I’ve been reading this book by Kathleen Flinn. It was on the new book shelf at my library. I always scan it by the checkout when I have the kids with me. It’s really my only chance sometimes to find an adult book. Most of the time, the books I pick up there are duds, but this one was a hit for me. It has inspired me really. The author earned a degree at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and writes about food. She did a little project where she selected 9 volunteers and taught them how to cook.
In the first part of the book, she meets with each volunteer in their kitchens and takes an inventory of their pantries and refrigerators. She learns about their cooking background, habits and experience in the kitchen. It is very interesting to learn about the home cooks. She also covers knife selection and skills (click here for a free lesson), tasting and cutting a whole chicken in part I.
Part II covers meats, bread, pasta, salads and making your own vinaigrettes. There are practical tips and recipes after each chapter.
In the last section of the book, the volunteers learn how to buy seafood, prepare fish, what really is in the box (prepackaged foods) and the power of soup. Finally, Kathleen Flinn revisits the volunteer kitchens. Overall, they are more confident and have changed, but I’ll leave the details for you to read yourself.
As a cook, I did’t feel like I was in the same category as these home cooks were at the beginning. I create a meal plan most of the time and enjoy cooking. I’m not afraid to use a big knife and enjoy trying new recipes. I do however neglect vegetables and when I do cook them, it’s usually just green beans, carrots or asparagus. Most recipes I try are complicated and involve many ingredients. I also waste a lot of food because of that. I shop with good intentions and then when it’s time to cook I don’t use the fresh vegetables I bought and then end up going bad. That was a common them among the volunteers.
After reading this book, I realized it’s not hard to look into the fridge and create a simple soup from the vegetables that are in the crisper. Using what you have is easy and recipes don’t have to be complicated to be good. I am excited to take the knowledge I gained from this book and use it in my kitchen. Food is such an important part of our lives, yet most of the time we eat junk. I am guilty of that. Instead of running to the fast food lane when I don’t feel like cooking, my goal is to cook something simple. Use it as a challenge to create something from what I have on hand.
What intimidates you in the kitchen? Are there areas you wish you could improve when cooking? Do you enjoy cooking or is it a chore?
I am going to try and share some of the recipes I try from this book here. If you want to join me, check this book out from the library or buy it, read it and try out some of the recipes and ideas. Let me know what you think.
