by Meredith Davises

Created on: March 21, 2010   Last Updated: July 13, 2010

Your grandmother was a wonderful culinary artist and she was cooking on a hot wood burning stove, churning butter with her fresh cow cream, and stirring soup in a caldron over glowing embers in the fireplace. Your mother learned to use electric and gas appliances and now you have their heritage in a modern new world.

Cooking is a smart choice and affordable luxury turning a few simple ingredients into traditional cuisine. Book an inventory of culinary tools that you own and mark the list with things that you want. A master cookbook with up to date techniques and recipes is beneficial.

You know how to use a box mix and with a recipe, you will learn what is in the box. A little commonsense is all you need in most cases. Baking homemade macaroni and cheese is just a matter of melting a few cubes of your own fresh cheese. It takes less time to make blueberry pancakes using your own ingredients than opening a box. Pancake mix is nothing more than your all purpose or wheat flour, fresh eggs, cold milk, and a mere scoop of blueberries.

It is less expensive than eating out and you have a choice of what sides you really want with your grilled steak or chicken. It is easy to make rice pilaf and season it to preference with your own selection of Turkish spices. You will learn how to make signature house dressings for your fresh garden salads. Enjoy making rich desserts that you do not have to eat right away. Take a stroll in the evening and serve dessert on your terrace with scented candles.

Quickly learn which oils are best for retaining moisture and what oils will tenderly brown delicate skin. Olive oils are preferred and you will use butter and creams too. Explore different cultures and rare cuisines and discover sweet and savory oils. Safflower oil coats more evenly for basting while peanut oil heated properly cooks shrimp and stir-fry vegetables. Find island oils at your specialty gourmet shops that are worth the buy.

Indian dishes create aromas that are unlikely matched to any other cuisine especially the curries, which are so simple to learn. Soon everyone is sniffing these smells in search of a pleasurable meal. These experiences will lead right into bread making and soon you will have a basket of hot fresh pita, tortillas, or a loaf of French bread. Even more reason to venture making a hot pot of soup with steamy vegetables. Stocks of fine herbs and spices enchant the mystery of soups.

Learn to create variations unique to your own taste. The unforgettable fragrances linger and satisfy you longer. You may have a niche of expertise in more than one venue of cooking. Specialty baking or candy making for the holidays is a tradition. Cooking is a collection of excellence and preference.

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