Julia Child has shows on DVD, worth watching.
Read.
Wander farmer's markets, bakeries, fish mongers, grocery stores.....spend time poking around. Ask questions.
Do side by side tastings of different varieties....ie: tomatoes: large beefsteak, small sungold, zebras, roma, tiny sweet 100's, the rubber ball commercial variety....with each you'll discover different acidity/sweetness/texture-juiciness.
Lettuces...bibb, romain, red leaf, escarole, spring mix, iceberg.....each is different.
Peaches....white, freestone, cling, donut, etc.....
Berries...yellow, pink, red, black raspberries....each has a different flavor profile.
When I teach new students, we'll go through what turns them on....are they into pies, or muffins or different ethnic cuisines....whatever they enjoy eating is a starting point. Self determination/motivation are the strongest ingredients to learning anything (including cooking).
Know that you learn from mistakes. Some of our greatest discoveries are made when we play.
Remember, the worst that can happen is dinner is inedible and you open a can of soup or bake a pizza.
