Cooking can either be therapeutic or stressful, depending on where you stand on the cooking skills ladder. I’ve loved cooking for a long time and I’ve naturally progressed from cooking eggs in the microwave to throwing dinner parties for my friends. Everyone has to start somewhere which is why I want to give you some top tips on how to improve your cooking skills.
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How to improve your cooking skills in 6 easy steps
- Start with baby steps. If you’re new to homemade meals, don’t jump straight into soufflés. The supermarkets sell great cooking sachets (e.g. bake in the bag) and sauces which you can add to slow cookers and pastas etc. Just add your favourite meat and/or vegetables!
- If you’re following a recipe, aways read the full recipe in advance to get your timings right. (I’m a rebel for not doing this, sometimes…)
- Watch YouTube videos or read blogs with cooking inspiration – psst did you see my Vegetarian Chilli Recipe?
- Make your life easier by investing in small pieces of kitchen equipment that are relevant to what you want to cook. For example, I love making homemade soup and I would be lost without my Kenwood Hand Blender.
- Learn how to use knifes safely. There are lots of vegetables which require different methods of chopping, slicing and dicing. Knowing how to use a sharp knife safely will not only save your fingers but also time during the prepping process.
- Invest in cook books. I really recommend getting yourself a group of cook books that are similar to your eating preferences and starting from there. The more that you cook new recipes, the more you will build your confidence and try new things.
My meals contain a mixture of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes and I have a few favourite cook books that I use regularly when cooking.
Cook books I recommend!
My no.1 favourite which I use the most is the Hello Fresh: Recipes That Work cook book. I probably use this book around 3 or 4 times a week and it has different sections for chicken, fish, red meat and vegetarian dishes. The recipes are so easy to follow and taste amazing.
Vegetarian cook books are so good to have in the house because they put a lot of thought into their recipes. I love Jamie Oliver Veg, partly because there is so much to choose from and also because there are a lot of recipes that I wouldn’t have thought to try before!
Remember, learning to cook is a process of trial and error. I remember making a vegetarian meal for James a few years ago and he took 3 bites and pushed his plate away. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened too often but it’s okay to have a culinary flop!
I hope you’ve found this post useful. In the current situation, we’ve all got a bit more time to try new things so congratulations if you have decided that cooking is going to be one of them!
Take a Paws and Tell Me:
Do you have any advice that you can give to any budding chefs?
HA think I needed this post as cooking is not one of my talents! I can make your standad dishes but nothing fancy. I especially do not cut vegetables in a certain way (!?) I’ve got a few vegan cookbooks but I never seen to cook anything out of them and just like looking for inspiration ahha! Thanks for sharing Charlotte and can’t wait to go watch the video later 🙂
Thanks for reading Millie! Maybe try using your cookbooks using the Alexa randomised game I talked about in one of my earlier posts? Hope you enjoy the video!
I love the Jamie Oliver VEG book, and 5 Ingredients!
Ooh I’ve not seen 5 Ingredients! I’ll have to check it out! Thanks for sharing!