Cooking in this age of supermarket restaurants and dial-a-delivery pizza shops is a bit hard. While women are credited with cooking at home, the world’s greatest chefs are mostly male. Town life is also getting a little hectic, with people rushing from work to evening classes to merry-go-rounds then end it all in a nyama choma joint. Still, making a home-made meal every once in a while is not a bad idea at all. Here’s how to motivate yourself to cook:
Create time for cooking
Cooking does not take a lot of time. In fact, you may find that the time you spent visiting the restaurant is sufficient for cooking. You can prepare a hearty meal in just 15 minutes! Put on your apron, get into your kitchen and switch on the cooker. After all, your kitchen was constructed for a purpose, and that purpose is cooking.
Work with a daily menu
Cooking requires a high level of discipline. If you find it hard to decide what to cook, a daily menu will be perfect for you. You will be surprised to find that most mothers consult their children on what to prepare for the day. Do not let mealtime find you unprepared; sit down and draw your own menu. Make sure the meals are balanced and that the foods are your favourite ones. If you are not an experienced cook, try easy cooking methods such as shallow frying and boiling.
Use pre-started ingredients
Mixing all ingredients from the scratch can be time-consuming. If you fear that cooking will consume a lot of your time, you can try buying pre-started ingredients such as frozen vegetables and pre-cooked chicken. This will save you a lot of time and energy.
Make simple foods
Simple foods do not have many ingredients, and so this will save your time and money. Look for foods that only need boiling for a few minutes or simple shallow frying. Recipes such as boiled rice, spaghetti, macaroni, fried cabbage, beef, pasta, noodles or steamed spinach are very easy to make. Baking usually involves a wide range of ingredients, which may be hard to get and complicated to blend.
Follow the recipe book
Get a recipe book for a start. Easy cooking begins with a keen eye on the guidelines in the recipe book. Get all the ingredients and follow the instructions progressively to the end. This will ensure that your food meets the required standards. You may find it essential to take notes, and by the end of the day you will be a master cook. With time, you will not even need the recipe book. You will eventually start trying out the complicated recipes and this is what will motivate you to love cooking.
