10 ways to bring out your Inner Chef

It used to be every woman knew, or was expected to know, how to cook…unless of course you’re French or from Louisiana, then it’s the man. But in these days of busy soccer moms, working girlfriends and the repercussions of the women’s liberation movement, a woman in the kitchen making 3 squares a day has become a distant iconic image of Norman Rockwell’s Americana.

Cooking is becoming a lost art form.

From the anthropological aspect of the social society to family bonding, cooking plays a very important role in our evolution. From our ancient ancestors we have the hunter/gatherer dynamic, and from our Nanny and Pawpaw we have secret family recipes. The latter is soon to follow the path of homo habilis when he learned to control fire. Only now, we’ve learned to control microwaves.

If you want to get the “family” back in your family meal, it starts in the kitchen. Below is a list of 10 ways to bring out your inner chef.

1. Planning-Why is cooking so underwhelming? Why does it take so long? Because you have no plan. Take two minutes a day to plan your next day’s meal. You’ll never make too little or too much.
2. Improvising-So you’ve got a plan, but now you’ve added too much butter to the cookies. Learning to improvise, you’d stick those in the freezer to firm up, or, scoop them into mini-muffin pans to keep their shape, instead of throwing them away.
3. Experimenting-Coming up with your own signature spice or perfect meatloaf takes time. Experiment with colors, textures, flavors, cooking times, and sometimes, toss convention out the window when you make a meal.
4. Tasting-This is very important! And the more people you have involved the better. Your New York cousin might not like what your Georgia peach of a best friend does. You’ll find balance to each individual meal with a simple “taste test”.
5. Refining-Conquering the fatal mistake of adding your garlic too early to your sautee has empowered you. You have refined the subtle nuances of that Chicken Moglai and can serve it to a small dinner party.
6. Perfecting-You have now become “famous” for your secret ingredient Spaghetti with Meatballs dish at the yearly neighborhood pot luck block party. Time to take it to the next level.
7. Sharing-Here you write down, on index cards of course, the recipe for that spaghetti dish and pass it out to a few of your friends and family members.
8. Involving-Gather your friends, family, and children into the kitchen, give them a wooden spoon or spatula to start their adventure in the kitchen. The smiles, laughter and love will be worth it.
9. Enjoying-Never forget to sit and enjoy the meal you have just prepared, whether just for yourself or the entire church congregation. It will create a healthier attitude towards cooking and strengthen loving bonds.
10. Making mistakes-You’ll never learn if you don’t make mistakes. Burnt fish fillets, undercooked pastas, overcooked vegetables, and flat soufflés are all part of mastering the art of cooking, even for your favorite chef, next door neighbor or Mom.

I hope this has opened your mind and stirred, all pun intended, something inside you to nudge your inner chef awake, or at the very least, the best darn cook on the block. The house where all the kids and neighbors congregate to enjoy the hard work and loving preparation of a good meal.

A meal where there is talk of the past, talk of the day, and talk of the future. We would pay respect to our ancestors well to remember this evolutionary leap for mankind called cooking.

Oh! And learn how to make a great Sunday morning breakfast! You’ll be a hero!!

~Tet~