I thought I’d share a few cooking tips with you all.
From my cooking experiences I’ve always found that when you cook, the main ingredient should always be LOVE. You have to enjoy cooking to have your foods really turn out great!
Also, you should always(whenever possible) cook from scratch with the freshest ingredients. If a recipe calls for(example) dill, it costs no more to buy a bunch of fresh dill in your local market than it costs to buy a jar of dried, processed dill. Which would you rather be eating?
If you’re adding a sauce or gravy to you meal, please don’t go for the grocery shelf packaged powdered junk! It’s so easy and much tastier to buy either corn starch, potato starch or even very fine flour(sifted at least 2-3 times) and add it to your meat drippings and broth(stirring constantly! Over a low heat) and serve your friends and family the real thing.
When cooking veggies, always try to buy the freshest you can find in the market and never over cook them. Veggies should hold their shape and color to get the best taste and all the vitamins possible out of them. In a pinch, you can use frozen veggies, because they are the closest you can get to fresh. Always try to stay away from the over cooked, over processed, over salted canned veggies. They taste like mush and are loaded with salt to enhance the flavors that are boiled out! Also, try to steam, not boil you veggies and fruits for the best flavor.
When you are serving meats or fish, try to purchase it the day you will be using it. Try not to store meats or fish in your freezer.(I know it is more convenient, but the texture and flavor sometimes gets lost after freezing.) Also, when steaming your veggies, try to use a broth instead of water. It gives it a much richer flavor.
When cooking foods, try to use the stove burner that is closest to the size of the pot or pan you are using. This will give a more even heating surface and foods will cook better.
And don’t forget.when you cook, cook with LOVE your family and friends will always taste it in your finished product!
I hope this has helped you in some way!