Home Cook

Unlike my sister, I am a fish out of water in the kitchen. Oh, I love food all right – nothing better than good eats! But preparing it? No way. I never saw the need to learn because my mom and sister took care of everything in the kitchen. The only thing I was tasked to do was cook the rice.

Now this was all well and good before I got married and had children. In the beginning of our marriage, dining out was our solution. But when our son was born, leaving the house just to get a bite was out of the question. I knew I had to learn – or find a very able cook.

So with my mother’s help and a dozen or so calls a day to my sister, I slowly built up my repertoire of basic Filipino dishes. I can proudly say that I now can do these dishes in my sleep. But these are dishes that the women in my family have taught me with much time and patience.

But, I am still not a natural born cook. Give me a recipe for anything else and I’ll still manage to mess it up. This is because most cookbooks assume that the reader is already an able cook. Well, what about people like me? As always, my personal saint saves the day!

Martha Stewart’s Cooking School Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook. Unlike other cookbooks, this has over 200 recipes arranged by cooking techniques with step-by-step photographs. It explains all aspects of the kitchen and cooking process. It literally is How to Cook for Dummies. More valuable than the recipes in the book, Martha thoroughly explains the techniques needed in the kitchen. While some people may find this book too intimidating, I love the fact that she actually takes the time to show proper knife skills and explain which cuts of meat go best with a certain technique. If I’m going to cook something I want to make sure I’m doing it right! - KGG

* Photo from Amazon.com