Learn to cook

I’m thinking about getting some ingredients and trying out a recipe for vegetarian jambalaya that I came across online. The recipe can be found at this link if anyone is curious- http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/r/Jambalaya.htm

I might try mushrooms in it, as well, like the site suggested. I’d like to try the eggplant in it, too, but I am afraid I couldn’t cook the eggplant very well.

just looking at my goals and not doing them. So, I really want to start on this one soon. I think it’ll be fun as long as I don’t end up doing horribly and getting frustrated with the task and upset with myself. Hopefully, that won’t happen. crosses her fingers

I don’t have an exact outline for what it will take for me to consider this goal done. I do have a general outline, however. I want to be able to cook some basic, simple, common things in the kitchen as well as some fancier, more complicated dishes. I also want to feel that I can comfortably follow a recipe that I haven’t made before and do a decent job with it. While I’m trying to learn some recipes for this goal, I might not do so well on all of the recipes the first time out, but I hope that with general practice on cooking, I may someday be able to fix most recipes decently on the first try or two.

I’d like to learn to cook some dishes that are considered traditional in these parts or/and that are traditional in my family. I hope to get some help from some of my family learning how to cook some of these dishes so that I can make mine taste the way their’s does. I always loved my grandma’s cooking, and I’d love to be able to make some of the dishes she made to taste like hers did. Her children learned to cook from her, so hopefully they can help me learn to cook them somewhat like she did.

Some of the things I want to learn are pretty basic, such as learning to fix gravy well. I know how it’s done, but it’s hard for me to always get the consistency the way I want it. Sometimes it’s too thick and sometimes, it’s too thin. As basic as gravy is, I think it’s kind of difficult due to the guess work involved when making it, but with practice, hopefully, I’ll get it down.

However, I’d also like to learn to fix more difficult, complicated things and things that are more exotic and from various cultures. I’d like to learn to fix eggplant parmesan, for instance. I think it will be somewhat difficult to pull off at first since eggplant has to be fixed right in order to be any good. If the eggplant isn’t selected and fixed properly, it’s bitter. Eggplant Parmesan is delicious, though, if done well and I’d like to be able to make it.

I’ve started making a list of things I want to learn to fix, but I’m still working on it.

Basically, when I have learned to fix most of the basic things that I’m used to eating, a few more complicated dishes that I like, and dishes for special occasions (like certain deserts), and I feel comfortable in the kitchen and fixing new recipes, I will say I have achieved this goal.

on this goal. I think the first thing I’m going to do is make a list of some of the recipes that I want to learn, then I’ll go from there, working on one recipe at a time until I feel satisfied that I am at least a decent cook.