Part I: Cook less, Chill more

Teach your partner/friend/roommate how to cook. It’ll allow you to take breaks more often (when they get around to cooking for you), plus it’s a good life skill to pass along.

I am not a pro chef by any means but I enjoy putting yummy food on the table. There are better people to get pointers from (shout-out to the queen Ina Garten). I just want to offer up some seriously simple tips for cooking novices.

Blog post origins: You know, the BF told me that back in the day (his college years), he used to cook chicken without seasoning it...but nowadays, he’s all about the spices. #startedfromthebottom For real though, add just a wee bit of salt and pepper and your taste buds will thank you!

First up, we’re going to focus on what I call ‘the essentials’: salt, ground pepper, oil, butter, and garlic. Some might say garlic is a stretch to put in basics, but it’s pretty much a staple in my family.

Let’s say you don’t own any seasoning. If you’re going to start with a couple, make them salt and ground pepper. They’re useful in pretty much any style of dish and they’re easily accessible.

A salty lesson: I’d rather have a light hand than a heavy hand when it comes to seasoning with salt. You can always add some table salt to your food while you’re eating it, but you can’t really remove salt once it’s there...I’ve made salty salmon before and it was no bueno.

80% of the time when it comes to cooking, I prefer to use olive oil or butter. The BF and I are all high maintenance and fancy now, so we are always buying infused olive oils online. You can also use canola oil, walnut oil, coconut oil...whichever works for you. They differ in cost and flavor a bit, but if you’re just using a small amount to get things started on a pan, you won’t be able to taste much of a difference. Most often, I’ll add about a teaspoon or two on a fry pan and let it heat up before I add my food bits. Having olive oil around the house is also handy for when you want to make salads—it’s a nice and simple dressing (feel free to mix with some ground pepper or fresh lime juice).

Now, when do I opt for butter? I often like to spread chunks of salted butter on top of chicken breasts when I bake them. Same goes for asparagus or squash, especially when I don’t plan on adding much in terms of seasoning. I also like using butter when I cook broccoli, onions, or mushrooms on a pan.

Okay, and what’s the deal with garlic? I like crushing cloves of garlic or spooning minced pieces out of a jar. Either way, I add garlic to most of my pan-cooked dishes. My mom would often add it to the oil or butter and so now I do as well. Or I’ll add some garlic to vegetables I bake in the oven or cook on a pan.

Here are some go-to dishes you can make with the above essentials:

• On a pan:

  • Broccoli with salted butter

  • Mushrooms and onions with salted butter and a bit of ground pepper—this is a great topping for steak, just saying

• In the oven:

  • Asparagus topped with an olive oil drizzle and bits of minced garlic and ground pepper

  • Baked chicken breasts with salt and pepper (I alternate between olive and butter when cooking chicken to add a bit of moisture) — can eat this with a side of broccoli or sliced on top of a simple spinach salad with olive oil and fresh lemon