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Cooking, the final frontier, this is the part of the story where I pause and tell you all about cooking in today's age and why you should learn to cook. Let us begin.

If this intro seems a little off center to you, then imagine how it feels to me to have someone say that they aren't going to learn how to cook. I mean think about it, how many times have you looked in the fridge and decided there was nothing there to make. No instant potatoes, no hot dogs, no ravioli in the cabinet, good lord there is nothing to eat.

It is easy in this day of fast food and faster cook times, of microwaves and convection ovens and boxed pizza, to make a wonderfully quick meal in no time. It would bring up the idea of being able to make something quick and to allow for a shorter time at meals. How does that boxed stuff taste, though? How good is it for you? Yeah, you have heard all these arguments before and it would be easy to come up with reasons why to or not to cook or for that matter why to or not to LEARN to cook, but let's take a look at something simple and see what we can do with it before we answer the question

Take the box of macaroni and cheese, any brand will do, and make it by the directions on the box. Easy enough you say, but is that really what you want? Of and by itself the box of macaroni and cheese is a good side dish, but what if you had just that box and you wanted to make a meal? Oh, you have other stuff in the fridge, and you also have other stuff in the pantry but you want something quick. A home cooked meal just won't due in times like this. Open that box and boil that water. Now if you knew how to cook, your mind would be going in 20 different directions right now. What can I add to make this a meal? What can I add that will compliment the cheese sauce or the macaroni itself? Do I have something that I can substitute with the ingredients in the box that will make it more of a meal? Can't answer those questions if ya don't know how to cook.

Personally I have edited a family cookbook and have started to write a cookbook based on being a single man and how to make meals that aren't for four or five people but rather for one, so when I say that you can make many meals from a box of macaroni and cheese, please believe me, I have. I have taken the cheese pack and put it aside, added olive oil and oregano, some tomatoes, and just a hint of paprika and eaten that for a meal. I have cut up sausages and put them in with the cheese, making it a casserole instead of a side dish. I have added different types of cheeses or added ranch dressing to give it a unique taste, and I could go on and on and on, but I won't. My point is this, without knowing HOW to cook, I wouldn't know that these alternatives exist. Seems simple enough, but let's face it, it isn't an exact science and it is purely based on your taste.

Learning to cook can be as easy as following directions from a menu, or as simple as trial and error, but whichever system or approach you use what you will gain is a new perspective on an old way of doing things. You may even find quicker ways of making a full meal that used to take longer due to not knowing you could cut corners. The field of cooking is endless, no two recipes, for the most part, are alike and no two approaches are alike, so have fun. Just remember, learning to cook is the difference between a good pizza from a box and a great pizza that you have added too. Viva le Cooking.

Learn more about this author, Scott Shaffer.
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