Hey folks! Happy 2016! I hope this year finds you happy and healthy into 2016. A couple of new things will be going on in 2016 here on GMS, and I am open to whatever needs/wants you guys have, so don’t forget to comment – I’m always around to help you cook more, cook better, cook different.
Here’s a picture from our 2015 cooking classes…a chance for me to get everyone involved.
One of the main reasons I started the blog was to help friends and family learn how to cook more, and I hope that with this blog, whether this is your first visit or your 100th, helps you do that. I try to cook most nights a week, and I do it by building a wheelhouse of recipes I know, trust, and can make in about 30 minutes or less.
So how do you cook more? How do you find time in your schedule? One tiny step at a time, like anything else. Here’s five steps to cooking at home more often this month!
1. Pick a night of the week to cook, and stick to it. I work better with a plan, and I bet most of you do, too. So pick a night to be the one you’ll spend just a few extra minutes in the kitchen. Be it Fridays with your significant other or kids, or Sunday to get ready for the week, or Wednesday as a mid-week pick-me-up, find a day that you can reasonably cook. After this becomes part of your schedule, try to add in another night…and another. You get the idea.
2. Grocery shop with a plan. I meal plan on weekends, working through weekly commitments for Jeff and I, then figure out what nights we’re home. I aim to purchase food for one less meal than we need, because inevitably someone works late, or I make a dinner that’s too big for just two people, and leftovers come around later in the week. Then I add in breakfasts, lunches, and snacks. I always try to grocery shop when I’m not hungry either, so that I can stop impulse plans.
3. Build your wheelhouse from what you like. This might seem obvious, but cook what you eat! For example, if you’re constantly getting take-out tacos, or eating frozen stir fry, go ahead and just look at what you’re eating and make a note of it. Then, find a recipe online that’s close to that perfect fish taco. I always try to cook recipes by the book the first time around, then adjust for Jeff and my tastes. Find a recipe you love? Make yourself a Pinterest board, a recipe book, whatever works for you, a repertoire of your tried and true!
4. Read the recipe. Go back, read it again. I was talking to friends about this last weekend, but a big pet peeve of mine is poorly written recipes. They’ll claim to be 30 minutes but 45 minutes in you’re looking longingly at the freezer hoping that pizza will make itself. Read recipes before you attempt them. A lot of things you can do in advance, or do in an order that makes more sense than what the recipe suggests. Never let the time you’re first reading a recipe be 7:30 pm on Tuesday night as you start dinner!
5. Make cooking time family time. This is a big thing in our house. It’s one of the only times of the day that Jeff and I are both able to relax and talk about our days and spend together. We both do a lot of work outside our 9 to 5s, and we also try to find time in the evenings to exercise, so usually this hour or so is spent together cooking. It’s also more fun that way! So go ahead and get your SO, or your kids involved. Find ways they can be included and be proud of what they’re creating – what a great lesson (plus, who wants to chop all those carrots themselves?!)
In other random news: I’m on Snapchat now (@garlicmysoul), and will try to do some behind-the-scenes of cooking days as they come, if you’re into that sort of thing!
If addition, if you live in LA, I am going to be doing some cooking classes in my kitchen, so if you’re interested shoot me an email at jennie@garlicmysoul.com!
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