I am in the process of moving and packing and saying goodbye to every person and place I love in New York so I have zero time to breathe and even less to save the world with fruits and vegetables so this week you get a guest post from Bridget VanKuren. Bridget is a Sales Manager at Traditions at the Glen Resort & Conference Center in Johnson City, New York. She is an event planning genius with a specialty in weddings and has cooking training (ugh there are too many ings in this sentence but seriously, I’m exhausted) from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. Basically, she is way better at cooking than I am. And I can spew all the nutrition genuisness I want but it isn’t going to mean anything if it doesn’t get your little caboose in the kitchen. If your caboose isn’t little it’s probably because you haven’t been spending enough time in the kitchen, silly goose-caboose. Anywho, here she is with some words of encouragement on how to take that first step to the kitchen. Bee- you rock, love your face.
What I want to know is what happened to real cooking?! What happened to teaching people about how to prepare food? It’s almost as if we traveled back in time to the 50’s when moms just opened a can of SPAM and served it with canned beans and a head of iceberg lettuce…ugh, gross! We have become a country where everyone is 1 of 3 kinds: 1.You eat out every night 2. You eat Lean Cuisines and a bunch of other processed junk and think you’re being “healthy” or 3. You make amazing food every night from food you bought at the farmer’s market. What happened to the inbetween? What happened to teaching people how to cook? What happened to Butchers, bakers and fresh produce stands on the side of the road? My favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning with my foodie-sister, Emily is stroll around the Easton PA Farmers’ Market, get some awesome local grub and cook something delicious while drinking too much wine. That’s the definition of a perfect day. Stay away from the freezer section and a microwave. Ugh, what is the world coming to?! Please people…Cook!
Ok, ok I didn’t mean to yell at ya. But honestly…cooking doesn’t have to be hard. What you need to do is start with something simple. Become a pro at ONE recipe. No one said you had to go out and buy a cookbook and make a different gourmet meal every night of the week. Making something consistently well, even if it is only one thing, will boost your confidence and make you want to cook more often. For example, my sister married young at age 23 and she and her husband, being recent college graduates, had no idea how to cook. My sister learned to make Chicken Parmesan. Now, this is not the easiest recipe to master but she did it. Seriously, it’s the bomb. Cooking well doesn’t have to be complicated and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Stick to the basics…protein, starch, vegetable and I always make a salad to start for good measure. Ask a friend, mother-in-law or colleague to give you the recipe for that one dish they make that you LOVE and try it out. Oh also, Pinterest is the shit…log in and explore!
If you are a science dweeb when it comes to food, like Miss Marie Bieber and you love to laugh, then there is one man you need to reference when it comes to cooking…and that man is Alton Brown. Food Network phenomenon! He has the world’s worst skits on his Food Network and now Cooking Channel Show, Good Eats, but I have to say he is a true cooking genius! I have probably learned half of what I know about food from watching the Food Network since I was six years old. Alton Brown is the man. Why you ask? Because he breaks everything down for you into an elementary fashion while still teaching you the biology and chemistry of food. He will explain to you exactly why it is you should put a little pasta water in your sauce or a pinch of salt when you are baking something sweet. There are reasons for everything when it comes to cooking and this man will tell you all about it.
And lastly, my biggest advice to you when cooking is “Mis en plase” this is a fancy French phrase for get your shit together before you even turn that burner on. No but really, it means “putting in place”. When you start a recipe get all of your chopping done, measure out your spices into those fancy little bowls, lay out the recipe so you don’t lose it. There is nothing worse when you get half way through a recipe and you realize you don’t have an ingredient or something needs to be added immediately but it still has the skin and seeds on it. Just be prepared…follow the recipe and it’s that simple. Also, as you add each ingredient, especially if it is one you have never used before, use your senses. Smell it before and after you put it in the pan so you recognize how that aroma intensifies when heated, notice the foods’ color, feel how it firms or softens as it cooks and of course…always taste as you go. Just make sure the chicken isn’t pink before you take a little bite…you don’t need to be gettin’ salmonella your first time cooking. But most of all, don’t be scared, make something healthy, and HAVE FUN! Oh and make a tasty cocktail for good measure (avoiding syrups and flavored liquors).
Ok, ok I didn’t mean to yell at ya. But honestly…cooking doesn’t have to be hard. What you need to do is start with something simple. Become a pro at ONE recipe. No one said you had to go out and buy a cookbook and make a different gourmet meal every night of the week. Making something consistently well, even if it is only one thing, will boost your confidence and make you want to cook more often. For example, my sister married young at age 23 and she and her husband, being recent college graduates, had no idea how to cook. My sister learned to make Chicken Parmesan. Now, this is not the easiest recipe to master but she did it. Seriously, it’s the bomb. Cooking well doesn’t have to be complicated and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Stick to the basics…protein, starch, vegetable and I always make a salad to start for good measure. Ask a friend, mother-in-law or colleague to give you the recipe for that one dish they make that you LOVE and try it out. Oh also, Pinterest is the shit…log in and explore!
If you are a science dweeb when it comes to food, like Miss Marie Bieber and you love to laugh, then there is one man you need to reference when it comes to cooking…and that man is Alton Brown. Food Network phenomenon! He has the world’s worst skits on his Food Network and now Cooking Channel Show, Good Eats, but I have to say he is a true cooking genius! I have probably learned half of what I know about food from watching the Food Network since I was six years old. Alton Brown is the man. Why you ask? Because he breaks everything down for you into an elementary fashion while still teaching you the biology and chemistry of food. He will explain to you exactly why it is you should put a little pasta water in your sauce or a pinch of salt when you are baking something sweet. There are reasons for everything when it comes to cooking and this man will tell you all about it.
And lastly, my biggest advice to you when cooking is “Mis en plase” this is a fancy French phrase for get your shit together before you even turn that burner on. No but really, it means “putting in place”. When you start a recipe get all of your chopping done, measure out your spices into those fancy little bowls, lay out the recipe so you don’t lose it. There is nothing worse when you get half way through a recipe and you realize you don’t have an ingredient or something needs to be added immediately but it still has the skin and seeds on it. Just be prepared…follow the recipe and it’s that simple. Also, as you add each ingredient, especially if it is one you have never used before, use your senses. Smell it before and after you put it in the pan so you recognize how that aroma intensifies when heated, notice the foods’ color, feel how it firms or softens as it cooks and of course…always taste as you go. Just make sure the chicken isn’t pink before you take a little bite…you don’t need to be gettin’ salmonella your first time cooking. But most of all, don’t be scared, make something healthy, and HAVE FUN! Oh and make a tasty cocktail for good measure (avoiding syrups and flavored liquors).
I made these delicious bad boys after a trip to the farmer’s market. Mojitos with Homegrown Raspberries, Fresh Picked Mint and of course a little rum with a splash of club soda. Sip on that while making some bangin’ food. Don’t tell Marie that you had 3 *wink wink*. Cheers!
Happy Cooking
Happy Cooking