   cooking update
  In my previous post on cooking, I asked for suggestions on cooking. I''ve since bought a book, Home and Garden''s Cook Book, and have cooked a couple of things with my sister. The book is great. It has pages with pictures of labelled food ingredients, and while not all recipes have accompanying pictures, the instructions are easy enough for me even though I have no prior cooking experience.The first thing I tried cooking was a pasta. It turned out pretty disgusting. I next made some muffins with my sister, which would''ve been good but we added waayyyyy too much sugar. They should be perfect next time around  I just made an egg thing with hash browns today, which turned out pretty good. No one else in my family really likes eggs, so I ate most of it.Anyway, for you people out there who want to learn how to cook, get this book and find someone to help. I''m good at computer multitasking, but it turns out that doesn''t translate into cooking multitasking at all. 
  So no one cares about cooking? Thought so... ;  I haven''t done any cooking for a long time. I did like digging into very old recipies and trying them out. I use to bake cakes at 2 o''clock in the morning for about a three year period. But I stopped doing that when I was measuring salt from a large salt shaker into the a teaspoon over the mixture. The top of the salt shaker came off and all the salt in the shaker poured into the mix. Try as I might to get as much out as possible, when the cake was baked you could see all the salt crystals throughout the cake. Needless to say, the cake had to go.Now that I think about it, all I baked was cakes. I baked a most excellent banana cake one time. It was delicious, how ever my gluten of a cousin ate it all up. I just had a narrow piece leaving the rest to share. Another bad baking experience ;  I love to cook.As for breakfast, I usually make it up as I go. If I'm doing pancakes or waffles, I use a Bisquick and add a little sugar or maybe some fruit (like bananas or blue berries. something soft), but anything else I throw together. Some fried, dice potatoes, an omelete made from any omelete like things I can find, toast, juice, bacon, a thin piece of steak...really great. Having worked at Waffle House at one point, I really know how to make a good breakfast, and fast too.For lunch, it's a big sandwich. From here the trick is sellecting the right meats and cheeses. Having worked in a deli at one point, I know what are the best. If I'm in a hurry, I make a quesadilla. Microwaving a tortilla inbetween damp paper towels makes it very soft, then I heat it in a skillet with a lot of cheese, a little salsa, some sour cream, and maybe some deli roast beef if there is any. Once the cheese is melted, I fold it up and head out the door.For dinner, sometimes I make it up as I go. Some kind of meat (chicken, pork, beef, salmon, no other fish, ugh), some kind of seasoning, some kind of vegetable, and some kind of starch. From there, I figure out some way to cook it all. Maybe I get a really thick piece of meat, stuff it with the vegetables and starch food, and broil it (this is VERY good, but rather difficult to get right). Maybe I'll grill the meat over charcoal (the only way, imo).When I don't make up dinner, I use a recipe (naturally, otherwise I would be making it up again). I like grilled salmon cooked in butter, with bacon wrapped green beens and yellow rice. Or, London Broil with potatoes, carrots, and onions, with broccolli for vegetable. Broiled, stuffed cornish hens with a vegetable medley and mashed potatoes. Cajun Red Beans and rice, cooked all day in a pot, with a large ham hock. REAL chili (not that nuclear waste you buy in a can), cooked with chocolate (not sweet).Damn, I'm getting hungary.   Do you use your powers for good or for awesome?My newly updated site | The Cutter Project | Association of Computing Machinery [edited by - capn_midnight on August 18, 2003 4:06:49 PM];  I rarely cook, but I do bake quite a lot. I just recently started trying out different cookie recipies, and let me tell you, they''re quick and extremely easy to do! The main problem I have with baking is that while most everyone I know doesn''t like to help, they are more than happy to consume the products ;( btw, if anyone likes applecake, I''ve got a nice one here: http://www.bollebygd.net/~larsr/Files/Stuff/Apple_cake.txtAs for actual cooking, I love pasta and rice ( and in the summer, small fresh potatoes.. mmm ), so that''s mostly what I do. You can do quite interesting stuff with only such simple basics though, especially with some nice grilled chicken or turkey. I have a very basic beginner''s book with a few simple recipies, but I like to experiment, so I rarely follow them exactly ;  I should get a job at restaurants, and perhaps the cook''s skill will drip onto me.The problem I think have is that I follow recipes too closely because I''m not sure what my deviations would do to the final product. There are tons of spices, sauces, and other stuff in my house, but I have no idea what they''d taste like if I added it to my food, so in the end, my food tastes okay, but there''s always something weird with it. I guess I just need some time to familiarize myself with the stuff.I''m getting hungry from that sandwich description, capn_midnight. I think it''s time to cook something. So much better now that I''m trying this, because before I''d hunt for microwavable foods ;  I can''t really cook, but give me a piece of meat of any kind, and I can grill that bad boy.I''ve become fairly adept at making strange concoctions out of various items I dig out of the kitchen.  The other night I made, well, I don''t know what to call it.  Here''s what it had in it:1 can black beans1 can tuna fishalot of fresh garlic, chopped up1 tomato, chopped upabout 1/2 pound ground beef, cooked, drained, tossed ina little bit of Sriracha sauce (greatest condiment. ever.)American cheeseLooked nasty, sounds nasty, tasted yummy.I guess you could call it some form of chili, what with the beans and meat. ;  You can get some really excellent recipes off the web too.I''ve become pretty proficient at making Thai food using the recipes at Import Food.  The hard part is finding the ingredients, but there''s a great Asian Market in Denver I go to when I''m out of things.  I have two CASES of coconut milk in my pantry.  Some of our faves are Satay Gai, Pad Ki Mao (which I actually make with rice instead of noodles, so it''s probably more Ki Mao Gai really),  Panang, and Pad Thai.  Tom Yum Goong is good too if I have guests over.  The great thing about Thai is that none of it takes more than half an hour to make (well, except the Satay but only because you have to marinate it overnight, actual prep time is more like 20 minutes).  I start up the rice and by the time it''s done, the stuff to go on top is also done.  I will say that if you want to make Thai food or other oriental food, though, get yourself a decent cleaver.My other big cooking thing is making bread.  If you want to make yeast bread you MUST have a Kitchenaid mixer with a dough hook.  That''s the only mixer that can handle yeast bread kneading well, it makes it a lot easier.  I make some really excellent baguettes.  I do tend to have a little trouble getting the dough right the first time around since I now live at 7500 feet above sea level.  Hungarian high-altitude flour helps a lot with that.Kitchenaids are also excellent for making real mashed potatos really quickly... I put sour cream instead of milk into the cooked potatos, and a little salt an pepper, and about 2 tbsp of butter, then a little bit of Asiago cheese, put the whisk on the Kitchenaid and hit go, and everyone thinks they''re the best mashed potatos they''ve had.Also, do yourself a favor and get a good set of Calphalon-style pans... the heavy triple-layer ones.  Stainless steel, not that no-stick garbage (anything that will kill a parakeet if you cook on it in the vicinity of said parakeet can''t be healthy).  You don''t have to get the name brand, I got a Martha Stewart full set for like $90 on sale.-fel ;quote:Original post by felisandria  I''ve become pretty proficient at making Thai food using the recipes at Import Food.  The hard part is finding the ingredients, but there''s a great Asian Market in Denver I go to when I''m out of things.I''m Vietnamese, and my house happens to have just about every single Asian ingredient out there, but we''re lacking in Western stuff  Anyway, I''m learning to cook because I''m a bit sick of all the Asian food I''ve been eating for almost the last 20 years. Variety is good! 