I really thought hard, and I'm deciding this goal is accomplished-- which feels amazing. I think I was waiting for some moment when I was suddenly making Instagram-perfect-looking dishes or using all the fanciest tricks and techniques, and that's probably not going to happen. And that's okay. What did happen is I'm feeling very confident in the kitchen. I'm regularly trying new things. I have a well-rounded repertoire of actual cooked meals for me and my family. I have a good sense of most basic techniques. I have a great sense of spices and herbs. I'm even working quite a bit on basic stuff without any recipe at all. It may not be the ultimate gourmet, but it's solid home cooking and it feels wonderful for someone who, not that many years ago, was living off TV dinners.

Luca Pasta Recipe

Sushi

I was learning to roast potato cubes. It was easy, but my downfall was I put too much garlic salt. I will never add that much garlic salt or seasoning salt ever again. I want to make this again but roast them longer, because I can't tell if this is the before or after photo hahahaha

I really feel like I'm accomplishing this goal. I thought for a long time that I had to do a bunch of learning about different spices and techniques and complicated stuff, but it turns out all I needed to do was get my ass in the kitchen. Every recipe, even the simplest most basic ones, taught me something that would have been overwhelming trying to learn it from a book or in a course. It all comes gradually.

This is my attempt at sauteing chicken tenderloins. I steamed some vegetable and rice to go with it. I still don't know if I did it correctly. Did I have it too high on heat? Too low? I don't know. I incorporated butter in the chicken. I dislike butter and I am also lactose intolerant, but I am adding grass fed butter to my meals in order to heal my cavities.



VIDEO: https://youtu.be/eAzbVJ9L5S8

Baked chicken tenderloins???

This is my first new meal in learning how to cook. I was not taught how to cook as a child or a teenager. I have been experimenting (disastrously) with food for about two or three years. I have stuck to certain easy dishes. I am now stepping out and being brave. So this first dish is SUPPOSED to be baked chicken tenderloins. I can't tell if it is delicious or simply all wrong because I am the only person I live with so there is no tongue to critique me, except for my own. I ate the chicken and it wasn't DELICIOUS but it wasn't TERRIBLE. It was edible and decent. I don't know how tender it should have been. It was between tender and firm.



How I made it was I rubbed butter on aluminum foil and put it in a pan. I rubbed some of the moisture off of the tenderloins and placed them on the foil. I rubbed it with a little butter and a little olive oil. I seasoned it with a little bit of onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and cumin. I poured a little bit of water in the dish and put it in the oven at 420 degrees. My stove is gas so it cooks quickly. I don't know if I left it in too long, but I am eating it right now.



I need to invest in a cooking class...





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azEW9CuuOwY&feature=youtu.be

Tofu sticks! I seasoned them myself, the way I season my tilapia :) I wanted it to taste like the fish I make, but it tasted almost better than my fish and it was my first time cooking it. My goal is to really master the basics of cooking, so this is my first try of the year. I know it looks haphazard. I tried to cut it in perfect squares but it didn't cooperate like that.... hahahaha

» i helped my mum make a chocolate cake to raise money for the volunteer project

Sometimes I have to cook for the family because my mother is too busy. I'm a little afraid of fire so that's why I always found it difficult to cook. But now I learned it anyway because later I have to do it on my own and actually it is not so scary. :)

So far I know:
Mousaka (not the Greek dish)
Meat Loaf