Ask Dani - How Do You Come Up With Ideas?
Hi Dani, I've been reading your blog for about a year now and I've never let you know how much I've learned from not only your recipes, but your approach to food in general.
I'm a 21 year-old college student in Portland, Oregon and I've been cooking healthfully for about three years now, and I'm always looking for ways to improve my cooking skills and spice up my plates. It's hard because I'm on a tight budget, I go to school full-time and have a tiny, limited kitchen, AND I only cook for myself. That means I can't make huge grocery trips where I spend 100+ dollars for only 3 or 4 days of food, and I can't let ANYTHING go to waste.
So when I feel lost in all of my cookbooks which have complicated ingredients and require at least an hour of planning, shopping and preparing, I always end up back on your site.
Would you tell me about how you learned to cook simple improv meals so intuitively? How do you get variety in your diet without spending too much time dwelling over food and cookbooks?
Thanks so much,
Emily ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Emily -
First off allow me to come clean; I dwell, I dwell OH how I dwell. I think about food A LOT and draw inspiration from EVERYWHERE. I am forever reading cookbooks, magazines, and food blogs AND I spend too much time watching the Food Network. But with that being said; I think the few things that help me keep my meals simple while having variety are:
1. Cooking with the seasons. This will automatically bring you variety.
2. Follow mother nature. What grows together goes together SO that automatically takes a lot of the guess work out of cooking. Choosing ingredients that grow in the same season will always taste good together - easy right?
3. Don't be afraid to experiment. Trial and error. You won't know what works until you know what doesn't work.
4. Buy what looks good to you and then trust your instincts! IF something sounds like it might taste good to you, chances are it will!! Hope these tips help you a bit! Now get cookin' ;).
Emily ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Emily -
First off allow me to come clean; I dwell, I dwell OH how I dwell. I think about food A LOT and draw inspiration from EVERYWHERE. I am forever reading cookbooks, magazines, and food blogs AND I spend too much time watching the Food Network. But with that being said; I think the few things that help me keep my meals simple while having variety are:
1. Cooking with the seasons. This will automatically bring you variety.
2. Follow mother nature. What grows together goes together SO that automatically takes a lot of the guess work out of cooking. Choosing ingredients that grow in the same season will always taste good together - easy right?
3. Don't be afraid to experiment. Trial and error. You won't know what works until you know what doesn't work.
4. Buy what looks good to you and then trust your instincts! IF something sounds like it might taste good to you, chances are it will!! Hope these tips help you a bit! Now get cookin' ;).
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Comments
Krista :
I would love a list of seasonal veggies and herbs. The stores seem to have everything year round, so I don't really know what is in season. I live in a snowy place so we only have farmer's markets in the summer, otherwise I could use that as my guide.
posted on February 20, 2010 7:06 PM