On 2004-02-19, LMWB wrote:

I'm looking for information in VERY BASIC cooking as I have absolutely
NO cooking skills whatsoever.

A few thoughts on this....

1) I may be biased because I've been cooking since I was pretty young,
but cooking simple recipes isn't too hard. You do need to stick with it
and accept the fact that things might not come out perfectly at first.
There are some basics in terms of knife technique and cooking techniques
that take a little bit of time to get comfortable with, but the best way
to get into it is to just get your feet wet... It helps if you can get
a friend who likes to cook to help you out (see #5).

2) There are a number of vegetarian (and non-vegetarian) cookbooks (here
in the US, anyway, and I'd imagine elsewhere as well) targeted towards
students, people cooking for 1 or 2, and beginners. Most of these will
have recipes that are fairly simple, and some will even have pictures,
instructions and tips on basic cooking techniques, and a glossary with
an explanation of less common ingredients.

3) I find that I often end up using non-veg cookbooks more than
vegetarian ones (even though I have tons of vegetarian cookbooks). Find
a good general cookbook (the "Fannie Farmer" cookbook is my main basic
cookbook, mostly because it's what my folks mostly used as I was growing
up).

4) (Kind of related to #3) Learn how to substitute and adapt recipes.
And, once you get comfortable with a recipe, don't be afraid to play
around with it. Following recipes itself is (for the most part) fairly
easy.

5) It sounds like there are some people around you who have good cooking
skills... these people are (hopefully) available as a resource for you.
Cook with them, ask them for help when you're cooking. Cook meals for
them (sounds like they've cooked for you plenty of times). Cooking with
_or_ for other people is (for me) probably the most rewarding aspect of
cooking.

(Side note - it really helps if you have a good EATER or two around too
- someone who will eat the food you cook, and eat it happily, even if it
doesn't come out perfectly.)

6) If you don't already have them, invest in the right tools. That
doesn't mean you need a huge set... buy things as you need them, but buy
good quality stuff. A single good (and properly sharpened) knife and a
couple of good pots / pans is better than a whole set of mediocre
cookware.

Basically, don't get too worried about the fact that you don't have any
cooking experience. In some ways it might even be an advantage. Main
thing is to just get started.

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