Regarding kettlebells- it's unlikely at your current fitness level that your doctor will be cool with a swing progression, but I think farmer's walks and turkish getups could be great for you. Think about your muscle-building efforts in terms of the five fundamental human movements: Push, Pull, Hinge, Squat, and Loaded Carry. Push is like a bench press, overhead press or pushup. Pull is like a row, or pullup. Hinge is a deadlift, kettlebell swing, or good morning. Squat is self explanatory, and Loaded Carry is like a farmer's walk. Ideally to make a balanced routine you'd get some work done in every category over the course of a week.

How much food: There are many TDEE calculators out there- I'd reccomend plugging your stats into a few to see what you get. Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is how many calories you need to eat to stay the weight you currently are. (Note: your TDEE is not your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate). Your BMR is what you would need to consume to maintain weight if you were in a coma and absolutely not doing anything.) To stay the same weight, you track your calories to try to hit that number, and weigh yourself regularly (I reccomend early morning before breakfast- makes it easiest to catch when the normal couple pounds of variation starts to drift) and put it in to myfitnesspal so you can see it on a graph. Tracking your weight and your calories is the only way to know if your estimated numbers are the correct TDEE for you.

This last bit can be confusing. There's the obvious issue with correctly estimating your exercise when you put it into the calculator- what does 'three times a week' really mean? But there's also the tracking calories accurately issue: You know how you sometimes hear people say 'I only eat 1100 calories a day, but I just can't lose weight!' Welllllllll.... no. They are either not recording food they eat, or not recording it correctly. Food labels can be up to 25% off, and it's very easy if you're measuring in anything other than grams (looking at you, myfitnesspal listings for 'one chicken breast'. Not helpful) to be off by quite a bit. But what you can be is consistent. If your daily calorie count is consistently wrong by 300 calories, your weight probably won't move much. (500 calories one way or the other off of your TDEE is about the right amount to gain or lose weight.) So what you do is watch your weight to see what's actually happening. If you don't see any movement over the course of a couple weeks, then you change your calorie goal for the day with the knowledge that it's a bit like aiming for a target with a gun that pulls to the left. In order to hit the target, you're overcompensating by aiming 'too far' to the right.

Macros: Depends on the kind of exercise you are doing, but for now when you're setting up your myfitnesspal goals I'd suggest trying for an 50% carb, 25% protein 25% fat split. This is actually a pretty high carb ratio, but probably less than you are currently eating. When you adjust to it, try to increase your protein and fats. And do try to get your carbs from 'complex' sources. Get your sugar bundled with some fiber like it is in fruit and whole grains. (There's a whole deep and I think very interesting rabbit hole about grain and how we process it interacts with our bodies. Basically grain is pretty okay, but what we do with it to make it into modern bread is pretty terrible.)

Okay, that was probably super overwhelming, but I wanted to give you a good base of understanding.

TLDR: On a daily basis, it looks like this. You've calculated your TDEE, decided you want to gain weight so you're eating goal is 500 calories over that. Before breakfast, you weigh yourself and put that into myfitnesspal during breakfast computer-time, during which you can also enter breakfast (probably the same thing every day, or one of a couple of common things, so easy to enter) and lunch (which you precalculated when you made up the big batch of it on the weekend.) Then you have a pretty good idea of what macros you need to 'fill in' with, and can make educated decisions about snacking and dinner. Maybe once a week look at your weight and food graphs, and see if you are hitting your goals, and what you might want to adjust.

Fiber is actually pretty easy to get enough of if you eat fruits and veggies. But if you have yogurt for breakfast, soup and sandwich for lunch, and pasta for dinner, you can find yourself in trouble even if you're 'eating healthy' and at a good weight. If you're worried about it, there's nothing wrong with taking a fiber supplement. I actually buy psyllium husk and mix it into my morning yogurt- I rather like how it thickens up the texture. But you can also take it in pill form, both work.

While we're on the topic of supplements- there are only a couple that have any proven health benefits to a basically healthy person. Vitamin D has good data, as does fish oil. Unless your doctor tells you that you do, you don't need a multivitamin. I also suggest eating probiotics- the data coming out on the gut/brain connection is really quite compelling, and home-made saurkraut/kimchi/preserved lemons/kombucha is actually dead-easy to make if you're interested, and can be a nice 'Wow, you made that?!' confidence boost.

Books that helped me learn:

• Enter the Kettlebell by Pavel
  
  
• The Well Fed books you're already looking for
  
  
• The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
  
  
• Becoming a Supple Leopard by Dr. Kelly Starrett
  
  
• The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz

I'm a bit of a cookbook junkie, so I have a bunch to recommend. I'm interpreting this as "good cookbooks from cuisines in Asia" so there are some that are native and others that are from specific restaurants in the US, but I would consider these legit both in terms of the food and the recipes/techniques. Here are a few of my favorites:


Pan-Asian

• Asian Dumplings - the masterpiece on all things dumpling
  
• Asian American - Dale Talde's (Top Chef) book with lots of Asian cultures' food in the US
  
• Asian Pickles - pickles and fermented foods from throughout Asia
  
• Lucky Rice - recipes from the Asian festival of the same name
  
• The Asian Grandmother's Cookbook - traditional cooking passed down to American cooks
  
  Burmese
  
  
• Burma:Rivers of Flavor - good focus on difference in Burmese cuisine from other regional
  
  Cambodian
  
  
• Num Pang - Cambodian sandwich restaurant in NYC
  
• Cambodian Cooking - GREAT book on Cambodian cuisine, supporting refugees
  
  Chinese
  
  
• Ken Hom Complete Chinese Cookbook - great primer for cooking Chinese food using ingredients commonly available in US
  
• China Moon - classic SF Chinese restaurant food
  
• Feeding the Dragon - modern culinary journey through all of China
  
• Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking - omnibus focused on the home chef
  
• Breath of a Wok - focus on wok technique at home
  
• Every Grain of Rice - wonderful Sichuan food for home cooks
  
  Indian
  
  
• Madhur Jaffrey Indian Cooking - actually, any of her cookbooks are wonderful for Indian cooking
  
• Savour Mumbai - looks at Indian cuisine as a melting pot in Mumbai
  
• The Indian Family Cookbook - modern South Indian food
  
• Indian Harvest - Vikas Khanna's family cookbook
  
• Made in India - classic Indian food, from street to home
  
  Indonesia
  
  
• The Food of Indonesia - everything you need for a rijstaffel!
  
  Japanese
  
  
• Japanese Farm Food - authentic rural Japanese cooking
  
• Preserving the Japanese Way - how to make awesome Japanese pickled vegetables
  
• Sushi Chef - not strictly speaking a cookbook, but "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" book in English
  
• The Japanese Grill - authentic hibachi and Japanese grill recipes
  
• Japanese Comfort Food - lots of traditional Japanese recipes
  
• Nanban - Japanese "soul food"
  
• Tokyo Cult Recipes - hip modern urban food from Tokyo
  
• Yum Yum Bento Boxes - updated modern take on bento boxes
  
• Ivan Ramen - traditional ramen for a Western audience
  
• Izakaya - traditional Japanese pub food & small plates
  
• Nikkei - emigrant Japanese food culture in South America
  
• Donabe - traditional Japanese hot pot recipes
  
• Kyotofu - very unique Japanese dessert cookbook
  
  Korean
  
  
• K Food - modern take on Korean street food
  
• Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking - great resource for Korean cooking in a non-pro kitchen
  
• Traditional Food - omnibus of four regions of Korean food
  
• Koreatown - authentic, approachable guide to Korean food in a US context
  
• Smoke & Pickles - Edward Lee's fusion of his Korean heritage and southern barbeque
  
• The Kimchi Cookbook - many, many recipes for kimchi...
  
  Malaysian
  
  
• Malaysian Cooking - good overview of Malay cooking
  
  Middle Eastern
  
  
• The New Persian Kitchen - modern Iranian food
  
• Ottolenghi - Israeli-Palestinian collaboration
  
• Persiana - dynamic modern recipes from throughout the Middle East
  
• Zahav - modern Israeli food
  
• Sweet Middle East - traditional and modern desserts
  
  Philippine
  
  
• Filipino Homestyle Dishes - good intro to classic Filipino dishes
  
  Russian
  
  
• Mamushka - focus on Ukraine
  
  Sri Lankan
  
  
• Hidden Kitchens of Sri Lanka - beautiful photo-cookbook on Sri Lankan cuisine
  
  Taiwanese
  
  
• The Food of Taiwan - um... food... from Taiwan
  
  Thailand
  
  
• Nong's Thai Kitchen - she beat Bobby Flay in pad thai
  
• Pok Pok - Portland's most AWESOME Asian restaurant
  
  Turkish
  
  
• Istanbul:Recipes from the Heart of Turkey - lovely focus on urban Turkish food
  
• Anatolia - wonderful approachable approach to Turkish cuisine
  
• Essential Turkish Cuisine - focus on history and evolution of Turkish food
  
  Vietnamese
  
  
• The Slanted Door - great Vietnamese restaurant cookbook
  
• Vietnamese Market Cookbook - focus on simple Vietnamese from fresh ingredients
  
• Into the Vietnamese Kitchen - traditional Vietnamese home cooking
  
• The Banh Mi Cookbook - the greatest sandwich in the world!
  
• Vietnamese Home Cooking - another great overview
  
  (edit: screwed up a couple links)

> Where do you suggest learning this? What do you think of my idea of hiring a culinary student to give me private lessons?

In nearly 10 years of professional cooking I have never met a culinary student with hands. Unfortunately, I cannot explain it more than having the right attitude, with there "always being room for improvement" and "oh he's asian." My first chef and cooking job told me I had "heritage knife skills." You are on the right track with Shun and simply wanting it. I can post some demo videos eventually, when I sober up and have more in my pantry than onions (I work ~80 a week between two kitchens, I don't eat much at home).

> I don't have any friends who work in the food industry, where would you suggest meeting such a person (similar question as above)? I would buy a whetstone, but I have no idea how to use it properly. Also, most of my knives are from Shun, and I know they have a service where you can send them off to get them sharpened for free. I haven't done this yet (knife set is pretty new). Would you suggest this?

Shun is good people, but I resharpen my knifes everyday for use in a professional kitchen, with volume ranging from cutting three bunches of celery to 100 lbs of onions on top of service--I don't like to play with dull knives. And it is a skill you never really lose, though I wore a hole in my finger the last time I sharpened knives, but I sharpened knives for the entire staff and was fairly drunk at the time--maybe you shouldn't be friends with us, unless you like waking up to a pile of dishes and beer cans in the morning... Once again, I would be willing to sharpening technique on youtube, but I'm certain there are videos of it there, "Japanese knife sharpening."

> I enjoy cooking and I absolutely find it cathartic and meditative. However, I have time constraints. I have a job, hobbies, chores, occasional medical problems that sap my energy, and I have to cook ALL my meals. I feel like I spend too long prepping vegetables as it is now. I realize for some recipes that getting perfect cuts is important, but 90% of the time, I would like to just go faster. Do you have any tips for this?

For me, speed come with knife sharpness and monopolizing a single cut. So if you have to julienne a ton of onions, do not try to do one at a time, cut them in half, clean/peel them all, then focus on the julienne so you are repeating the same motions over and over vs attempting different angles and having to move finished product into a container or off the cutting board.

> One major thing I have going for me is that I have great resources in terms of grocery and kitchen options.

>I'm not sure if you are familiar with the Seattle area, but we have an amazing variety of grocery stores/markets here. There is a farmers market every day, Pike Place market, Amazon Fresh (delivery), multiple organic co-ops, Costco, multiple Asian grocery stores, specialty international food stores, Cost Plus World Market, Whole Foods, upscale grocery stores, regular grocery stores, etc. etc. I can get pretty much any ingredient. The problem with most of the produce is that it might be sprayed with the pesticide that I am allergic to. CSAs only work if the produce comes exclusively from certain farmers that don't use this pesticide. When that stuff is in season, I buy huge quantities directly from the farmer and load up my chest freezer.

This makes me happy, but I was happy anyways since I had a few after work. In terms of recommended reading, I suggest looking into pickling assuming you are not allergic to citrus, even so you can probably still use refined vitamin C. Here are three pickling Amazon links: Balls. Can. Ferment, sorry, couldn't resist the urge.

Something else I borrowed off one of my ECs: On food and cooking, Harold McGee.

Another to add to your library: Food lover's Companion

Food is great in that it is a kinesthetic science, a lot of great cooks are also great "scientists" they just don't know it, they are just doing it by "feel, taste and smell." This is where organization and precision come in--know your objective/hypothesis and continue with experiment procedure from there, speed is a measurement: how long, how fast, etc, etc. "If you don't measure you cannot improve." I feel like recipes are more or less, just successful lab reports.

Since you mentioned vegetarianism I feel like I can discuss my on and off relationship with veganity. I do try to build muscle from time to time and so it is hard for me to ignore the nutrient/protein density of tasty decaying animal flesh. But generally in terms of vegetables and fruit there are few exceptions to them having more benefits apart from them being consumed raw: namely Goitrogens.

So this may lead you, as well as it lead me for a time to a "raw/vegan" diet. I dunno though, I get stuck between it and "Paleo" and sometimes just eating raw meat--I cannot tell if I am just becoming lazier as a cook or if I am making strides my personal health.

Back onto topic of sorts:

> My kitchen is already pretty good. I have a nice gas stove, which I feel makes a big difference. We are planning a remodel to enlarge the kitchen.

