It was tempting to paraphrase the title of the movie Dr. Strangelove and call this article “How to learn to stop worrying and love cooking”.

Cooking seems to have lost its attractiveness over the years. Actually, this is a bit disappointing. There seems to be some misconceptions about cooking. Many people seem to think it is difficult or it is time consuming. They see it more than a chore than a pleasure. It can be a chore if you look at it as such, but there are ways to learn to enjoy cooking.

Personally, I enjoy cooking. I have been cooking about everyday for the past 45 years. My cooking must be good because my wife has nicknamed me “the kitchen god” and our guests always enjoy the meals I prepare. When I visit my family, they are always keen of having me preparing meals, too. But just like Rome was not built in a day, I had to go through a learning curve. And so can you!

There are a few simple tips that help greatly to find some fun in cooking meals. Here are a few of the most useful.

The first thing is to not put pressure on yourself. If you do not cook, just start slowly. Just cook only one day or two a week. Take it easy and see how it goes.

My second tip would be to start with something simple. When I started to cook for myself as a high school student, I would make something really simple like ground beef and mashed potatoes or pasta with a slice of ham. These are easy dishes to make and it is difficult to mess them up. Yet, I did mess up sometimes, mostly because I did not pay proper attention, but that is something you learn to correct quite quickly. Anyway, never try to get to cooking with fancy recipes. They usually require skills that you may not have, yet. There is nothing more frustrating that ruining a meal and you should have no reason to set yourself up for failure.

Ease into it gently. A simple dish consisting of some meat in the frying pan with a side of rice, pasta or potatoes with a couple of vegetables that you boil for a few minutes are really easy to make and most people like such dishes. To make the dish nicer, there is nothing like making some sauce. Sauces should not be underestimated. they are the secret behind great cooking. Without sauce, most dishes are rather dull and sad. Make some sauce and it feels like a fancy restaurant.

With sauces, take it easy, too. You do not need to start with a hollandaise. If you prepare some meat in a pan with a bit of butter, you will get nice brown bits. Just heat the pan at the max and pour some water on the brown bits and juices. it will boil right away and just scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and you will get a fantastic brown sauce with all the delicious flavors of your meat. Pour the sauce on the meat and your guests will be very impressed. You want to go fancier? Just add a bit of cream in that brown sauce and you will be amazed. Trust me, it is incredibly easy to make and it will wow your guests.

Earlier, I mentioned pasta. This is one of the easiest dishes to make. Just make a sauce with some crushed tomatoes and some garnish of some vegetables (personally, I like onions, celery, carrots or zucchini) or meat or whatever you like, and you will have a delicious dinner in less than half an hour.

One particular food that people seem worried about making is fish. It is understandable if you try to make fish in a frying pan. Overcooking the fish will make it dry and it probably will crumble in the pan if you are not very experienced. The solution is to buy frozen vacuum pack fish. Just put the pack in boiling water for 10 minutes max. Then, cut the plastic pack open and slide the fish on a plate. If you wish some sauce, just melt some butter in a pan with lemon juice and some parsley and, once again, it will taste like what you would get in a fancy restaurant.

Other simple dishes to make are soups and salads. In my household, my vegetable soup is a favorite. All I do is to chop somewhere between four and ten different kinds of vegetables that I put in a big 4-liter pot of salted water. Once it is all cooked, which is about 15 minutes to get to boil and about 15 minutes to cook, I grind the soup with a hand blender. You might want to skip that part, or you may choose how chunky or finely you want to grind. That is the beauty of cooking: there is no absolute rule. You prepare food the way you like it. The pot may take some time to prepare but it lasts us for about five days, so just pick a day that suits you to spend that time, and you will have delicious soup for days within a couple of minutes in the microwave. Here, too, just add a teaspoon of cream in your bowl and the basic veggie soup with turn into a fancy velouté! Salads are even easier and faster to make. Just choose all the veggies you want to put in it and other ingredients if you wish like hard-boiled eggs or canned fish. it is all up to you. The salad is ready in a few minutes and it is always nutritious. If you want to make fancy just add some herbs or bits of nuts or almonds. A simple vinaigrette (1 volume of vinegar with 2 volumes of vegetable oil and a pinch of salt) is the perfect dressing for a salad.

These are just simple examples that show that cooking does not need to be difficult or time consuming. The key is to not take on more than you can handle. If you start gently, you will gradually will want to try new dishes and be a bit more adventurous. Just allow yourself the time to gain experience. The rewards will be many.

Copyright 2025 – Christophe Pelletier – The Sensible Gourmet – The Happy Future Group Consulting Ltd.