can you teach me how to cook :(

[Mezzaluna]

For Keeps, here are some ideas for you. I'm a home cook who is also a retired teacher (but not a cooking teacher ).
You said you want to cook...

spagetti (ground beef, not chicken)
green bean
burger recipe (Ground beef)
chicken leg recipe (not fried, but i do wanna know a good fried recipe)
carrot recipe
potatos (not sweet)

You said you are in California, so I will assume you can get hold of fresh vegetables.

SPAGHETTI (with a simple, fresh tomato sauce)- you'll chop up some vegetables, brown some meat, and boil some pasta. Here are the steps:

1. Peel 2 or 3 cloves ("toes") of fresh garlic. Smash them between the side of your knife and your cutting board, then chop the garlic up into tiny bits. Set aside.
2. Cut off the bottom and top of a small to medium-sized onion. Peel off the dry layers. Cut it in half, then slice it up. If you want smaller bits, keep chopping until you have small bits. Set aside.
3. Wash some fresh parsley. Take a handful of it and cut off the stems. Chop up the rest. It doesn't have to be really small. Set aside.
4. Wash 2 pounds of tomatoes. I like the Roma ones, but any good, ripe tomatoes are fine. Cut out the stem end (core), then slice them up and then cut into cubes about 1 inch size. Set aside.
4. Brown about 1 pound of ground beef in a large skillet. When it's not pink any longer, take it out and leave the grease behind. Throw out the grease.
5. Put some olive oil or other vegetable oil in the skillet, and cover the bottom of the skillet. Let it heat up a bit on a medium heat, until one piece of onion sizzles when you throw it in.
6. Put the garlic and onion in the skillet. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of salt over the onions and garlic, then mix it up. (Add pepper, too, if you like.) Stir it every minute or so. When the onions look kind of pearly ("translucent"), toss in the tomatoes, parsley and the browned ground beef. You can also add dry herbs like basil, oregano, rosemary, etc. Stir it all up and turn the heat down to low. Put the cover on the pan and let it cook gently for about 20 minutes, stirring it every few minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, boil the spaghetti (or other pasta), following the directions on the box. DON'T ADD OIL TO THE WATER, or the sauce won't stick to the pasta. When the pasta is done, you can add the pasta to the sauce in the pan and mix it all together. Or, you can serve the pasta with the sauce on top. Sprinkle grated cheese on top, and you're in business!

CARROT RECIPE - easy glazed carrots

1. Peel 1 pound of fresh carrots. Chop off the ends. Cut the carrots into slices about 1" thick.
2. Put the carrots in a large frying pan which has a lid. Cover the carrots with water and bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat and let the carrots simmer about 10 minutes with the lid on.
3. Drain out the water and put the carrots aside. Over low heat, melt 1/2 stick of butter in the pan and add 1/3 cup of dark brown sugar. You can sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon or other sweet-tasting spices (nutmeg, allspice, etc.) into the sugar and butter.
4. Stir the butter and sugar until the sugar has melted. Add 2 tablespoons of lime or lemon juice (fresh is best). Stir a bit more until it's all smooth.
5. Add the carrots to the skillet and mix until they're coated with the glaze.


EAT AND ENJOY!
Let me know if these recipes makes sense to you. If not, I'll fix it for you. You can do this, and we are here to help.

[forkeeps]

wow, thank you mezzaluna. im gonna make that spagetti recipe tomarrow for sure. but do u know any carrot recipe that isnt sweet? i dont mind sweet veges, just that id rather eat them w/o a sweet taste.

[cwshields]

Originally Posted by forkeeps

do u know any carrot recipe that isnt sweet? i dont mind sweet veges, just that id rather eat them w/o a sweet taste.

You could steam the veggies, you'll know when they're done when the tip of a knife goes in easily. I like them a little less done, but knife thing works. Also if you steam the veggies don't have your face over the pot when removing the lid.

[abefroman]

Originally Posted by forkeeps

ive been buyin meats/veges and trying to cook something good, but most of the time it turns out to be horrible. i use allrecipes.com for recipes but nothing tastes good. sometimes i google recipes. i used to buy my meats from albertsons but i was told their meat is nasty so i just switched to vons and i noticed a difference when i cooked their meat recently. but i need more than that.

since all of you know how to cook, can you teach me how to cook? is there something i have to do while cooking? steps? anything i need to know about cooking to help me cook better?


i wanna start w/ simple and easy recipes first. mainly on the range. i would use the oven but we never used it once and i have to clean it and we have a roach problem.

if any of you can drop good recipes on beef and macaroni, spagetti, george foreman recipes, and a green bean/carrot recipe id greatly appreciate it.

