Ed,

I'm a bachelor that likes to cook so I think I have some good
suggestions for you.

1. What do you like to eat? What have you made for yourself previously?
I'm of Irish descent so potatoes and all their variations are a
necessity. Same goes for pasta. Atkins is not in my dictionary. Put
together a list of what you actually eat and look on foodtv.com and find
out what ingredients and how much you need to prepare enough for your needs.

2. Let everybody know your out living on your own now. I got lots of
"hand me downs" to get me going in my new home. Ask for what you need or
want for your birthday and Christmas.

3. Only buy what you need. Don't get spice sets, knife sets, etc. Going
to the store frequently to pick up just what your going to use that day
is much more useful than spending hours in a store trying to imagine
every dish your gonna make that month. (Been there, done that. Lots of
wasted food and money and I still needed to make trips every other day
to get stuff I forgot.) You will accumulate what you actually use.

4. Buy good stuff when you do purchase. I bought a 6" Wusthof chef's
knife just recently. The super knife set I was given as a housewarming
gift had got me along for 10 years. I tried the Chef's knife at a local
cooking school and I found it was really worth the $50. (So much
expensive stuff nowadays is just marketing B.S., I like to try stuff
hands on and see if they really do what I want them to do.)

5. I recommend stainless pots and pans. Skip the non-stick stuff. When I
stir or scrape something in a pan I don't want to worry about damaging
the finish. When I forget to turn off the stove (electric) and burn the
remains of a meal in a pan I want to use steel wool or oven cleaner to
clean it.

6. Get a dog. They are great for disposing of what didn't turn out quite
right or if you have prepared too much and don't like leftovers. Most
recipies are for more than one person and it's difficult to size the
recipes for only one serving. Unless you have burnt things to a crisp,
Fido will be very appreciative and supportive of your cooking.

7. Skip the toys. Do you really need a mixer? A food processor? A
electric can opener? A pasta roller and cutter? A toaster oven?

I enjoy playing with my Cuisinart food processor but it was a Christmas
gift. I could (and often do) chop up stuff on a cutting board instead.
I do have a mixer as I like to make cookies and is necessary for the
mashed potatoes I seem to need at least twice a week. Borrow these toys
from friends and relatives and see if they really meet your needs. I
borrowed a bread maker and determined after one loaf and a batch of
doughnut dough that I wasn't too interested in it. Just look at the
Goodwill kitchen appliance area (or EBAY) and see how many of these toys
are just sitting in their owners kitchen.

Hope this gives you some good ideas.

Bart


Ed Nuxters wrote:
> Well,.. I'm finally living all alone. I'm making some simple chicken
> for now, but eventually I want to make something better. What should
> I get to have in my cabinets? Spices and stuff like that. Just a
> general cooking ingredients type deal.

--
Bart D. Hull

Tempe, Arizona

Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/engine.html
for my Subaru Engine Conversion
Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/fuselage.html
for Tango II I'm building.

Remove -nospam to reply via email.