This year someone I know was not doing well so I was trying to help them with something yet I wasn’t really taught how to do this thing well myself.

Take for an example, maybe this person couldn’t cook for themselves and I was tasked with cooking for them, although I hadn’t been taught how to cook and have taught myself to do so by reading online and watching videos and through trial and error.

So I only have so much confidence with the skill I developed myself and the system I set up for myself, while this person’s system was different than mine (say they were allergic to peanuts, so I would have needed to always be on the lookout for peanuts being secretly added to things, which I wouldn’t have even thought about in my own system of cooking).

So I guess it’s a question to me of how to 1. develop better life skills, 2. how to work other people’s systems if you aren’t aware of all of what their needs are and 3. how to identify and close gaps in your “life skills” skillset.

Any input would be appreciated

  • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafeEnglish
    3·
    6 months ago

    Well, of course we all did. Your parents can’t teach you everything, and there’s always something new to learn.

    I’m a far better cook than my parents - the internet didn’t exist for them, and they certainly didn’t have the time or money to buy cookbooks and read them.

    What I can find on the internet in seconds today used to take a lot of time in the library: you basically had to read all the time to “pre-game” info.

    So that’s the answer really - look for info on the things you want to do. Most likely someone’s done it and written about it.

    I will say cooking (and therefore food/pantry management) are sorely lacking today. It’s an area where you cannot can cut your costs upwards of 75%, while eating better quality and more healthy meals. Plus once you get a rhythm, you’ll save time over ordering out all the time.

    I can’t recommend America’s Test Kitchen strongly enough. They’ve had a show since about 2000 and cover the how’s and why’s if everything, not just how to make a dish. I’m sure they have youtube stuff too. Find their cookbook online or used. It’s typically about $20 new. Doesn’t matter what year it’s from - for a new cook it covers all the fundamentals. Their rexioes tend to be pretty flavor neutral, which is a great place to start.

    Also watch Good Eats with Alton Brown. He covers the fundamentals in an easy to get way.

    Meal planning is a big help - I have a section in my notebook just for recipes that make a pot of stuff that tolerates portion and freezing so I can just nuke something when I’m busy.

    Start using a notebook app and save the recipes you make. Things like Silverbullet, Evernote, OneNote, etc. Something that can sync between devices. It’s a huge help for organizing this stuff.

    Along with your recipes a digital notebook is good for everything under the sun. Just start with a structure of some kind (I use the PARA system in a OneNote notebook, it’s been a game changer).

    • airrow@hilariouschaos.comOPEnglish
      1·
      6 months ago

      One thing I wanted to figure out more with cooking is how to freeze stuff because a lot of foods tend to ripen quicker than I can use them if I’m not careful