Hrmm, I am at odds with enlarging for the sake of "bettering," I feel like you can get away with great results with little space and a little ingenuity, but with great precision. I have a portable induction cook-top, a juicer, a blender and a shitty built-in electric range/stove, just missing a dehydrator, PID temperature controlled water bath, a blow torch, vacuum sealer and I wouldn't be too far from a NY test kitchen--I feel like I could feed a hundred people, no problem without using the electric ranges: it comes down to organization. You are one person, trying to feed yourself and your family at any given time, make prep easier for yourself by doing much of it at once or at least eliminating a step or two, prep for half the week or prep for the next step, for example: celery--strip all of it away from the root, throw it in water and save it for later, this keeps it springy and passively washes it; I was taught a long time ago to not drain root vegetables but rather pull them from a bath of water, in that the dirt sinks and stays at the bottom rather than being agitated and back on the vegetables after straining; then you can come back to cut it in any variety you wish. I've kind of made a habit out of bathing veggies vs spraying/rinsing, of course there are exceptions, things that you will peel anyways, that spot of dirt that needs scrubbed and that we need "RIGHT NOW."

The problem I have with recipes is the objectivity in creating "the dish," most of the time, my creations or "specials" come from leftovers or something that is on the verge of being completely useless. Simplicity is king. At my one restaurant we had some black beans that were starting to smell fruity (which is normal, but no one had a planned use for them), a few onions and peppers, some spices, a quick roast then blend with some lemon juice/vinegar and we had a black bean salsa, which I tried to pair with some fish and roasted tomatoes but everyone just wanted the salsa with chips--whatever, I'm Asian, I don't know.

So rather than filling your refrigerator with a dozen half eaten dishes, fill your refrigerator with an endless possibility of dishes: prepped greens for salads; portioned meats for cooking; pickled items for accoutrements, garnishments or just adding that extra acidity; gutted/peeled veggies or fruit--you picking up what I'm laying down?

From there you can experiment with single servings: a celery leaf salad--balsamic vinegar, pickled radish, mustard greens, olive oil, crushed red, salt, julienned carrots, diced red onion and toss in a soft boiled duck egg if you feel the urge. Professional cooking is just a hodgepodge of "stone soup" that everyone has grown to like and accept, everyone has something to add and or learn from.

Restaurant dishes are designed to sell. Try to keep in mind the overt commercialization and not take the small successes you have in just enjoying a simple salad with some boiled eggs, while not getting sick, for granted. Good health tastes great, don't let anyone tell you hard boiled eggs and some celery sticks isn't a meal--"It is until I eat again!"

Speed is just an increase in efficiency in carrying out the procedure. You'll get it, just know what you want and are doing first, then be deliberate. I'll help out best I can.

> Molecular Gastronomy

It helps to not call it that. It's misleading and doesn't describe what's being done. Most in the industry shy away from that phrase. Modernist cuisine is more accepted these days.

As for modernist chefs, others have mentioned Blumenthal. I'll list a few for you to look into:

• Ferran Adria is the grandfather of the entire movement, and is extremely open with sharing his knowledge with the world. He's done some lectures for the Harvard food and science lecture series. You can find videos on youtube from past years. (From my recommended list for you, I think all but Daniel Humm have done the lecture series at some point.)
  
• Grant Achatz is known for it as well. His creations are definitely a little more out there and conceptual, but utterly stunning to experience. One of the most fun meals I've ever had. If you're ever in Chicago, a meal at Alinea is worth going for if you've got the cash. Do make sure to swing by Aviary (also by Achatz) for drinks and bites, whether you go to Alinea or not. Drinks are each very unique and all good across the board. Don't miss out on the bites. (FWIW Chicago seems to be a city that's open to experimentation, so there's a few other places that do modernist food in town that aren't bad.)
  
• Jose Andres worked under Adria for a bit, but has been doing his own thing in the US. He pays homage to his roots, and does some great tapas. He's got a few locations across the States, so might be worth seeking out. I've only been to The Bazaar in LA/BevHills. Let me know if you want to know more about the food there, since I personally believe there are some things that you must get there, along with some that are good but not as interesting.
  
• Daniel Humm's Eleven Madison Park is also amazing, and worthy alternative to Alinea if NYC is easier. There's definitely differences, but worth seeking out. I haven't been, but I've heard very good things and it's on my list for the next trip to NYC.
  
• Wylie Dufresne of wd~50 is also interesting (NYC but closing soon IIRC due to location issues; may reopen or do other stuff at some point). He uses modernist techniques in an almost invisible way, where something may seem, smell, or taste normal, but it's actually made using something else entirely.
  
  I'm obviously missing a ton of chefs. Due to the history of El Bulli/Adria, there's a lot of modernist cuisine in various places in Spain. The above is by no means comprehensive, but just what I'm remembering off the top of my head as an American.
  
  But on modernist cuisine, the real exceptional chefs are the ones that use them as tools in their trade, instead of doing modernist techniques just for the sake of them. I've had way too many meals where they'd have a component of a dish where they probably thought it'd be cool and hip, but ended up adding absolutely nothing to the dish (Foams are a big problem here).
  
  For modernist cuisine, it really helps to go out to eat and experience it for yourself. Trying to execute without having experienced it is like trying to play Beethoven without any experience hearing it played by others before. This will actually likely be a small price to pay, given the $$$$$ you'll be sinking into equipment. When dining, feel free to ask questions. Waiters at most of these fine dining-ish establishments will know their shit, and will go ask the cooks/chef if they don't know the answer off-hand.
  
  There's also a lot of reading to be done, and you'll end up with just techniques to apply. But with it, you'll be able to do amazing things. For books, The Bible here is Modernist Cuisine, the 50-lb, 6 volume, 2400 page behemoth (at $500, again cheap compared to equipment). You can sometimes find it in libraries if the price tag is an issue. Don't skip to the recipes. Read each one cover to cover (and possibly in order), because learning the science behind everything is more important than following recipes.
  
  You won't find much video, because modernist stuff just isn't food-porn friendly. You tend to not have food sizzling on a hot pan and such. A lot of modernist cuisine is done with extreme restraint and focus, and frequently the results are way more interesting in the mouth than visually.
  
  But really, modernist cuisine is a means to an end. They're using it as a tool to create an experience that likely isn't possible using traditional means. But, the important thing is the experience, and not how it was technically achieved.

Well, I'm half-Chinese. I'll give you two cookbook recommendations which are full of recipes which really resonate with that part of my background:

• Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. While I'm generally not big on Chinese cookbooks not specializing in one or two regional cuisines, this book gets a pass because it's so organized and pedantic. It builds itself up from simple to complex and includes recipes which build on each other. It also features a large section on ingredients. An additional pro is that it includes the Chinese characters which makes it easier to find the proper product at your Asian grocer. I love it so much that I lugged this book to Taiwan with me and used it as my cooking guide/reference.
  
• Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop. Of all the regional Chinese cuisines with which I have experience, I love the multi-layered flavors of Sichuan the most. It was through Dunlop's book that I first discovered this magnificent cuisine and it encouraged me to discover some of the Sichuanese restaurants in the Bay Area. Instructions are clear and she does a great job bringing Sichanese food to life. An absolute must own if you are at all interested in regional Chinese food. Her book on Hunanese food is also pretty killer.
  
  In addition to the aforementioned Chinese food, I'm just a fat piggy who loves to eat. Here are a few more recs:
  
  
• Thai Food by David Thompson. This is the bible of Thai food for English speakers. It's nearly 700 pages long and not a page is wasted on fluff. It's more than just a cookbook, it's a anthropological study on Thai people, their history and the way they eat. An immense book. If you are more into pictures, check out his book on Thai Street Food.
  
• Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen. This was the book that really unlocked Vietnamese food for me. I adore how many fresh herbs/veggies are used and how it creates a complex, yet light, cuisine. And don't get me wrong when I say light...it's as full flavored as can be, but without heaviness. In the interim since this book came out, others have showed up on the market which are as good (see Charles Phan's recent book), but Nguyen's book will always have a special place in my heart.
  
• ad hoc at home by Thomas Keller. Thomas Keller is arguably the most important American chef of the past 20 years, so when he turns his sights on homestyle food, you can be sure it's done with correct technique and style. While this book isn't as notable as TFL cookbook or his sorta primer on sous vide cooking, I'm including it because it has recipes which people will actually use. Unparallelled technique, good recipes and delicious food equal a winning cookbook. One note: it's not dumbed down and some of the recipes take time, but everything I've ever made from it has been great.
  
• Alinea by Grant Achatz. {Disclaimer: I worked for Grant Achatz for a couple of years.} Everyone should own at least one cookbook which is completely out of reach, but serves to inspire. When you flip through this book, your jaw will drop and you will wonder, multiple times, "WTF?!?!?!" It's an amazing testament to how open and possible American cuisine is at the moment and you'll do yourself well to flip through it. Additionally, the photographs and the book itself are phenomenal. The paper, in particular, is well worth the price of admission. It's sexy shit, yo.
  
  Feel free to drop me a line if you need more recommendations. I've got quite the cookbook collection (I love to cook, it's not just cookbook porn) and love to share my thoughts.

Not sure the discipline of paleontology is really geared to answer that question... [EDIT] Most fossils I've tasted are tough, a bit salty and frankly too gritty to be on my foodie shortlist.

There's a few factors that goes into meat flavour and texture:

• Fast twitch vs slow twitch muscles determines how 'red' meat is - that is how much myoglobin it has. Birds that fly a lot have red breast meat when compared to birds that fly only in emergencies. For example, compare the breasts of pigeon (red) and chicken (white). This also works with fish: continuously fast moving fish meat tends to red, meaty flavours (eg tuna) vs most fish that have basically white flesh, but have a red triangle of muscle along the dorsal line like hamachi. Ambush hunters like the crocodile are immobile almost all the time, so their meat is more like chicken breast.
  
• Muscles that are continuously exercised are loaded with connective tissue and are tough. Muscles rarely exercised are tender. Compare shin, shank and shoulder cuts (tough) with fillet steak (tender).
  
• Cooking technique - fast and hot vs slow and cool(er). Tender cuts can be cooked hot and fast (grill, fry) and be excellent as long as the internal temperature stays below the mid 60s (°C) otherwise you are in well-done territory [EDIT] and that is the 'stringy' texture in OPs question. Tough cuts should be cooked for a long time to break connective fibres to gelatine making the meat juicy and soft. For tough cuts, temperature can go up into the 70s without necessarily making the meat dry. Think southern BBQ and sous vide ribs. Tender cuts are typically less flavourful/meaty than tough cuts. Chicken thighs need cooking longer than chicken breast, so getting a perfect roast chicken, with moist breast and tender thighs is hard.
  
• Impact of diet. What the animal eats can influence flavour heavily. Corn-fed and grass-fed cattle taste different, with grass-fed being a stronger, meatier taste. Free-range chickens are gamier than factory birds. Water fowl and crocodile tastes a bit 'fishy'. Pigeon and quail more gamey. Traditionally, pheasants and other birds were left to 'hang' (with guts in) in a cool but not refrigerated environment until the meat 'matures' and the tail feather fall out. This fermentation is the main reason for really gamey taste. Personally, I hate it and feel there are too many 'off' flavours. [EDIT] the really fishy smell of not-quite-fresh fish is TMA, caused by the (I think, bacterial) breakdown of proteins in the fish. I am not referring to this off-flavour when I mean fishy.
  
• Seasonality: Animals in areas with cold winters tend to lay down fat in autumn to help the animal survive to spring. There's a strong preference to eating those animals in autumn when the fat content (and thus flavour) is the highest. Higher fat content allows more cooking techniques to be used, and allows the meat to be cooked hotter while remaining moist and tender. Hunting seasons are mostly in the autumn.
  
  So, with Leaellynasaurus, we essentially have a wild turkey-like animal in a highly seasonal environment, eating plants in a non-aquatic environment. Hunt them near polar winter to maximise their yummy fat.
  
  As non-farmed animal, its major muscle groups on its rear legs got a huge workout - its legs would be best for braising and stewing and would be rich, meaty and a bit gamey. Its shoulders and forelimbs a lot less, and so would be more chicken-breast-like, but smaller in proportion. Some small, fried pieces like the Japaneae karaage might be nice.
  
  [EDIT] On reflection, the tail might produce both the greatest challenge when cooking Leaellynasaurus, but also the greatest opportunity. The tail - one of the largest dinosaur tails relative to body size - is full of connective tissue, making poorly cooked tail as chewy as tough jerky and less palatable. However, cooked 48-72 hours at 75°C sous vide, it would be like the best ox-tail stew - juicy, tender and incredibly rich in flavour. It could take some really strong herbs and spices to really up the richness into the stratosphere.
  
  This is just my best guess as a cook who's read the excellent On Food and Cooking. I'd say, give Leaellynasaura meat a try if you can, although finding a restaurant for such a delicacy is pretty hard these days.

I am in the same position you are in. Love cooking, no formal training, but love the science, theory and art behind it all. I have a few books that I find to be indispensable.

• How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything: Vegetarian by Mark Bittman are two of my favorite recipe books. Loads of pretty simple recipes, lots of suggestions for modifications, and easy to modify yourself. Covers a bit of technique and flavor tips, but mostly recipes.
  
  
• CookWise by Shirley Corriher (the food science guru for Good Eats!) - great book that goes much more into the theory and science behind food and cooking. Lots of detailed info broken up nicely and then provides recipes to highlight the information discussed. Definitely a science book with experiments (recipes) added in to try yourself.
  
  
• Professional Baking and Professional Cooking by Wayne Gissen - Both of these books are written like textbooks for a cooking class. Filled with tons of conversion charts, techniques, processes, and detailed food science info. Has recipes, but definitely packed with tons of useful info.
  
  
• The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters - this is not much on theory and more recipes, but after using many of the recipes in this book and reading between the lines a great deal, this taught me a lot about how great food doesn't require tons of ingredients. Many foods and flavors highlight themselves when used and prepared very simply and this really shifted my perspective from overworking and overpreparing dishes to keeping things simple and letting the food speak for itself.
  
