| Some cooks can take the worst collection of | | | | You can also liven up the most boring of |
| ingredients and with a little stirring, a little | | | | vegetables too like peas. They are a dull and |
| simmering and apparently a little magic make it | | | | tasteless vegetable on their own but adding some |
| taste good. Conversely there are other cooks | | | | pearl onions and garlic to the mix when cooking |
| that can take the best foods, and with a lot of | | | | and voila, you have a tasty alternative to your |
| spilling and even more swearing serve up food | | | | usual vegetable side-dish. |
| that should not be given to the family dog. So, is | | | | Sometimes you'll find that some food selections |
| it the food or the method that either makes or | | | | will require a gentle touch with your cooking |
| breaks a meal? | | | | method. Thinly sliced strips of chicken breast, for |
| Well, it could be one or all three actually. Or it | | | | instance, will not fare well coated in massive bread |
| could be none of the above. Some people have a | | | | crumbs and fried over an open flame. But, a |
| natural gift for cooking. I think personally that it | | | | gentle saute in a virgin olive oil base with glazed |
| has a lot to do with your role models when you | | | | onions and garlic would present very well on your |
| grow up. A lot of people that have had great | | | | dinner plate but make sure that you cook the |
| experiences in the kitchen with someone they | | | | garlic first in the oil and remove it before adding |
| admire or respect can have a big impact on your | | | | the chicken or the garlic could burn and cause the |
| culinary expertise in your adult years. Those that | | | | chicken to have a bitter taste. The olive oil will |
| had very little experience or positive role modeling | | | | pick up the flavor of the garlic and saute the |
| in that particular area may not have a desire or | | | | mixture and coat the chicken breast with tasting |
| interest in cooking and therefore struggle with | | | | bitter. Small changes in the method make for |
| knowing how to "throw" together a good meal | | | | huge changes at the dinner table. |
| without much preparation and detailed recipes. But | | | | Using fresh herbs, whenever possible makes for |
| what some don't understand is that there are | | | | the best recipes. In fact, a lot of people grow |
| certain ingredients that do not blend well together | | | | their own herbs right in their own backyard. It's |
| in particular methods of preparation, like the kind | | | | not as hard as you think. You could grow them |
| of pan you use or whether you bake it verses | | | | right on the window sill of your kitchen and snip |
| cooking it on the stove-top. You may not know | | | | off what you need from a variety of plants when |
| this if you are an inexperienced cook. | | | | you need to depending on what the recipe calls |
| Timing can be the key to how well the recipe | | | | for. It's natural, convenient and tastes so much |
| turns out as well. Take a dish called "Lemon | | | | better than its synthetic counterpart at the |
| Infused Broccoli" for instance. It is a tasty little | | | | grocery store spice aisle. You could start with the |
| dish if you don't add in the lemon too early in the | | | | basic herb plants like basil, rosemary, sage and |
| cooking process. If you do, you will notice that | | | | thyme and then add to the collection as you |
| the broccoli will turn a very peculiar shade of | | | | become more experience d with recipe |
| brown. But, adding the lemon to the water while | | | | experimentation. |
| steaming the broccoli in a steamer and tossing in | | | | Healthy foods are not any harder to cook than |
| some lemon zest when before serving and you | | | | the unhealthier fare, so treat yourself and your |
| will have a tasty and colorful (the right color) | | | | family well, and feed them great tasting, healthy |
| broccoli dish. | | | | foods. |