Collaborative Post
At the moment, we find ourselves in unprecedented circumstances. We are all so grateful to the keyworkers who are keeping our country going and to the NHS workers who are our heroes and lifesavers. But for many of us, we need to help save lives by staying in. Many people will be busy homeschooling children, shielding more vulnerable household members and working from home. You may also be communicating with other-self isolators to help keep the moral going. But inevitably you will need to find a focus to help get you through this time of worry. If you, like many others, are stuck at home right now for the foreseeable future, then you will probably be keen to try and learn how to make the most of your spare time. There are many ways in which you might hope to do this, but one of the things that many people are going to be looking to do is learn a new skill, such as learning to cook. Being able to cook is always a hugely important thing that you should try to do, and is an important life skill. During these circumstances, it’s particularly useful as you can make your own bread, pasta and be able to make delicious meals even with the limited ingredients we have available at the moment. But if you have never really learned how to cook, then you might be wondering how you can start now. Here are a few tips to help:
Make Your Kitchen Ready
One of the first things you will want to think about is whether or not your kitchen is really in a good place for good cooking. There might be a more limited amount that you can do if you are not able to leave your home, but there are still things that you can do, so it’s worth focusing on those as much as possible. You might want to first look at the essentials, such as whether you have all the working equipment. If that means getting refrigerator parts shipped to you, this is a great place to look. If it means you need to get hold of some oven cleaner, then you can probably get that delivered too. In any case, you need to make sure that you have your kitchen as ready as possible.
Start Simple
If you have never cooked much before, you will find it much easier to start with something simple, rather than working on something more complex. So it’s a good idea to take a look at some simple recipes that you can find and see whether you can try your hand at those. Try to avoid anything too technical for now, as you are less likely to be able to do those recipes in quite the same way. By starting simple, you will actually help to develop your confidence more, so that is going to ensure that you are more likely to carry on and keep on cooking in the future.
Follow Your Nose
It’s always a good idea to follow your nose with cooking – literally and figuratively. In the literal sense, you should make a point of keeping your senses open, so that you can produce meals which are going to taste and smell delicious on the plate. And figuratively, you should think about what kind of meals and cuisine you generally like to cook. You might have a particular fondness of Asian food, for instance, in which case start cooking Asian food. This way, the cooking itself will be more enjoyable, as well as eating the food that you produce in this way. That is what you should be aiming for.
The NHS is “rallying the troops” for the war on coronavirus. Even if you are self-isolating at home you can be of help by making regular phone calls to check on people isolating at home. See more details and sign up here (NHS England only at the moment): https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHS
