in compeating against one another as to who will out do and bring the best dish ! We have chili cook off and different bake offs all the time !

I entertain alot and I get great pleasure from seeing my guest enjoy the meal . Food is best when made and prepared with love ! My mama taught me that !!

I dont own a recipie box and I dont measure I keep it all in my head.. I used to ask my Mom well how much do I put in..and she said a GOOD COOK never measures ! just taste it !

But how do you buy ingredients? As a student I live on a weekly basis and buy my food shop weekly (namely because there is only one of me, so don't want food going out of date, and because I eat a lot).
So for example recipes that have a teaspoon of pesto, or a garlic clove or some rosemary...I'd hate to go out and buy those things just to make one meal and then waste the rest...whereas at home my mum can build up a cupboard of all these little ingredients..

Dried herbs have a very long shelf life. Fresh herbs will last longer if you keep the stems wet and the tops dry (a wet paper towel around the stems, or put them in a small glass or vase with water). Herbs are also extremely easy to grow and most grow well together. If you have a window sill available you can put several herbs together in a small pot to always have a bit on hand.

Garlic can usually be bought one bulb at a time and has a long shelf life if kept cool and dry. Not sure about the pesto other than to make your own in the quantity you need.