One of the most useful skills we can master is cooking. Instead of buying harmful fast food or expensive convenience or frozen meals, if we know how to cook, we can eat healthy meals prepared at home with fresh ingredients. Cooking at home is not only affordable and nutritious, but it can also be enjoyable if we learn new recipes from cookbooks and culinary websites.
Frying, steaming and boiling
You can make a delicious meal at home, even if you only have a small stove or stove with a few plates. Meat, fish or eggs can be fried in a pan with oil or butter. Vegetables can also be sliced or chopped and sautéed or stir-fried in a frying pan. Boiling or steaming vegetables and cereals such as rice is another method of preparation. Before cooking, you can peel vegetables such as potatoes and carrots, and even mash them. You can also steam fish and other seafood, such as crabs and mussels, or boil other things, such as spaghetti, eggs and some meats.
You can also make soups and stews on a basic griddle, these usually have salt and chopped vegetables and meats as ingredients. In addition, you can add herbs such as basil or parsley and spices such as pepper or paprika. You can also prepare sauces by combining butter, milk, flour and grated cheese in a frying pan.
Roasting and Grilling
You can also grill meat, fish and vegetables if you have a stove with a grill or griddle or an appliance such as an electric barbecue. Be careful when cooking food at high temperatures, because if you cook the dish for too long, it is easy to burn it. However, many people like to grill, and some even claim that it is the best way to prepare fish, steaks and other types of meat.
Some meats and vegetables can be roasted if you also have an oven. Roasting a whole chicken or a leg of lamb requires patience, since in the oven the food is surrounded by hot air that gradually cooks it on all sides. The roast meat is prepared, cut into pieces and usually served with roasted potatoes, carrots and onions. This type of dinner is sometimes called a "Sunday roast" because it was traditionally prepared every Sunday in places like England and Australia.
Baking
Foods such as bread, cakes, pastries, cookies, cookies and pies can also be baked in ovens. Wheat flour is the main component of most baked goods. Flour is used to make a dough that is put into a prepared baking oven after sifting to remove lumps. Baking is often considered difficult, but as the following recipe demonstrates, it can actually be simple if clear instructions are followed.