  And mentioned in other threads, Cooking for Geeks is a great book too, On Food and Cooking is WONDERFUL and What Einstein Told His Chef is a great read as well. Modernist Cuisine is REALLY cool but makes me cry when I see the price.

I see some good advice people have already given you.

Here's mine:

1. Read recipes just for the sake of reading them: If you take pleasure in cooking, then reading recipes will be fun as well. Even if you don't make them, it gives you some general knowledge about cooking and different processes. It's a bit like picking up another language by watching movies or listening to music. Every bit helps. I have some cookbooks on my nightstand.
   
   
2. Books and resources I highly recommend:
   
   Buzzfeed's food section - lots of good advice and recipes there, amazing walkthroughs and tutorials, too, for all levels
   
   Epicurious's Quick and Easy Section
   
   Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals Jamie Oliver has a book and series out, showing you how to make an entire meal in 30 minutes. Sure, I think it might take you about an hour instead of 30 minutes, if you're new to cooking, but this series is geared towards simplicity and speed, while not making any compromises when it comes to cooking. The food IS delicious indeed. It's also full of great food hacks, useful even for advanced cooks. Get the book, I recommend it. (He also has another one, Jamie's 15 minute meals, with even simpler ones)
   
   Nigel Slater's Real Food and/or Appetite Two great books which show you how to cook simple, basic things at home, with a great twist. Bonus points: The guy is an amazing writer.
   
   Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything This one is a classic. Get it.
   
   Mark Bittman also has a famous series on youtube for the NYT here Check it out
   
   
   
3. Clean your workspace and prep your meal before you begin cooking. It will save you lots of time and frustration.
   
   
4. Clean as you go along. Nothing is more frustrating than cluttering your kitchen with dirty bowls and utensils until you have no space to move around. You spill something? Wipe it now.
   
   
5. Taste your food as you cook it. Goes without saying that you don't taste things like raw chicken until it's cooked, but taste and adjust seasonings always.
   
   
6. Master the basics first. I'd recommend mastering simple things like cooking eggs, grilled cheese, soups, pasta first. Then move on to more complex things, like doughs, etc.
   
   
7. Don't be afraid of herbs and spices. Read up on what the basic classic combinations are, then go crazy and experiment. You'll get the hang of it soon enough.
   
   
8. Eat what you've made, even if it isn't great, and think about how you can improve it next time. Is the bread too tough? Maybe you've added more flour than needed. Too bland? Add more salt next time, etc.
   
   
9. If you go into baking, be extremely careful with substitutions. Baking is an exact science, unlike cooking (mostly), so it's not very forgiving to swapping ingredients at leisure.
   
   
10. Weigh your ingredients (esp. when baking)
    
    
11. ENJOY and share your food with the people you love
    

tl;dr: Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything is the best cookbook to get as a beginner, because we expect international and vegetarian recipes along with the old meat and potatoes standards. More subjective reasoning follows below.

I think one of the most important things when selecting a universal cookbook early on is the quality, yet simplicity of the recipes, and how well things are explained. If you make something, as a beginner, you need to know it is going to turn out good, so when you return to the same cookbook later, you are confident the next recipe will be as high of quality. It is also nice to get compliments from others on your cooking, and a well made cookbook can assure this.

Julia Child's cookbooks are certainly of a very high quality, but French cuisine is not suited for beginners, or even novices, IMO. The Joy of Cooking has an enduring legacy brought from its quality of recipes and consistency, and is great for those mainstay dishes that haven't changed in 100 years (Silver Palate Cookbook, Fannie Farmer Cookbook are others in the Joy of Cooking realm). The problem is, tastes have changed since Joy of Cooking came out. It managed to incorporate the introduction of a few international food crazes into its pages, namely Italian and French. The Chinese it incorporates (eg. Chow Mein, etc) are nothing like what we expect from Chinese food today. Let alone Thai, Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Mediterranean, and so on. We Americans today have a much more different palate (fresh/local, international, vegetarian, etc) than what the Joy of Cooking incorporated, even in its most updated versions.

Therefore, I nominate a new Joy of Cooking, for modern times. Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. It hits every one of my barometers for a perfect cookbook. Delicious, easy recipes, of high quality. It is very dense in terms of number of recipes per page (not one recipe, with its photo on the facing page), yet easy to read, because one recipe is accompanied by 3-5+ variations to greatly modify it (eg. rice pilaf recipe, becomes Mexican rice, becomes whole grain pilaf, etc). Everything, from technique, to selecting vegetables/meats/etc., to improvising basics a la Alton Brown is covered. The recipes cover a wide gamut, from vegetarian/vegan, to international cuisines across the globe, to the mainstay standards (with interesting variations to improve/change them). And EVERY single recipe I have made for someone else has garnered wonderful compliments, and has been the best I have made to date.

Okay. Welcome to the wonderful world of chemistry and fire that results in yummy! Hopefully this is going to be a nice, little primer for the absolute essentials for a working kitchen.

The equipment you absolutely must have:

A 10" skillet. Thick-bottomed (the thin ones just warp and get unusable)

An 8" skillet. Sometimes you've gotta cook two things at once.

A quart pot, with lid. A second one is a smart idea, but it can wait.

A spatula.

A wooden spoon.

A liquid measuring cup. I'd get a 2-cup one first, and a 4-cup one later.

Measuring cups. Don't try to get away with measuring liquids with your dry cups. It always ends in tears.

Measuring spoons.

The New Best Recipe. It's like The Joy of Cooking, except more comprehensive, based on the chemical science of food, and half the price. Also, the recipes are frickin' DYNAMITE.

A quality 8" chef's knife. This is a great first knife, and will last you many happy years. I know the 6" one is cheaper. Trust me--you'll be glad for the bigger knife in the long run.

TWO cutting boards of a reasonable size. Mark one as being for raw meat only.

A pair of tongs.

A vegetable peeler

Your basic cooking staples that go into making more or less everything:

Salt.

Pepper

Garlic powder. NOT Garlic salt.

Chili powder

Oil. Olive Oil tastes better, but Canola is more forgiving to learn on.

A cheap-ass bottle of Cabernet. Some of your food's chemical compounds are alcohol-soluble, but not water-soluble. A little cheap booze will liberate them.

Onions

Canned tomatoes. I go with diced. No salt added is a plus.

Flour. All purpose is good.

Sugar

Eggs

Rice

Milk

Boneless/Skinless chicken. Breasts or thighs, your choice.

Chicken stock. The granulated or powdered stuff keeps well and is easier to work with than the cubes.

So, I'll get to a starter recipe in a minute, but before I do, I want to talk about a couple of kitchen axioms before we get there. Follow these guidelines across the board and you'll have an easy time of things.

Read the whole recipe before you start cooking. Always! Every time! Seriously! You'll fuck it up otherwise!

When you're cooking on the stove, if you think you're at the right temperature, decrease the heat. The most basic screw-up is cooking your food at too high a heat.

Never, ever, ever cut raw meat on the same cutting board as anything else. You'll make yourself and others sick.

Do your prep work before you start to actually cook. That means cut your veggies, measure your spices and liquids, and so forth.

Keep your knife razor-sharp. Most kitchen injuries come as a result of dull knives. If it feels like you have to work to cut something, your knife needs to be steeled (don't worry about it for now) or sharpened.

Clean your gear as soon as you're done eating.

The chef's knife NEVER goes in the dishwasher. Dish detergent will screw up your blade.

And now, a recipe to get you started: Parmesan Chicken Risotto.

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast, thawed and patted dry with paper towels.

2 Tablespoons of oil

3/4 Cup of rice

1 cup of chicken broth

1/4 cup of cooking wine

1/2 cup of SHREDDED Parmesan. The grated stuff doesn't work quite right.

1 onion, diced fine.

2 teaspoons of garlic powder.

A carrot, peeled and chopped fine.

1 teaspoon of dried thyme. You can skip this if you really have to, but it's better with.

Salt & pepper, to taste.

Step 1: Put a tablespoon of oil in a quart pot and turn your stovetop to medium-high (a 7, at most). When the oil looks kind of shimmery, but isn't smoking, put the chicken breast in. Let it sit and cook for about 6 minutes. Flip it over with a pair of tongs, and give it another 6 minutes. Take it out and set it aside for now.

Step 2: Turn the heat down to medium-low (like, 3 or 4) and take the pot off of the heat. Let the pot cool down some, then add the other tablespoon of rice. Once it's warmed up, add in your onions and garlic powder, and stir to combine well. Once the sizzling sound has died down, put the pot back on your burner and cook for 8 minutes. If the onion starts to brown at all, take it off the heat and let it cool down. You're looking for translucent white onions with no browning at all. (BTW: This is called sweating, and it's a fundamental cooking technique. Learn it and practice it, because it's the key to almost any dish you cook with onions, celery, peppers, garlic, and a wide variety of other vegetables.)

Step 3: Add in the thyme, carrot, and the rice, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Scrape up the brown stuff on the bottom of the pan that's leftover from the chicken. It's tasty. Cook the rice for about 3 minutes, stirring very frequently, but not all the time.

Step 4: Add the brother and wine, and stir to make sure that no rice is sticking to the bottom of the pan. Lid the pot, bring to a slow boil over slightly higher heat (4, or 5 at the most), and set a timer for 10 minutes. Stir it three times during the 10 minutes.

Step 5: Put the chicken breast on top of the cooking rice, put the lid back on, and set the timer for 15 minutes. Stir it four times during this period. Move the chicken around as needed.

Step 6: Take the pot off the heat, remove the chicken, and stir the Parmesan into the rice. Take two forks and shred the chicken, then put that into the rice. Let it sit for a couple of minutes for the cheese to melt and everything to come down from scaldingly-hot to pleasantly warm.

Step 7: Eat.

Basically gonna echo most of the answers already posted, but just to pile on:

• 8" chef's knife. 10" is longer than may be comfortable and 12" is longer than necessary, but 7" may start to feel a little short if she's ever slicing large melon or squash. I'm a casual knife nerd and I have knives by Wusthof, Victorinox, Shun and Mac. My favorite.
  
  
• This Dutch oven. Enameled and cast iron just like the Le Creuset that a few other comments have mentioned, but much, much cheaper. I own two and they're both great. I also have the non-enameled version for baking bread, but I don't recommend it for general use unless you're a Boy Scout. Here's an entertaingly-written blog post comparing the Lodge vs. Le Creuset in a short rib cookoff.
  
  
• This cutting board and this cutting board conditioner. The importance of an easy and pleasant to use prep surface can't be overstated. I'm listing this third on purpose; this is one of the most important things your kitchen can have. A recipe that calls for a lot of chopping is no fun when you're fighting for counter space to do the chopping, or doing it on a shitty plastic board.
  
  
• A cheap scale and a cheap thermometer. Seriously, these are as important as the cutting board.
  
  
• Just gonna crib this one right off /u/Pobe420 and say cheapo 8–10" (I recommend 10–12" but that's my preference) nonstick skillet. One note I'd add is that pans with oven-safe handles are a bit more dual-purpose than pans with plastic or rubberized handles. You can't finish a pork chop in the oven in a skillet with a rubberized handle. But one could say you shouldn't be cooking a pork chop on a nonstick pan to begin with. The important thing is to keep this one cheap: you're going to be replacing it every couple of years, there's no getting around that. For my money $30 or less, and $30 is pretty expensive for these things.
  
  
  

• Cookbooks
  

  Nothing inspires cooking like a good cookbook collection. The great news about cookbooks is that they're often bought as gifts or souvenirs and they make their way onto the used market cheap and in great condition. Here are my suggestions for a great starter shelf:
  
  

1. The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt. I kind of hate that this is my number one recommendation, but I don't know your wife and I do know J. Kenji López-Alt. This one is brand new so you're unlikely to find it used and cheap, but as a catch-all recommendation it has to take first place. Moving on to the cheap stuff:
   
   
2. Regional French Cooking by Paul Bocuse. This is possibly the friendliest authoritative book on French food out there, and a hell of a lot easier to just dive into than Julia Child (Julia is the expert, and her book is an encyclopedia). Bocuse is the undisputed king of nouvelle cuisine and people like Eric Ripert and Anthony Bourdain (so maybe a generation ahead of you and I) came from him. Paul Bocuse is French food as we know it, and yet this book—an approachable, coffee-table sized thing—still has a recipe for fucking mac and cheese. It's outstanding.
   
   
3. Theory & Practice / The New James Beard by James Beard. These will completely cover your entire library of American cooking. Nothing else needed until you get region-specific. When you do, go for something like this.
   
   
4. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. When she died, the NYT ran a second obituary that was just her recipe for bolognese.
   
   
5. Christ, top five. Who gets 5th? I'm going with From Curries To Kebabs by Madhur Jaffrey. Don't get bamboozled into buying "Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Bible" which is the same book, repackaged and priced higher. You want the one with the hot pink dust jacket, it's unmistakeable. This is one of those end-all books that you could cook out of for the rest of your life. It covers almost every diet and almost every country that Beard and Bocuse don't.
   
   
6. Honorable mentions: Here come the downvotes. Pok Pok by Andy Ricker. If you're American and you want to cook Thai, this is the one. Ten Speed Press can go home now. The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Rosen (so close to making the list). I shouldn't need to say much about this; it's the book of diasporic Jewish food, which means it covers a lot of time and almost every possible country. It's a no-brainer. Thai Food by David Thompson (a perfect oral history of Thai food for English speakers, only it doesn't include Pok Pok's precise measurements, which in practice I've found important). Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish. Not for someone who just wants to become a baker, this book is for someone who wants to make Ken Forkish's bread. And for a casual bread baker I can't imagine a better introduction. Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table by Mai Pham. Andrea Nguyen is out there and Andrea Nguyen is awesome, but I really like Mai Pham's book. It's accessible, reliable and regional. You don't get the dissertation-level breakdown on the origins of chicken pho that you get from Andrea, but the recipe's there, among many others, and it's fucking outstanding. Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. This vegan cookbook is dope as hell and will really expand your imagination when it comes to vegetables. This could actually have been number five.

