(These are show notes for the Kitchen Counter Podcast, Episode 49. Listen to the episode to hear everything, even stuff not mentioned here!)
Help! I Don’t Know What to Cook!
Sometimes it’s tough to get in the kitchen and cook, and there are many reasons we don’t spend as much time as we like making food for our family and friends. One thing I’ve heard several times since starting The Kitchen Counter Podcast is something along the lines of “Help! I don’t know what to cook!” Note this is different than “I don’t know how to cook,” though it can be especially tricky to figure out what you should be cooking if you don’t have much experience in the kitchen. I want to share some ideas on where to find inspiration for your home cooking journey.
Before I get to the places to find that inspiration, I want to talk for a minute about the places you shouldn’t look for inspiration. To be more specific; don’t focus on cooking things that other people tell you that you need to be cooking. In other words, make sure you find inspiration from within and around your family and friends. Don’t listen to some internet diet guru who tells you that you need to be eating, especially if you aren’t really into it.
Ok, so how do you find inspiration? Well, I think there are three great ways to do it:
Cook What You Love
This one is pretty straightforward, but it is surprising how many people never even attempt to cook their favorite foods. Sometimes our favorite things seem unattainable, because after all if they are our favorites, they must be really complex right? If you love pizza, you really owe it to yourself to figure out how to make pizza dough at home. Once you have that mastered (and it doesn’t take that long) then the sky is limit for your pizza making/eating adventures. I love risotto, and for many years of only eating it occasionally at restaurants I tried to find an “easy” off the shelf variety to make at home. Nothing was that great, and one day it finally occurred to me (duh), to go ahead and try making it from scratch. Yeah it takes a little work, but the results are so worth it.
Cooking what we (we being ourselves, our family, and our friends) love is fun! It will keep you motivated to learn and improve.
Find something you love and go deep.
Cook Where You Live
The world’s culinary options are practically endless, and no matter where you live you probably have some sort of regional cuisine. Often this is based on what is available locally, or cultural echoes. In the United States alone you can follow your local cuisine and trends to help you shape how to cook. For example, in the United States if you live in Louisiana you may want to get familiar with cajun cookery. If you live in the Bay Area of California maybe fresh seafood would be the way to go.
Local cultural influences can also be a fantastic source for inspiration. Most metropolitan cities have enclaves where cultural echoes still ring loudly. There are countless Chinatowns, Little Italys (Italies?), Germantowns, Mexican districts, African communities and so on all over North America (don’t believe me? Check out this wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_enclaves_in_North_American_cities)
Using local products is always a great way to go, just take advantage of the knowledge and history of your local cuisines. There are experts all around you. Community supported agriculture (CSA) can also be a fun way to find new local ad fresh ingredients. Find a CSA near you: http://afsic.nal.usda.gov/community-supported-agriculture-3
Cook Who You Are
This one is location independent, and it goes in a little different direction that cooking what you love. It might however combine elements from the first two points. This is my favorite source of inspiration when it comes to cooking.
Each of us has a unique story to tell. We have a unique background. We grew up, if we were lucky, eating unique and delicious home cooked foods that were laden with meaning and connection. Even if you didn’t grow up eating many home-cooked meals, your cultural and ethnic backgrounds provides a source of culinary exploration. Just to use a few examples from my own life:
I grew up eating a lot of meat and potatoes (it’s so cliche but it’s true). I love to make meat and potato dishes. My mother’s side of the family comes from a relatively small group of people known as Germans from Russia. There is a whole cuisine that these people make that is somewhat unique but takes elements from German, Russian, and Tartar cooking. I absolutely love exploring these dishes, many of which my mom and grandma made when I was younger. I’m far from mastering these recipes, but I love to try my hand at nudla (egg noodles), halupsi (cabbage rolls), kuchen (custard pie-like dessert), kaseknepfla (cheese buttons), rahm nudels (cream noodles), and so on. It’s a way I keep a connection to that part of my heritage alive and well. One more example: My son is Ethiopian. I have done some experimenting with “traditional” Ethiopian cuisine, but there is a lot to learn and I have a long way to go. Berbere, injera, doro wat, shiro, etc. I am motivated to learn because I want my son to have that connection to his homeland so one day when he is older, he will hopefully appreciate it more.
Conclusion
So there you have it, the three best ways, in my opinion, to get inspired to cook and to get motivated to get in your kitchen and learn. Remember, these don’t have to inform all your cooking decisions, but I hope they help you think about what you want to cook in different ways.
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