Ask the man carrying a violin case how to get to carnage hall.

Practice, practice, practice.

Pick on dish and keep making it till you get it perfect, then try to make it better.

And watch the food network.

[Mezzaluna]

I'm glad you like the spaghetti recipe. Let us know how it comes out.

do u know any carrot recipe that isnt sweet?

They are delicious simmered in chicken broth, too.

Green beans are best fresh, but if you use frozen, don't overcook them. I use the microwave (do you have one?). You can melt some butter in a small pan, then toast some almond slices or slivers in the butter before pouring it over the tender-crisp green beans.

Chicken legs are good if you bake them in the oven slowly. I'm not sure of the cooking time, but I think 45 minutes would be enough. Of course, you can use other chicken parts as well. Try this:

HEAT THE OVEN TO 350 DEGREES before you start.

1. Wash the chicken legs. Pat them dry in some paper towels. Season them with salt and pepper and with any herbs you like. Set aside.
2. Grease a baking pan (glass or metal) with some vegetable oil.
3. Wash some potatoes. If you are using a 13"X9" pan, you'll need about four medium potatoes. Cut the potatoes in thick slices. You can peel them if you like, but it's not necessary.
4. Lay the potato slices in the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle them with some salt and pepper. You can also put some dry herbs on them (basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, etc.- whatever you like).
5. Squeeze the juice from 2 or 3 lemons. Be sure to take out the seeds! Sprinking some of the juice over the potatoes, but save at least half of it for the next step.
6. Put the chicken legs on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle them with the rest of the lemon juice. Put little pieces of butter on top of the chicken pieces.
7. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake the chicken and potatoes for 30 minutes.
8. Take the foil off and continue baking about 15 minutes until the chicken is brown. Test to see that the potatoes are tender by sticking a knife in them. If they seem soft enough to eat, they are!

Enjoy!

[Lady DeWinters]

I can offer you a few handy tips when it comes to making Asian dishes. The thing to remember is when you're making quick stir-fry dishes, you should have EVERYTHING ready to go. You need to chopped garlic, ginger, whatever veggies and put them onto plates so you're not scrambling as you're stir-frying your wok.

Basic rule of Chinese cooking is light soy sauce, ground pepper, peanut oil (peanut taste better for some reason), sesame oil and garlic plus ginger. As long as you have those basic seasoning items, you can't go wrong.

Experiment and let your imagination go. Use the cooking books as your guide and inspiration but ultimately try anything on your own and see where it takes you. Good luck!

[forkeeps]

are the tomatoes sposed to be melted mezzaluna? im doin ur recipe right now but the portion is cut in half. 1/2 lb beef, 1lb tomatoes, etc. its been almost 20 min and the tomatoes aint melted. ima cook it some more and see wat happens tho. thx for the recipe again, it does smell really good.

and also, i think it needs a little more flavor to me.

[bluezebra]

Hi forkeeps I'm going to take a guess that mezzaluna means that the tomatoes cook into the sauce. That means they break down under the heat and the liquid and become more saucy than chunky although there will still remain a bit of "body" or "chunkiness-ish" to the sauce? You could probably cook her sauce for as long as you felt like it. Cooking it less will allow each element to retain some of it's body and individual character. Cooking it more will allow the elements to "blend" together and become more homogenized.

[Risque Cakes]

Hi,

If this is a serious post, and I have my doubts...!!

You say you have a roach problem? first step here would be to Roach bomb your kitchen and house.

Next thing would be to Clean that stove/oven you say is dirty.

make sure that you have the right cooking tools. A good pan, pot, spoons, spatulas...you don't have to go broke buying these things as you can get good deals in department stores.

You cannot learn something if you don't take care of your "TOOLS". Next would be to get yourself a kids cook book.

They have VERY simple recipes to follow and teach you about measures.

Never skimp on your ingredients nor substitute them untill you are familiar with your recipe, then you can experiment with flavors and textures.

Also, who told you that the meat you used to purchase was nasty? was it someone you cooked for, some random person with some agenda? or your personal experience?

I really don't understand your post, but you have gotten very good advice and recipes from ( I'm sure ) very busy people.