This is going to be the opposite of what you want to hear. But, you asked for it and I respect that. I think that there's no substitute for going about this old school and traditionally. The good news is that you can mostly do this for yourself, by yourself.

If you're disinclined (due to time or for another reason) to enroll in a culinary program get yourself either The Professional Chef or Martha Stewart's Cooking School

I know what you're thinking, "Martha Stewart? What am I? A housewife from Iowa?" Fuck that. I've been fortunate to have met and worked with Martha Stewart she's smart enough to know what she doesn't know and that particular book was actually written by a CIA alum and very closely follows the first year or so that you'd get in a program like that. It starts with knife work and then moves on to stocks and sauces. This particular book has actually been criticized as being too advance for people who have no idea what they're doing so, despite appearances, it may be perfect for you. If you want to feel more pro and go a little deeper, get the CIA text but know that it's more or less the same info and frankly, the pictures in the MSO book are really great. Plus, it looks like Amazon has them used for $6 bucks.

These resources will show you HOW to do what you want and they follow a specific, traditional track for a reason. Each thing that you learn builds on the next. You learn how to use your knife. Then, you practice your knife work while you make stocks. Then, you start to learn sauces in which to use your stocks. Etc. Etc. Etc. Almost like building flavors... It's all part of the discipline and you'll take that attention to detail into the kitchen with you and THAT'S what makes great food.

Then, get either Culinary Artistry or The Flavor Bible (Both by Page and Dornenburg. Also consider Ruhlman's Ratio (a colleague of mine won "Chopped" because she memorized all the dessert ratios in that book) and Segnit's Flavor Thesaurus. These will give you the "where" on building flavors and help you to start to express yourself creatively as you start to get your mechanics and fundamentals down.

Now, I know you want the fancy science stuff so that you can throw around smarty pants things about pH and phase transitions and heat transfer. So...go get Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking THAT is the bible. When the people who run the Ferran Adria class at Harvard have a question, it's not Myhrvold that they call up, it's Harold McGee. While Modernist Cuisine always has a long, exciting complicated solution to a problem I didn't even know I had, when I really want to know what the fuck is going on, I consult McGee and you will too, once you dig in.

Another one to consider which does a great job is the America's Test Kitchen Science of Good Cooking this will give you the fundamental "why's" or what's happening in practical situations and provides useful examples to see it for yourself.

Honestly, if someone came to me and asked if they should get MC or McGee and The Science of Good Cooking and could only pick one and never have the other, I'd recommend the McGee / ATK combo everyday of the week and twice on Tuesdays.

Good luck, dude. Go tear it up!

When I started out, I relied most of the Fannie Farmer cookbook, to be honest, but something like The Joy of Cooking, Bittman's How To Cook Everything or Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for the Food would be good, too. Joy is classic, simple recipes with clear instructions, aimed at beginners. Brown is excellent at explaining the science behind why reciepes work the way they do. Bittman emphasizes showing a technique, then showing lots of simple variations, allowing you to learn a skill and then apply it to different ingredients.

You might also take a look at Rhulman's Ratio --- for a certain sort of personaility, that book can be like a lightbulb going off. It's all about the common principles that underlay many sorts of recipes. Some people find it too abstract, especially if they're just starting (most actual recipes break his rules a little, one way or another), but if you're more of an abstract logical thinker it can be quite helpful.

But cooking in general can be quite diffucult to pick up from books --- techniques that are quite simple to demonstrate can be super difficult to describe. Youtube/the internet can be your friend, here --- Jacques Pepin, America's Test Kitchen, and Good Eats are all good at demonstrating and explaining technique. Check out the Food Wishes youtube channel, too --- Chef John is a former culinary instructor, and he demostrates a lot of classic techniques in the reciepes he does.

At the end of the day though, cooking's like Carnigie Hall. Think of stuff you like to eat, find a recipe for that stuff, and just go for it. If you start off making things you know and like, then it will be easier to tell if you're getting it right as you go along, and that I think is the most crucial and most difficult part of becoming a skilled cook --- being able to tell when something's ready vs. when it needs 5 more minutes, being able to tell if the batter looks right before you cook it, if something needs more seasoning and if so what kind. All that's mostly a karate kid, wax on, wax off thing --- you just got to keep making stuff in order to have the experience to tell when something's right.

Asia's a big, ancient place. Even within each nation there are unique styles of regional and ethnic fare.

With that in mind, I'd love to see some recommendations here for awesome Indian, Filipino, Hmong, Uzbek, etc. cookbooks.

Japanese

Lets get beyond sushi and hibatchi.

Shizuo Tsuji's Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art is a great starting point. If you want to get technical you should check out Ando's Washoku or Hachisu's Preserving the Japanese Way.

If you want to start simple, Hachisu also has a great book on Japanese Farm Food. Ono and Salat have written a great noodle slurping opus in Japanese Soul Cooking.

Chinese

What we've come to think of as Chinese food in the US is a natural part of human appropriation of food styles, but with all due respect to Trader Vic's, crab rangoon and other buffet staples really aren't the real deal. Food in China is extremely regional. You don't have to go very deep to see the vast differentiation in spicy Schezwan recipes and Cantonese Dim Sum culture.

For your reading pleasure:

Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking Eileen Yin-Fei Lo.

Breath of the Wok by Grace Young and Alan Richardson.

Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees by Kian Lam Kho and Jody Horton.

All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China by Carolyn Phillips.

Some people might freak out that I'm placing Erway's The Food of Taiwan under the Chinese category, but I'm not going to get into a political debate here. Taiwan has had a lot of different culinary influences due to migration / occupation and that is really the take away here.

Go forth, make bao.

Korean

Korea is having it's moment right now and if you want the classics, Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall's Growing up in a Korean Kitchen is a good baseline. It has all the greatest hits.

You also can't cook Korean food without kimchi. The only book I've read is Lauryn Chun's The Kimchi Cookbook which is kind of underwhelming considering the hundreds of styles of Kimchi that have been documented. The process of making kimchi (kimjang) even has a UNESCO world heritage designation. With that in mind, I think it's only a matter of time before we see a English book on the subject that has depth.

Given the cuisine's popularity, there are several other cookbooks on Korean food that have recently been published within the last year or so, I just haven't gotten around to reading them yet, so I won't recommend them here.

Thai

David Thompson's Thai Food and Thai Street Food are both excellent. /u/Empath1999 's recommendation of Andy Ricker's Pok Pok is excellent but it focuses on Northern Thai cuisine, so if you want to venture into central and southern Thai fare, Thompson's the other farang of note.

Vietnamese

Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese Kitchen provides a nice survey to Vietnamese cooking. Charles Phan also has a couple of cookbooks that are quite good but I'm sure that there are zealots out there who would bemoan authenticity in either Vietnamese Home Cooking or The Slanted Door, but seriously, who gives a shit, the dude has Beard Awards under his belt for fuck's sake.

TL;DR OP means well but its long past time to bury "Asian" as a catch-all for such a large and diverse part of a continent, no?

What exactly do you mean by 'healthy?'

Is it about calorie reduction or getting more nutrients? Or both?

A very simple, tasty one is roasted cauliflower. Cauliflower really benefits from browning. Preferably roasting. Just wash and dry it (thoroughly), cut into equally sized pieces, whether it be bite size or "steaks," toss in olive oil, salt & pepper (and garlic if you want), spread evenly on a roasting pan, but don't crowd it too much, and roast in the oven on the middle rack or higher at about 425-450F until brown... even nearly black in a few places. It's so simple and delicious.

It makes a great soup too, just blend it with either veg or chicken stock and either some fresh parsley or thyme.

Another veg that does well with char is broccoli. Steam, blanch (heavily salt your blanching or steaming liquid) or microwave (if you must) the cut broccoli stalks until about half done, drain and dry. Toss in olive oil, salt, minced garlic and chili flakes and grill on very high heat or broil until slightly charred. You won't believe how good it is.

Some great books for veg dishes are:

Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

Tender by Nigel Slater (this one has a great chocolate beet cake)

The Art Of Simple Food II by Alice Waters (So many simple, classic veg preparations in this one.)

--

Regarding Mac & Cheese, here is page from Modernist Cuisine at Home:

http://i.imgur.com/E4dd4lQ.jpg

It involves using Sodium Citrate. Calm down! Don't be afraid. It's a type of salt derived from citrus fruits. If you like to cook with cheese this stuff will be your best friend. The only issue is you don't need very much of it, so you will need an accurate scale that can handle very small weights, but they're not that expensive and it'll pay for itself quickly in the amount you'll likely save in cheese costs, because.....

What it does is it helps emulsify the fats and solids of cheese when it melts and it can be used with just about every type of cheese that can melt, so that means you can use it to emulsify multiple types of cheeses at the same time. Why this matters for you? If you're trying to reduce calories you can mix your favorite cheeses with some lower calorie cheeses (like drained cottage cheese) and still end up with a really creamy sauce without having to add cream or butter. This stuff doesn't make Pasta & Cheese "healthy" but it does help you reduce the caloric value of a cheese dish without sacrificing texture... in fact it improves it.

Check it out: http://youtu.be/gOLgLi5ZJOY

I usually only use cookbooks that are also textbooks for culinary art students. The CIA has a textbook that is phenomenal. I used to own a textbook from the western culinary institute in Portland, which is now a cordon bleu school and I dont know what they use. Those books will teach you the basics of fine cooking. Ratio is also a great book because it gives you the tools to create your own recipes using what real culinary professionals use: ratios of basic ingredients to create the desired dish.

But the creme de la creme of culinary arts books is this crazy encyclopedia of ingredients called On food and cooking: the science and lore of the kitchen. It is invaluable. It should not be the first book you buy (if youre a newbie) but it should be your most well thumbed.

For a sauce pan what you want is something with straight sides. Sautee pans have are a good substitute, but often have bases that have too wide a diameter for perfect sauces. Fine saucepots are made of copper for even heat transfer. Stainless steel is also a good substitute. What you have there is something of a hybrid between a skillet and a saucepot. Its more like a chicken fryer or something. At the restaurant we use stainless steel skillets for absolutely everything to order: sauces, fried oysters, what have you. But when you get down to the finest you need to fine a real saucepot: 2-3 qts will do, straight sides, made of copper. teach a man to fish

I dont really know how to teach you the varied tricks and such. It is something that I pick up by listening to the varied cooks and chefs I work with. What I would advise you is to watch cooking shows and read recipes and pay a lot of attention to what they are doing. Half of the things I know I dont know why I do them, just that they produce superior results. Or, consequently I would have a hot pan thrown at me if I did not do them. And I mean these are just ridiculous nuances of cooking. I was reading The Art of French Cooking and learned that you should not mix your egg yolks and sugar too early when making creme brulee because it will produce and inferior cooking and look like it has become curdled. That is a drop in the bucket to perfect creme brulee making, but it is part of the process.

I wish I could be more help, but the best advice I could give you to become the cook you want to be is go to school. Or barring that (it is a ridiculous expense) get a job cooking. Neither of those things are very efficient, but it is the best way to learn those little things.

A good book to get is Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen
http://amzn.com/1584796960 (I'll fix the link when I get home). It breaks down your must haves, the nice to haves and the kitchen luxury items in almost all categories.

With that said, I had good success with my Paderno pots and pans. They go on sale a few times a year and you can get awesome deals on them. Mine was a $1000 set and I got it for $300.

I love my Shun knives. I know you said you have knives already, but they make some nice sushi knives in a few of their lineups.

A carbon steel wok is also a great thing to have. If you season it properly, it will be an amazing asset in the kitchen for all kinds of cooking.

Not mentioned yet, but a good pepper mill is a pretty valuable tool as well, especially if you're seasoning a lot of meats. Something with a crank that is sturdy enough to quickly grind up a bunch of fresh pepper for a recipe is pretty awesome to have.

That's great to hear. Scale instead of volume is 100% the way to go. If you are interested in picking up a stand mixer, the Kitchenaid is the obvious choice, and for good reason. I would go with the professional 5 model, and I would shop around on amazon, including with the color. I got this one because it was the cheapest one based on color. The professional series has a stronger motor and can handle a tough load (like dough) much better than the artisan mixer. If you do want to buy it and color doesn't matter to you, definitely click through the different colors because the color alone can affect the price, something to the tune of several hundred dollars in variance, which is crazy to me (for instance, right now, the difference between the cheapest and most expensive based solely on color is $160).

As an aside, I have a brother who is on the high functioning autism scale, so I have some experience dealing with some of the unique inherent challenges. If you ever want to shoot me a PM to take advantage of my experience working in high end kitchens, or just a general message, PLEASE feel free to do so. I already help a few people with cooking problems and love doing so. I would be more than happy to help you however I can.

Good luck to you and your son on his journey towards learning how to bake and cook(hopefully).

p.s. If your son loves the technical aspect of it, I would highly recommend the cooking issues podcast. While they don't discuss baking so much, the host was the technical director for the French Culinary Institute in New York for many years, so he has a very analytical approach to food, cooking, and cocktails (he owns a very well renowed bar). It's a great podcast/radio show, and I listen to it all the time. As far as other very technical resources go, I would very very very highly recommend Harold McGee's book, On Food and Cooking. It is a seminal work that deals with the how and why of everything to do with food. It is easily in the top 5 most important books on cooking and food written in the 20th century.

An alarm clock to get her used to waking up at 2am? ;-)
I'm not a professional baker, but did work as one for several months 20 years ago. Enough to let me know that although I enjoyed baking, I didn't enjoy doing it as a profession. So these suggestions are from a home baker, not a pro.
I would suggest a cookbook or subscription to Cook's Illustrated or America's Test Kitchen.
I bought The New Best Recipe Cookbook ten years ago for myself and have gifted a copy to several friends since. It goes through not only a recipe, but what changing different ingredients will do to the final product. The chocolate chip cookie recipe was quite informative with illustrations showing not only what different sugars would do, but different fats, flours, and the effect of chilling the dough had on the final product.
There is also Baking Illustrated which is just about baking. It's probably going to be hard to find, but if you stumble across it, it's worth it. Some folks complain that it's just the baking chapters from the best recipe cookbook with a few extra recipes, but if your kid is really focused on baking, this may be a better fit for now and then the best recipe cookbook later when she feels like branching out into thing to go with the baked goods.
I do not own the Cooks Illustrated Baking Book but I have several of their other cookbooks and friends who have this one think highly of it. It's been described as a combination recipe book and class in baking. Like the New Best Recipe Cookbook, it includes not just recipes, but paragraphs about what is going on in the recipe and what changes to the recipe will do.
You may also want to look at getting a large vermin resistant container to store flour. I use a Vittles Vault pet food container to store my flour. It allows me to buy 25 lbs of flour for $8 instead of 5 lbs for $4 and not run out in the middle of a baking session.

Hey, thanks for your comments :-)

I'll definitely take on board what you've said about freezing the meat. I actually did freeze it for about 10 mins as it said to do that in the book, but I had no real frame of reference for when it said 'slice thinly'. To me, the way I'd sliced it was quite thin, but obviously I can see now that it's actually rather thick for this particular dish. I will take into account what you say here about using a long knife as well. What's butcher paper by the way? Can that be bought in most supermarkets?

I'm not sure what the brand of the noodles was. The noodles were something of an after thought and I didn't get the right ones. I'd spent quite a long time finding a butcher's that had bones that I could use for the broth, and when I finally managed to get them (had to go to three different butchers and drive around quite a bit before I managed to get what I needed) I didn't have much time left, so just got the best match for the noodles I could find.

I'll make sure to use the proper fine rice noodles in the future.

I didn't use thai basil (what's the difference between thai basil and standard basil? Is there a significant difference?), but we did actually use fresh mint and we also had lime.

I actually scooped a large amount of fat out of the broth as it cooked, but left a little bit in. I'm pretty sure the recipe said a little bit is ok, but again, I had no real frame of reference so made my own call on that. I'll remove as much as I can next time then.

It was all done with beef bones, so no chicken stock or anything like that. I'll write up the blog article tomorrow if I can, so you'll be able to see the full process from start to finish. I took pictures at each point along the way, so you'll be able to see exactly how I made it then.

The blog is called 'cooking from books', and the idea is actually to take recipes in published books and then cook them and post the results up for everyone to see. I came up with the idea after I started trying to learn cooking but found some books had no pictures in them, or only showed the very final product - I felt like it could be useful for other people, and it'd also push me to cook more stuff and try new things :-)

This is the book I got the recipe from

and this is my blog :-)

One final comment - would you be ok with me possibly using your comments here (and subsequent comments) in the article itself? I'm going to mention that I first found out about pho on reddit in the article, and it'd be cool to say how I posted up the results and got some good feedback from you guys :-)

Thanks!

To save money on food you need to:

• Plan your meals in advance, perhaps a week at a time but at least a few days in advance. This not only avoids impulse buys but also allows you to make the most of the food you have bought for example - day 1 roast chicken for dinner (maybe to share with a date?), day 2 chicken sandwiches for lunch, chicken pot pie for dinner, day 3 chicken soup for lunch, chicken risotto for dinner, day 4 left over chicken soup for lunch. A whole chicken used properly is so much cheaper than chicken breasts. Take at look at The Kitchen Revolution, this is the website for a book which very elegantly deals with weekly food planning.
  
  
• Eat seasonally - fresh tomatoes are ridiculous cheap in the summer, silly in the winter. You can usually tell what is in season because it is cheap!
  
  
• Eat mostly vegetarian, using meat as a flavour enhancer rather than the main item on the plate. In my chicken dinner example, although the chicken would be the main item for the first couple of meals, by the time you are getting your last few meals out of it, you will be adding a small portion of meat to enhance your risotto or soup. Other wise beans are the thing. See Mark Bittman's excellent How to Cook Everything Vegetarian for really simple yet delicious guide to well almost everything you could want to eat (except meat), it has a particularly good chapter on legumes including lentils. He has a very relaxed style of writing which I think is very easy to follow.
  
  Good luck!

Until about a year ago, I knew next to nothing about cooking but I've been learning. I wish I had known this stuff in college. What I did is I bought a copy of Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and went through it. The regular How to Cook Everything is also good. Both of them give you lots of really easy recipes (like how to make scrambled eggs) as well as more advanced ones if you want to serve dinner to people for example.

Also, I watched every episode of Good Eats and learned a lot from that. Most if not all of those are on YouTube. Just start with Season 1 Episode 1 and start plowing through them.

I don't prepare meat because I'm paranoid about germs, but don't let that stop you. The things I've been preparing the most are:

• Eggs: fried, scrambled, omelettes. Hands down the easiest thing.
  
  
• Sauteed, braised, boiled, or steamed vegetables. These are all very easy and once you've done it a bit you start to understand what the best method is for different vegetables and you don't even need to look in a recipe book. Most recent thing I did is sauteed plantains.
  
  
• Rice dishes. Pilaf and rice with beans/peas/other legumes are easy and nutritious.
  
  
• Soups. Things like potato leek soup, french onion soup, split pea soup, lentil soup are all very easy.
  
  
• Simple baked desserts like muffins, banana bread, apple cobber etc.
  
  If you have an oven, it's really not very hard to make your own pizza, for that matter.

I'm a mathematics major working in computer science who reads anything that isn't nailed down and is very active in the SCA (historical re-enactment).

I basically stumbled onto this without looking for it. I got bits and pieces from books about other topics entirely and had an epiphany.

Jared Diamond's "Guns Germs And Steel" is about the history of warfare and spends a few chapters talking about how agriculture is a very important weapon of war. It compares and contrasts the ability of nomadic and agrarian peoples to store calories and how that in turn dictates the range of their raiding bands. An army, after all, runs on its stomach and logistics is critical. In doing this it spent some time talking about how nomadic people's collect food and a few pages noting that women do most of that. Which was the exact opposite of what I'd thought to be the case because - like everyone else - I'd been immersed in popular culture that worships hunting and assumes men have always played the economic roles they play today.

That prompted me to dig deeper into that leading to reading various studies about how aboriginals spend their time to validate Diamond's claims and they confirmed him. The Grandmother Hypothesis and studies showing health and survivability of primitive children are not correlated with having a father but strongly correlated with having a maternal grandmother pretty much nailed it and completely shifted my view.

What got me thinking about the definitions of hunting and gathering was that there doesn't appear to be a solid agreed upon scientific definition for them. I'd look specifically for examples of women hunting out of curiosity and when I'd find them ... I would disagree with the papers. Sure, Mardu women bring home a lot of meat. Their environment is chock full of lizards. Lizards everywhere. You can't swing a basket without having it fill up with lizards. Is that "hunting"? ... No ... I don't think so. And this author counts fishing as hunting(in a tribe where men do it a lot) while that author counts it as gathering(in a tribe where women do it a lot) and that author puts it in a third category entirely ... there is some obvious bullshittery going on here but I myself couldn't decide if its hunting or gathering.

Then I read The Omnivores Dilemma and it has a chapter on mushroom hunting. The author described in great detail the massive difference between harvesting domesticated plants ... plants that want us to take their fruits ... and hunting wild plants that don't want to be found by us. He ardently defended the term "hunting" over "gathering" for seeking out wild truffles by describing the difficulty he experienced in doing it.

That made it click. The difference between hunting and gathering is the likelihood of failure. Once I applied that definition to it it became very easy to classify a given activity as hunting or gathering.

SCA life, as well, makes you realize that the past is a different time with different social dynamics. Being in a space with lots of people who practice traditional crafts and seeing how their work is respected contrasts hugely with modern life. In modern life we look at a sweater knitted by your grandma as a crappy horrible gift that you only wear when visiting grandma to make her feel good. In the SCA there are people who spend entire events chatting by a fire while spinning thread or weaving clothe and they are immensely popular with a queue of people a mile long who want some of their output to make garb with. Their work is highly valued and grants them high social status. I'd be perfectly happy with the "traditional" division of labor if women's work paid as well and had the same social status it had before we mechanized it.

Edit It took about two years between starting to think about it in GG&S and having the epihphany while reading Omnivores Dilemma. Another important book in the middle was Mismeasure of Man. Its about the junk science people engage in when trying to justify the current social order. By focusing on historical divisions that are no longer sensitive subjects (like today in america we think of a person of English descent and a person of Irish descent simply as White whereas once this was a bitter divide with english people comparing irish people to animals and insisting they were inherently less intelligent etc) it is able to highlight just how stupid people can be when trying to "scientifically prove" that the dominant social group is dominant because of inherent superiority. The reason I remember the Mardu paper so clearly is that I read it right after Mismeasure and having just read Mismeasure the political agenda of the Mardu paper author was painfully obvious. It was clear the author was pushing a feminist agenda by trying to get women in on the mantle of hunting. See! Women hunt too! Look at these women hunting! I could see how I wanted to jump on that train and shout, "Women hunt too!" but I was also painfully aware how if I did I'd look as silly as the people who Wanted To Believe papers dissected in Mismeasure because the argument wouldn't convince anyone who didn't want it to be true already. The things we honor, idealize, and romanticize about hunting ... simply don't apply to picking lizards up off the ground and eating them. That they are made of meat is a technicality. I couldn't articulate why it wasn't really hunting yet, but I knew I wasn't happy with calling it hunting and felt drawing attention to the Hunting Women of the Mardu was a bad political argument.

Sry...don't find a lot of time to post. And as far as finding ur post... I went looking for it. I cook a lot of proteins and I wanted to see what reddit had to say about chicken breast. It can be very unforgiving, but when done correctly it is an amazing meat. NOW, to address you concerns about nutrition. Yes, brining does increase the sodium level a bit, but lets face it, chicken needs a little help and when you brine its just les salt you will need to add when you season. If you have high blood pressure you may want to watch you sodium intake. Here is a site that attemps to tackel the "how much sodium does a brine add?" Question ( http://www.salon.com/2010/03/23/brining_meats_sodium_add_calculation/) . As far as brining subtracting any nutritional value; I would say, no, it does not measurably reduce nutrition. In my opinion overall; brining a chicken breast as part of my meal is far more delicious and healthy than ordering fast food (and less sodium). If creating a chicken breast meal that makes you want to continue cooking keeps you from ordering take out its a win. As far as my experience... I am just a home cook that grew up in a home that didnt know how to cook. At some point a the family of one of my friends started inviting me to dine with them at some very expensive restaurants. IT BLEW MY MIND!... I had no idea food could be that good. From that point on I made my mission to give food the respect it deserves. I read took the scientific approach, ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0684800012/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/189-1398983-1145564) read the cooking bible over and over and watch guys like alton brown ( http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KKr1rByVVCI).

Fuschia Dunlop is a good source for Chinese food. Her published recipe for Kung Pao Chicken is pretty killer. Eileen Yin-Fi Lo is also a well respected Chinese recipe author, check out My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen.

For Thai Food, Andy Ricker's Pok Pok is pretty interesting (and the restaurants are pretty awesome). There's also a tome, simply called Thai Food from David Thompson, as an outsider, looks complete and exhaustive (it's also daunting to me, but nice to have).

Hot Sour Salty Sweet also features Thai (as well as other SE Asian flavors). And I really like Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges as a more upscale cookbook.

Also, I find this little, unsung book to be a great resource. It has fairly simple recipes that can yield some nice flavors, great for weeknight dishes.

And, Momofuku is a fun contemporary twist with some good basics, but it's not a beginner book by any stretch!

Finally, The Slanted Door is on my wishlist. Looks divine.

I pretty much only read non-fiction, so I'm all about books that are educational but also interesting :) I'm not sure what your educational background is, so depending on how interested you are in particular subjects, I have many recommendations.

Naked Statistics and Nate Silver's Book are both good!

Feeling Good is THE book on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

The Omnivore's Dilemma is good, as is Eating Animals (granted, Eating Animals is aimed at a particular type of eating)

Guns, Germs and Steel is very good.

I also very much enjoyed The Immortal Live of Henrietta Lacks, as well as Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman :)

edit to add: Chris Hadfield's Book which I haven't received yet but it's going to be amazing.

I disagree with this and with /u/flyinggeorge, by a little. It is fun and easy to poke fun at people about what is or isn't natural but that's just to say that (a) people have an exceedingly poor grasp of chemistry, and (b) definitions are hard.

But on the other hand it's really easy to do this: how much work, and of what sort, has something undergone between its creation and your consumption? The more work, and the less comprehensible the work is to the consumer, the more industrial / processed the ingredient is.

Take Chez Panisse, or St. John.

I can look at the menu and tell you pretty well exactly what everything is and how it's made, and my knowledge of chemistry fell off around the same time I could drive a car. I'm willing to bet that I could go into the kitchen and somebody would know where everything, or nearly everything, was sourced.

Take sweet potatoes or shrimp I can get at the farmer's market. I can tell you the same sort of stuff - how it was grown/caught, by whom, and how it got to my plate. If you're eating with me and I'm serving you that, you can ask and I can tell you a pretty good history of the food from seed / egg to stomach.

Compare a steak (or if you prefer, a bag of greens) from the grocery store: I know what it is, but I don't know - and probably don't want to know - where it came from, or how the cow/greens was/were treated en route.

Compare American cheese: I think we'd all agree it's one step further removed from the steak / greens because the ordinary consumer probably can't tell you how it's made, much less where.

Now where does "swiss or cheddar" fall? It depends, right? Take Rogue River Blue, for instance. I can tell you how it's made, from what it's made - even which cows (generally) produce the milk. And it's done the same way, roughly, as cheese has been made for a long goddamned time. So near as I can tell, it's closer to the sweet potato / shrimp.

Which is why I asked about the Chez Panisse example - I'm willing to bet that most of the folks here, if we were eating at Chez Panisse and a dish came out with American cheese on it, we would be a little bemused, because however you define 'natural,' that's not it. If rogue river blue comes out, you're probably OK with that. Why? One fits in the idea of what Chez Panisse is all about; the other does not.

Now, I'm not meaning to make a normative judgment. If you went to Alinea or the Fat Duck, you'd hardly be surprised to find cheese + sodium citrate, and you'd be less surprised if you couldn't learn about the origin of every ingredient. They're all great places, but they do different things.

This is all just a longwinded way of saying "just because definitions are squishy doesn't meant they're meaningless."

Edit: tl;dr: Maybe 'natural' means 'I know what this is and where it comes from.'

Double edit: typos / clarity

Triple edit: it occurs to me that I'm borrowing, heavily, from Michael Pollan's argument in The Omnivore's Dilemma.

I'm glad to hear you enjoy adobo! The first time I ever made it was also the first time my boyfriend ever tried adobo. Luckily, everything went better than expected - the adobo turned out great, and it is now one of his favorite foods.

Chicken Adobo

From How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.

Makes: 4 servings
Time: About 1 ¼ hours

This Philippine classic has been called the best chicken dish in the world by a number of my friends and readers. It is cooked in liquid first, then roasted, grilled, or broiled. Here, however, the initial poaching liquid is reduced to make a sauce to pass at the table for both the chicken and white rice, the natural accompaniment.

The coconut milk isn’t mandatory, though it does enrich the sauce considerably.

Other protein you can use: pork chops (bone-in or boneless).

• 1 cup soy sauce
  
• ½ cup white or rice vinegar
  
• 1 cup water (this was not listed in the ingredient list in the book, but it is mentioned as an ingredient in the recipe)
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 ½ cups coconut milk (optional)
  
• 1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 8 pieces, or any combination of parts
  
  Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, pepper, 1 cup water, and half the coconut milk, if you’re using it, in a covered skillet or saucepan large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken; reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, turning once or twice, until the chicken is almost done, about 20 minutes. (At this point, you may refrigerate the chicken in the liquid for up to a day before proceeding; skim the fat before reheating.)
  
  Heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit or heat a charcoal or gas grill or the broiler to moderate heat and put the rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Remove the chicken pieces from the liquid and dry them gently with paper towels. Boil the sauce, along with the remaining coconut milk if you’re using it, over high-heat until it is reduced to about 1 cup; discard the bay leaves and keep the sauce warm. Meanwhile, grill, broil, or roast the chicken until brown and crisp and hot, turning as necessary, 10 to 15 minutes total (roasting will take a little longer). Serve the chicken with the sauce.
  
  -----
  
  I have never used coconut milk when making adobo. My Mom and Grandparents never used it, so I just went along with that school of thought. It sounds like it would be an interesting addition though! I have used bone-in and boneless chicken, as well as bone-in and boneless pork for this recipe and have never been unhappy with the results.
  
  I have followed this recipe step by step, including finishing it on the grill, and it turned out great. However, when my Mom or Grandparents made adobo, they would just keep the protein simmering in the liquid and I enjoy it that way too. I have also used this recipe as a reference for proportions, browned the protein, and put everything in a crock pot on low for a few hours. Depending on what types of flavors you like, you can also add onions, peppercorns, whole garlic cloves, extra bay leaves…I’m just naming things that I would find in my adobo when I was growing up. Haha.

Sure, no problem! Here are some of my favorite resources.

The web site SeriousEats.com has a lot of good posts. Specifically, I like this guy's work. He puts in the research to really refine techniques. Some of this is cooking is "elaborate," but not overly so:
http://www.seriouseats.com/user/profile/Goodeaterkenji

And, he has a really good cook book:
http://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab

https://www.chefsteps.com/ is amazing. You want elaborate? This is the place. there's even a term for it: modernist cuisine. These guys have a lot of free content, but there's also a premium membership (one time purchase) which gets you access to a vast amount of videos, with more being made all the time.

Here is a related cookbook, which is stellar:
http://modernistcuisine.com/books/modernist-cuisine-at-home/

The above book is the "at home" version. This is the FULL version, including recipes that require lab equipment like centrifuges! You want elaborate? This is the pinnacle of elaborate cooking. Yes, it is like $500!
https://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Art-Science-Cooking/dp/0982761007

Into BBQ or grilling? Meathead's your man and his site is full of no-BS guides. He also has a cookbook but just the site will keep you busy for a long time:
http://amazingribs.com/

If you want to get started in fancier cooking I strongly recommend getting a sous vide apparatus, such as this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Sansaire-Sous-Immersion-Circulator-Black/dp/B00KSFAB74

Sous vide is an entirely new (to you!) way to cook and you can do things with it that are not possible in other ways. All of the "modernist" cooking guides out there use it heavily. There are many options for the hardware at all price points... Anova gear sometimes goes on sale for $100-150.

Here's a specific easy modernist recipe you can try. It benefits from, but does not require, a sous vide machine... they tell you how to make do without one. If you think this looks fun, ChefSteps will be your new addiction.

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sous-vide-salmon--2

Lot of comments on smoking, which would be an incredibly positive accomplishment on its own. I wanted to comment on the eating out. Other than my wife, my greatest love is cooking. I'm a cheap bastard, and my love of cooking is the best thing for that. It may not be for you, but cooking can be a really amazing hobby that also saves you money and provides you with a sense of accomplishment.

I will always recommend Alton Brown to people learning to cook. It's a great way to save money (my wife and I eat great and spend only $300 on food a month) as well as a hobby that has quick, positive results.

This is how I did it a few years ago.

Read alton brown's book, I'm just here for the food

http://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-Food-Cooking/dp/1584790830

Which will teach you the basics and what you're trying to accomplish by using different cooking methods. It greatly increased my confidence in the kitchen. Also check out his good eats series.

Also I think a decent meat thermometer
Is a great purchase as it takes the guess work out of when meat is done cooking, is supremely useful for beginners, and something you'll be able to use forever.


http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/

The thermapen is the one I got but expensive but worth it.

Subscribe to a bunch of cooking subreddits.

And I'm gonna suggest something different now instead of buying a set list of things you need to cook anything.

Instead, I suggest finding something you really enjoy eating like something you're an expert on eating at restaurants, I chose burgers, you can do pizza, or spaghetti, hot wings whatever. Then go on seriouseats.com and find the appropriate recipe. Idea is to choose something you have an idea of how it's supposed to taste and like enough to cook a few different versions of. Then you buy the few things you need to cook that thing. A cast iron pot, a metal spatula whatever. And you learn how to do things/buy equipment as needed for various recipes related to it. For example you may learn how to sautée and Carmelize onions for a burger recipe.

Cook with someone else, it's way more fun, is a great date idea, doesn't matter if it's the blind leading the blind or someone that you can learn a lot from. It'll make you more comfortable in the kitchen.

Finally, you'll have to pay your dues for a little bit, I used to hate cooking, everything takes way longer then it should, you make a big mess, things don't work out like you planned, but pretty soon you make things that turn out great every once in a while. You still mess up occasionally, but you'll start learning why things don't turn out well and you'll start being able to save things if you make a mistake. Now that I'm pretty good at it I sort of enjoy it.

Whether it is actually better or not, that's highly debatable and according to taste. But the cuisine in London/ UK is not neglectable and has a very rich background.

One of the most influential chefs in the world such as Heston Blumenthal (which is largely inspired by Harold McGee, an American), Marco Pierre White (he partly wrote modern cuisine, also an awesome person to hear) and Michel Roux (both senior as junior) have worked their careers in the UK. Each of them have defined a part of cooking/ cuisine in their way.

Not to forget the Commonwealth as well indeed, which brought a lot to the UK.

Really been watching too much MasterChef UK/ Australia and to one of my cooking teachers who really loves to read about history/ science of food. Then again, it's awesome to hear and to know as food is a way of sharing love, express your creativity and bonds and is such an important aspect of our lives/ society/ culture.

Some books which are awesome and I also have in my collection are:

• The Fat Duck Cookbook (don't imagine creating a dish of it, it's more about the insight and the science behind the dishes as they are easily a couple of pages)
  
• On food and cooking
  
• The Devil in the Kitchen
  
• Kitchen Confidential
  
  Honestly, couldn't forget the latter of course.

Just a couple of links to help you out.
The stonesoup has great (mostly) 5 ingredient recipes and can be easily made vegetarian.
I highly recommend How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and Appetite for Reduction for simple, basic recipes.
Also, quesadillas are a great, quick meal on a stove. If you're looking for a good vegan recipe, these Smoky White Bean Quesadillas are awesome and can be made easily without a food processor.
And this Easy Breezy Cheezy Sauce (scroll down) is delicious, cheap and easy with pasta or steamed veggies. I had a kitchen this size when I studied abroad in France a couple years ago and it can be done. You just have to learn to be creative. :) Good luck!

Here's one that I got from Alton Brown.

You'll need a good steak. Costco sells good ones, but you have to throw a party to eat them all. I've also had success with higher-end grocery stores.

You'll also need a cast-iron pan. Iron holds more heat than aluminum or stainless, and is a bit more affordable than copper.

A good ventilation hood is nice too, because this recipe makes lots of burning-protein smoke.

Set the meat on your countertop for 20 minutes. This allows it to come to the right temperature - if it's too cold, the insides will cook less; too warm and it'll cook too much. Obviously this is a variable you can adjust to how you like your steak; I like mine rarer than most.

Put your pan on the stove and set it to high before you do the rest. You want that pan HOT.

Next, rub a small amount of olive oil on each side of the steaks, a couple of drops for each side. This acts as a heat conductor, like thermal paste on your CPU heatsink. Sprinkle a pinch of salt (kosher if you have it) on each side, and massage it in. Let the steaks sit for 5 minutes.

Now you're ready to cook. Pick up the steaks with tongs, and gently lay them down in the pan, and leave them absolutely alone for 2 minutes. If you slide the steak around, you'll ruin the nice crust that forms on the outside. At this point you'll want to turn on your hood. When the 2 minutes is up, flip the steaks (again, with tongs - good steak shouldn't have a fork stuck in it until it's on the table), and leave them alone for 3 minutes.

Remove the steaks from the pan, and set them on a plate. Cover it with aluminum foil or a big mixing bowl, and let them sit for 5 minutes. The steak is actually still cooking on the inside, and this lets some of the juices soak back to the outside surface. Serve and enjoy - they shouldn't need any A-1.

I really like history books that don't at first seem to be history books, but are explorations of societies sometimes seen through the lens of a single important concept or product. For instance, Mark Kurlansky has several books such as Salt; A World History, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, The Basque History of the World, Nonviolence: 25 Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea that teach more history, and more important history than is usually taught in US public schools.

History need not be rote memorization of dates and figures. It can, and should be a fun exploration of ideas and how those ideas shaped civilizations. It can also be an exploration of what did not make it into the history books as Bart Ehrman's Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament or his Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why and Elaine Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels attest.

I don't wish to come across as too glib about this, but I feel like the average person might well retain more useful knowledge reading a book like A History of the World in 6 Glasses than if they sat through a semester of freshman history as taught by most boring, lame generic high schools. I feel like often the best way to understand history is to come at it tangentially. Want to understand the US Constitution? Study the Iroquois confederacy. Want to understand the French? Study cuisine and wine. Want to understand China? Study international trade. And so it goes. Sometimes the best history lessons come about from just following another interest such as astronomy or math or cooking. Follow the path until curiosity is sated. Knowledge will accumulate that way. ;-)

My favorite cookbook is The New Best Recipe, a compilation of over 1,000 recipes from America's Test Kitchen. I love it because they give in-depth descriptions of all the different things they tried in order to perfect every recipe, and so not only do you get a great recipe but you can learn all about why it is great. Most recipes have one or two additional variations included. They cover different products and techniques, and all sorts of information that is useful for both new and competent cooks. It is so interesting that I sometimes read it just for fun.

The chapters cover everything from appetizers to different types of main courses, but also includes lots of chapters on baked goods -- breads, cookies, cakes, pies, crisps, puddings, and more. I would highly recommend it to anyone, and everything I've made from it so far has been delicious!

You might want to buy Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything. Its a book about cooking techniques that I think is precisely the book you are looking for.

Also honorable mention for The Food Lab and The New Best Recipe books as well, those are more recipe based, but they have great info on techniques and ingredients. Both get into the science behind cooking and explain why they picked a specific recipe which helped me learn how to cook without recipes and be able to know when certain things are done(I now judge if something I am baking is done more by smell than time now) and how to save emulsions when to add salt and acids etc. The author of the food lab is also pretty active on the Serious Eats subreddit and will answer questions about his recipes.

Salt Fat Acid and Heat is also pretty good as well, I have not read this one personally though as the first part is waaaaaayyy too much personal narrative from the author for me and I turned off the audiobook after listening to her life story for 10 minutes, so get the print book so you can skip right to the cooking parts.

I love cookbooks, and have probably fifty in my collection.

The ones I keep going back to are:

• Anything by Yotam Ottolenghi - He's an Israeli-born chef in London, and his recipes are a great combination of creative, relatively easy, and unique. He has a knack for combining unusual flavors, and I've never disliked anything I've cooked from him. If you're relatively green, don't get Nopi (too advanced). His other three or four books are all great.
  
  
• Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless. Bayless has a PBS show and owns several restaurants in Chicago. He's a great chef and his recipes are accessible and fun.
  
  
• The Food Lab by u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt. I was skeptical at first, since Lopez-Alt's website is so comprehensive, but the book is absolutely beautiful and contains both recipes and explanations of technique and science.
  
  
• Modernist Cooking at Home - It's expensive and many of the recipes are challenging and/or require special equipment, but the book is truly groundbreaking and never fails to stoke my creativity. It's the home version of his 6-volume tome which many think is one of the most innovative cookbooks in the last 20 years.

My pleasure! Photography is expensive, but cooking is a hobby that's easy to get into in measures. I would recommend How to Cook Everything by Bittman as an excellent, excellent first (or even only) book. Check it out next time you're in a bookstore with a decent cooking section - FYI, the newer red cover is updated and (generally) better than the older yellow cover. It's the sort of book you can spend a little time on a Saturday perusing, make a trip to the grocery store, come home, and try something new. And then leave on your shelf for a few more weeks. But if you keep doing that long enough, you'll get pretty decent at cooking. =)

>The next best thing to having Mark Bittman in the kitchen with you

Mark Bittman's highly acclaimed, bestselling book How to Cook Everything is an indispensable guide for any modern cook. With How to Cook Everything The Basics he reveals how truly easy it is to learn fundamental techniques and recipes. From dicing vegetables and roasting meat, to cooking building-block meals that include salads, soups, poultry, meats, fish, sides, and desserts, Bittman explains what every home cook, particularly novices, should know.

1,000 beautiful and instructive photographs throughout the book reveal key preparation details that make every dish inviting and accessible. With clear and straightforward directions, Bittman's practical tips and variation ideas, and visual cues that accompany each of the 185 recipes, cooking with How to Cook Everything The Basics is like having Bittman in the kitchen with you.

This is the essential teaching cookbook, with 1,000 photos illustrating every technique and recipe; the result is a comprehensive reference that’s both visually stunning and utterly practical.
Special Basics features scattered throughout simplify broad subjects with sections like “Think of Vegetables in Groups,” “How to Cook Any Grain,” and “5 Rules for Buying and Storing Seafood.”
600 demonstration photos each build on a step from the recipe to teach a core lesson, like “Cracking an Egg,” “Using Pasta Water,” “Recognizing Doneness,” and “Crimping the Pie Shut.”
Detailed notes appear in blue type near selected images. Here Mark highlights what to look for during a particular step and offers handy advice and other helpful asides.
Tips and variations let cooks hone their skills and be creative.


http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Everything-Completely-Revised-Anniversary/dp/0764578650/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411914327&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+cook+everything

I was vegetarian for almost 8 years. This was very upsetting to my carnivorous hunting family. They saw it as an act of rebellion and the "big" city I moved to changing me. The reality for me was: factory farmed meat disgusted me, both on the ethical and quality levels. I quit all meat and dedicated myself to an extremely balanced and healthy eating lifestyle.

If you are willing to cook for yourself and try new things, you should never have to worry about your food choices as a vegetarian. "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" by Mark Bittman is a fantastic and EXTREMELY thorough cookbook that walks you through the A-Z of vegetarian/vegan eating without being too complex or condescending. Especially if you locally source your tofo and produce, you can take care of yourself quite well without meat. Another great book (ignore the stupid hype-y praise on the outer covers, it does actually have a lot of good info) is "Eat to Live" by Joel Fuhrmen, it breaks down a lot of what is in basic foods and underscores the protein/fiber richness a lot of common veggies have.

With all that said, especially after my chickens started laying eggs, I realized I wanted meat in my diet. So, I turned to my family members that still hunt and get fresh/pristinely-sourced/humane meat and split the cost of a pig that lived a happy life from time to time.

I think what is vastly more important than what people end up eating is how they eat it and how mindful they are. Up until the 1950s, it was common to have backyard chickens for eggs and/or meat as well as shared access to a cow or backyard goats for milk. I am grateful to live in a city where this is becoming common again.

Best of luck with eating. :-)

I've really enjoyed everything I've made from Viva Vegan, which is chock full of Latin food from Central to South America (so definitely different from a Mexican cookbook, and not Mexican food heavy in the slightest, so probably not a lot of overlap). It has more of a this is how my mom/abuelita/tia/o made it point of view than a this is how they made it ages ago because blah blah grow really well in this region kind of thing.

This one isn't vegetarian, but it's a great book anyway, and probably a good compliment to an actual Mexican food cookbook - Tex-Mex by Robb Walsh has history and historic recipes from Texas' chili queens, the original Ninfa's, and so many other huge Tex-Mex institutions in Texas that we, our parents, and grand parents grew up with. I'm vegan now, but frequently go back to this book when I want to make something at home that I could easily use seitan/jackfruit/Daiya/whatever in and could never get out at a restaurant.

How do you like Salud? I've been thinking about checking it out.

One of the best things you can do is to train your palate. This way, when you taste something, you can figure out what's in it, and make it yourself if you want. It will also help you to learn what goes with what. For example, dill goes with salmon, lemon with raspberries, tomato with onion and cilantro or basil, etc. That kind of knowledge will help you to invent your own recipes which are catered directly to your tastes.

If you really want to know what makes food do what it does, I would recommend the following books:

• For general culinary science, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee. It is one of the best books ever written which actually explains why things happen in the kitchen.
  
• I usually buy a copy of Shirley O. Corriher's CookWise for anyone who says they want to learn to cook. It is perfect for beginners and has lots of very useful recipes. If you watch Alton Brown's "Good Eats", you will see Ms. (or is is Dr.?) Corriher explaining some of the science.
  
• If you want to learn how to bake incredible cake, Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible is indispensable, same for her Bread Bible and Pie and Pastry Bible. I rarely fuck up a cake now, and if I do, I know why. And her cake recipes are brilliant. From learning to make her chocolate butter cake, I also discovered the secret to making the BEST cup of chocolate ever. The aforementioned Ms. Corriher's BakeWise is also excellent for beginners.
  
• The Larousse Gastronomique is probably the most famous book on cuisine. It's an encyclopedia which contains pretty much every cooking term. It's a pretty high-level book, but it is the authority.
  
  Have fun with it! =)

I haven't. I've got a bunch of science-y cookbooks.

Edit: Here is the best book I've found. It's a really heavy read, though: On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen

My other favorite, go to book is America's Test Kitchen Best American Classics. I also do recipe testing for ATK - regular recipes and gluten free.

Oh, and don't forget Michael Ruhlman's Ratio:The Simple Codes Behind The Craft of Everyday Cooking. This is the most amazing book. It's short and to the point as well. You begin to understand how a simple tweak to a recipe can create an entirely different dish.


I love how a great Mindcrack thread became a cooking thread. My 2 favorite things in life.

If you love to read, then I completely back up those who recommended J Kenji Lopez-Alt's "The Food Lab". He also spends some time on /r/seriouseats, which I think is really great. Food Lab is great because it explains not only HOW to make a recipe, but the WHY a recipe works the way that it does, and allows you to expand your cooking skills. His is not the only book that does this, but I've read Salt Fat Acid Heat and The Science of Cooking and a good portion of the tome that is Modernist Cuisine, but Kenji's style of writing is exceptionally approachable.

But my actual suggestion to someone who wants to go from never cooking to cooking healthy meals at home is to watch the recipes on Food Wishes, because he shows you what each step of the recipe is supposed to look like, and his food blog is not filled with flowery stories, but helpful tips.

Another great online resource that I used when I started cooking about 5 years ago was The Kitchn. They offer up basic technique videos on how to cook proteins and vegetables that are really simple to follow for beginners.

My advice to you is this: don't feel like you need to dive immediately into recipes. First learn how to season and cook a chicken breast or steak consistently, and roast the different kinds of vegetables. Then just start jumping into recipes that you want to try. And don't be afraid to ask questions here :)

I adore this cookbook (or any in that series, really). I know, you are asking: why buy a book when you can get recipes online for free? I will tell you: because these recipes will teach you how to cook and they are pretty much failproof.

The book is just a collection of recipes from Cook's Illustrated Magazine and basically it tackles standard recipes rather than funky new ones like many cooking magazines. They don't just grab any ol' recipe for meatloaf, lentil soup, fried chicken or whatever. They meticulously test each recipe and optimize the cooking strategy to make it perfect. Every recipe is accompanied by an article describing exactly why each ingredient is there and how each technique achieves the desired outcome. It is really quite scientific (I love that).

They also have tips/recipes for really basic things, like how best to chop onions or boil pasta which can be helpful if you don't have much experience.

It has been asked before, so do poke around a bit. But as always I'll recommend Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything as the best place to start. IMO he does a better job covering some of the really basic stuff like how to shop, easiest way to prepare x food, variants on x food, charts for flavors/combinations, etc. Really it's a great primer on HOW to cook and afterwards it's a handy reference.

I think Food Lab/Serious Eats is a better second cookbook because it's a bit less concerned with teaching the basics of a particular food, but a bit better at providing recipes that don't need tweaking. Bittman recipes are super simple but he really pushes you to adapt it to your taste, which in the end makes you a better cook. Food Lab is really into the science/method which is great, but IMO more complex than you need at the very beginning. The perfect burger, Kenji all day long, but WTF to do with that butcher cut you bought on sale, I prefer Bittman.

For a third cookbook, the Flavor Bible is also great.

in medieval and tudor times this would certainly be true, but by the victorian period the spice world had drastically changed!

depending on where you lived in the world there may be wild herbs available to forage. mint, fennel, dill probably, garlic for sure all grow wild in the UK, or could be cultivated in gardens. in more arid places like the middle east/northern africa/the mediterranean things like rosemary, oregano, bay would be available.

and during victorian times spices would have been more available to people in the UK and elsewhere in europe because of colonization of india (which started in the 1600s ish, and would have been well established 200 years ago in the early victorian period.).

in medieval and tudor times spices would have been very expensive for sure, but once the east india company and the spice trade really gets rolling they become much more available. a lot of victorian cookbooks mention spices quite frequently, so one can assume they were being used regularly!

and if you're interested in salt, which victorians would have certainly eaten a lot of and been buying quite regularly, mark kurlansky's book "salt" (it's just called salt) is a truly fascinating look at the micro-history of salt!!

First, to answer your question, I have found that How to Cook Everything has really helped me get comfortable with some basics like pan sauces/gravy and seasoning profiles.

As mentioned, obviously you can reduce a recipe proportionally, but as far as instructions go, a 3-4 pound pot roast will take much longer than a 1-1.5 pound one. You really just need to understand what the goal is. Is it color, tenderness, and/or temperature? A thermometer is key. The other two come with experience in adapting recipes.

Another thing about expiring ingredients. This has a lot to do with meal planning. So you have a small bag of golden potatoes. Maybe one night you decide to be classic and have steak & potatoes. So you boil 4 small potatoes, drain, quarter and add butter and dried parsley. Then, maybe later in the week you do breakfast-for-dinner and have eggs, homefries, and maybe you have some leftover steak to make it easier. Another example: Hot dogs one night? Don't let the buns collect mold -- make some garlic bread for some sort of pasta dish a couple days later.

I'm with you on fresh herbs. I use mostly dried spices and it works out for me pretty well. Occasionally I'll buy cilantro or basil, but not always. I only use chopped, minced garlic in the big jar. But I always have onion and bell pepper on hand. Something to check out is the website Still Tasty. I don't really use it often, but I have referenced it from time to time if I'm considering cooking with a produce item I don't use often.

Also, just a tip, buy family packs of meat and use a vacuum sealer such as a FoodSaver to individually package your proteins. You save money in the long run and have better quality ingredients, even if they've been in the freezer for a couple months.

Ah, I love non-fictin as well. Though most of my favorites are more science oriented, there should be a few on here that pique your interest.

• Salt: A World History - A fascinating history of humanity's favorite mineral. Wars have been fought over it, it sustained whole economies ... you'll be surprised to learn just how much of human history has been influenced by salt.
  
• A Short History of Nearly Everything - One of my favorite books. Bryson tells the story and history of science through amazing discoveries and stories about the quirky people who made them.
  
• Homage to Catalonia - A mostly auto-biographical account of George Orwell's time fighting for the communists in the Spanish Civil War.
  
• Capital: Vol. 1 Marx's seminal work and a logically sound criticism of capitalism. Whether or not you agree with his proposed solutions, his criticism is spot on. Depending on how leftist you are, you may have already read The Communist Manifesto. It's a nice introduction to Marx's ideas, but you should really go straight to the source and just read Capital.
  
• Why We Believe What We Believe - The neurology of belief, what could be more interesting? The authors go into great detail on how belief happens at the neurological level, as well as summing up nicely all sorts of findings from differing fields relating to belief. The most interesting part is the research the authors themselves conducted: fMRI scans of people praying, Buddhist monks meditating, Pentecostals speaking in tongues, and an atheist meditating.

Wow.

OK, so I'm not used to such reasonable and cogent responses on reddit. Especially since I was being all ass-holey. You'll just have to give me a moment or two.

...

OK, yes I read what you posted. To be honest, it struck me as being a bit defensive (not by you, but by those who have a chip on their shoulder concerning foie gras). I'll be even more honest... I don't like pate, so even if there was a "humane/free-range" variety of foie gras (and in fact, there is ), I still wouldn't eat it. I just listed it because, along with sow-stalls and battery farms, it's considered a poster-child example of the "evils" of modern industrial farming.

I'm an omnivore. I eat meat. I actually often consider going vegetarian for both health reasons (our guts do not handle the huge amount of meat with which we stuff ourselves) and for ethical reasons (I don't really like the idea of killing other creatures). But then I smell the wonderful aroma of a lamb roast, or friend bacon and my resolve crumbles. Therefore, when I do decide to eat meat, I make a personal decision to only eat meat and meat products that I know come from producers that minimize (or at least reduce) the suffering of the animals concerned. I'm sorry, but in all that I have read and heard, foie gras is a product that is produced cruelly. I will concede there is an interesting article here on this argument.

These are the same reasons I don't eat veal (animals forced fed milk; their locomotion reduced; quite often the flesh is dyed etc). It just doesn't appeal to me.

When I eat chicken, I choose free-range. The same for eggs and, most definitely, the same for pork. It's a personal decision and it's not something I crusade about or indeed try to convince other of. As such, I think I'm perfectly entitled to hold such views.

I read The Ethics Of What We Eat and I would recommend it as a reasoned and reasonable approach to this problem. I have heard good things about The Omnivores Dilemma, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Thank you for restoring my faith in reddit a bit.

Any of the America's Test Kitchen cookbooks are fantastic for people learning how to cook. My boyfriend, like you, was a sandwich-pasta-burrito guy before these cookbooks. Now he can turn out a mean baked ziti and a pan of brownies :)

They've tested recipes extensively to find the easiest ways to create the most delicious, flavorful, fail-free versions of favorite foods. For each recipe, they describe the most common pitfalls of a recipe and how they avoid them, provide helpful illustrations, and make suggestions for the best cookware and ingredients to purchase (if you don't already have them). They most often do not recommend the most expensive option ;)

I recommend the Skillet cookbook and the New Best Recipe for starters.

This is probably my favorite cookbook ever, but I am not sure if it's a book that everyone would really enjoy reading. For me, the book is fascinating because it goes into an enormous amount of detail on ingredients, technique, and food science; at the same time, you kinda have to be a total need to read and enjoy such a sense book.

For something that everyone should read, I like to recommend Alton Brown's book "I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking"; it is basically the science and techniques from the first seasons of Good Eats, so I see it as kind of a Food Lab "lite", a great and very accessible way to introduce people to food and cooking,.

I don’t know what the availability of ingredients will be like where you live, but Yotam Ottolenghis books are beautiful and a real lesson in new flavours and textures. I have this at home and feel inspired to cook every time I flick through it https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jerusalem-Yotam-Ottolenghi/dp/0091943744

Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking is wonderful and covers lots of basics and classics, although it doesn’t have photographs so could be a bit dry for him https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Boxed/dp/0307593525

If you’re raising the next Heston Blumenthal, this book will really help him understand how to combine flavours. It’s not a recipe book though, more of a guide on how to think of your own flavour combinations https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flavour-Thesaurus-Niki-Segnit/dp/0747599777

And finally, how about a personalised recipe book for him to make his own - something like this https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/473998816/free-personalized-recipe-book-wooden?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Hope he has a great birthday!

I found new joy in cooking when I learned about all the processes of how things cook. Like learning how to smoke meats with an electric smoker, learning how to bake breads, make cheese, curing meats, pickling, using a pressure cooker, a sous vides oven, how to grill, how to slow cook. Each lead to more. I read the book Modern Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myrvhold. A super important thing for me was how to preserve foods without refrigeration and smoking meats, pasteurization versus cooking.

Here are the absolute musts I think you (everyone) should learn with tons of easy to find resources (and why important):

1. Absolutely master the temperatures meats must be cooked at. Memorize. Buy a meat and a laser thermometer. (This is important because you don't want to overcook your stuff and you'll be amazed at how different temps affect food taste and texture)
   
   
2. Learn how to make the five standard French sauces. Learn about stocks. Make mayonnaise. (This will open a whole new world, master these five than add personal variables to infinite awesome)
   
   
3. Learn knife skills what each knife shape and size does, what the various types of cuts are. Learn how to "French" a meat cut. Buy at least a paring knife.
   
4. Learn how to debone and stuff a chicken. Use butchers twine.
   (You'll be amazed how much more you can do with some simple meat tweaks, also important for vegetarians)
   
   
5. Learn the difference between baking soda and baking powder and bread flour versus cake flour.
   
6. Bake bread by using a starter culture.
   (There is nothing better than baking home made breads and cakes and stuff. You can make oodles of variations, tarts sweet and savory, pasties and pastries awesome)
   
   
7. Learn about salt, yeast, curing and fermentation. Make pickles through fermentation.
   (Sounds scary but so opens the magic shut doors between amateur and professionals. Is easy and important an art that people have been doing for thousands of years.)
   
   
8. Learn the different meat cuts.
   (Learn about and buy cheap cuts of meat, you won't be upset if you screw something up and the cheaper the more flavorful)
   
   
9. Discover new devices to cook with; the easiest is the slow cooker (in fact these are all easy just slightly different) an electric smoker, pressure cooker, barbecue grill, sous vide, cast iron dutch oven. (You are probably saying; this guy is nuts but this can open huge doors to amazing flavors.)
   
   
10. add different textures and items for colors flavor combinations
    
    A big thing for me
    http://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Home-Nathan-Myhrvold/dp/0982761015
    (This book is great for the science behind cooking, an incredible and overlooked aspect behind cooking)
    
    http://www.walmart.com/ip/Masterbuilt-30-Electric-Smokehouse/7811422
    (This was something that really changed everything for me. I know you have a crappy apartment so do I, I keep mine on the patio and use it like a slow cooker, shovel wood in set temp come home to incredible food. Plus with black friday coming up there are huge discounts available although overseas I dunno.)
    

Radical suggestion: no bad snack foods. They don't sate you and are typically more expensive per-pound than something home-cooked. Replace with things like roasted potatoes, hummus and veggies, fruit, or a portion of a real meal. Plus, you'll get to work on your cooking! Opening a bag or a box does nothing for cooking skills.

Use meat as a condiment instead of a foundation of a meal, like an exception instead of a norm. Use rice and beans to bulk up the rest. Stir fry is a great way to add veggies, rice, and beans while reducing/removing meat. Try going vegetarian once a week; you'll be surprised with what solutions you come up with! Then up the frequency.

I typically have meat once a day, if at all. Plain oatmeal for breakfast. Rice, beans, veg, onion, garlic, and whatever meat (if any) I prepped for lunch this week. Eggs, potatoes, fish, fruit, veg, protein shakes, spaghetti, and peanut butter for the evening.

Full disclosure: I keep my grocery budget under $110 per month for myself shopping almost exclusively at Aldi and Giant Eagle for anything else (fresh ginger, tofu, frozen veggies typically). This does not include alcohol ($60 budgeted per month for bars, state stores, and wine shows; not always social) and restaurants ($50 budgeted per month, once or twice a week; always social).

How is your comfort in the kitchen? $5000 saved * 2 (current expenses) / 12 months = ~$833 per month. I hope you're feeding a family. In that case, implementing vegetarianism will be slower and harder but not impossible.

Links to explore:

• How to Cook Everything: I consult this each week and am trying to cook my way through it via my own odds and ends cross-referenced with the comprehensive index. Many, many recipes use the same ingredients and I typically buy one or two missing ingredients each week to complete the meal. Last week was eggplant curry with potatoes. There is also a vegetarian version that I plan to purchase when I'm done, but I can't speak to its quality.
  
• Budget Bytes: what I used before "How to Cook Everything". Similar deal: Beth is great about staples and taste, giving a price breakdown on each meal.
  
• /r/MealPrepSunday: I cook all lunches and portion them out so I don't have to worry about going out to lunch when I forget to prepare a meal.
  
• /r/slowcooking: I used a rice cooker with a slow-cooking function at the start of my frugal journey. I only use it to prepare rice now because I love using the range to cook. :)
  
• Frugalwoods' Rice, Bean, Mushroom, and Chili Lunch: I use Sriracha with red pepper flakes and yellow onion instead. Surprisingly tasty for how bland it seems.
  
• ERE Wiki Cookbook. Never used, but seems solid in practice.

YTA

Jesus I don’t even know where to begin with this. I’m gonna break it down the way I would for my toddlers.

I understand that you feel badly for being mean to Sarah, but do you think the problem will be solved by being mean to Luke and Scott? How would you feel if they sat you down and said “listen dad. We’ve been giving mom a really hard time lately so we’ve decided that for Mother’s Day this year we’re going to send her on an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii for the weekend. You’re gonna go too, but you have to pay your own way. Also, we’re giving you a new set of grill tongs for Father’s Day. Fair is fair!” You’d probably feel like they don’t care about you as much right?

The way to solve this problem is not by throwing money at your daughter and shoving your other kids’ faces in it. You could have avoided this ENTIRELY by not telling them IN FRONT OF SARAH exactly what you were giving her as a birthday gift. Also, once weekly veggie burger night is like the bare minimum you can be doing for your daughter food wise. Buy this book and do better.

Video series or anything? I really learned a ton reading The Professional Chef, which is a textbook in a lot of culinary schools I hear. I have the eTextbook version that has a lot of video links and interactivity.

If you're into the science behind cooking I'd also really recommend The Food Lab, I have the hard back version and it's also just a beautiful book.

I also have Cooking and Sauces by Peterson, also textbook quality books.

And of course, the ever popular Better Homes & Gardens Ring-Bound Cookbook, How to Cook Everything, and The Joy of Cooking are staples on my bookshelf as well. Great for reference or a quick look to find a particular recipe just to see how others do it.

I also browse a lot of websites and watch a lot on YouTube. I'll save recipes I find online using the Evernote Web Clipper and tag them so I can find them easily in the future. This works great because I can pull them up on my iPad while I'm cooking.

When a recipe calls for a method, tool, or ingredient I'm not very familiar with I'll usually just search it on YouTube and get some ideas about how to use it. That's worked really well for me so far.

1. I typically spend about $200/mo. on groceries, almost all at Costco, but I eat a lot, so YMMV. To be on the safe side, put down $250/mo. for groceries when you're doing your budget.
   
   
2. When I was sharing groceries and cooking duties with roommates, we'd cook dinner and eat leftovers at lunch. I usually grabbed lunch from Stamp on the days I had class, and one of my roommates would pack some leftovers to reheat.
   
   
3. Costco is the shit for groceries, everything's pretty high-quality and fresh, and cheap as hell. I don't know what I'd do without their freezer-ready packs of chicken and ground beef/turkey. Also, they sell 1lb resealable bags of precooked bacon... mmm, bacon....
   
   
4. If you've never really cooked before, buy How to Cook Everything. It's a really great book, complete with all kinds of recipes, and there are sections in the beginning that you can learn a lot from - knife skills, differences between cuts of meat, tips for grocery shopping, the tools and spices you should stock your kitchen with, etc... It's a really invaluable book IMO. Find some recipes you like and rotate between them.
   
   
5. The biggest tip for grocery shopping is to know what you're going to cook for the week beforehand, so you know what to get and how much. This will cut down on waste and save you money.
   
   Here's a really easy recipe that I've been making this semester with ingredients you can get all at Costco that's pretty versatile. I call it "clusterfuck rice":
   
   Ingredients
   
   

• .5lb pre-cooked bacon, chopped
  
• 1 pack ground turkey (~1.7lb, 80/20 lean)
  
• 1 pack chicken breast (~1.3lb), cubed
  
• 3 cups rice dry
  
• Your choice of produce (try any combination of onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, green beans, broccoli, carrots, snap peas, asparagus)
  
• Seasoning (curry powder-pepper-salt, paprika-garlic powder-cayenne-salt, cumin-paprika-garlic powder-cayenne-salt are ones I like)
  
  
  Directions
  
  

1. Slice and dice produce, sautee in a large pot
   
2. Start boiling 3.5-4 cups of water (adjust for amount and type of rice as needed)
   
3. Lightly brown chicken in another pan (don't cook all the way through), add to pot and stir
   
4. Lightly brown turkey and toss in bacon towards the end, add to pot and stir
   
5. Add dry rice to pot and stir thoroughly
   
6. When water boils, add seasonings to pot, and slowly add all the water
   
7. Turn heat back up to medium-high, stir consistently, waiting until water comes to a boil again
   
8. Once water boils, turn heat down to medium-low, cover pot, stir every 5-10 minutes for 30-60 minutes.
   
   
   Macros:
   
   

• ~5000 kcal
  
• ~150g fat
  
• ~500g carb
  
• ~400g protein
  
  This lasts me about 4 meals usually, but I'm a weightlifter and eat a ton, so if you're splitting food with roommates, this should feed the whole apartment for dinner and whoever wants to take leftovers for lunch.
  

I agree that we probably are coming from different sets of values, but I believe there is enough of an overlap for us to make headway. But there's only so much I can try to communicate through typed comments on reddit, so this will be my last post.

> but this is still based on a meat-inclusive diet so my point still stands that meat eating has been historically important to humanity.

The fact that it was historically important in no way justifies the continued eating of meat.

If we're talking about people in third world environments, of course I'm not going to deny them a potential food source. If this is about starvation, then it's about food. What you've been reading in my comments has more to do with the ethics of eating meat when there's so much more available to you (i.e. in the first world such as the US).

I think we're on the same page on managed commons. I just wish that the standards they're forced to follow were based on what's ecologically feasible than what the companies controlling food production/catching/distribution think makes a large enough profit. (I'm a capitalist as long as business practices are transparent.) (On another note, you might be interested in Dan Barber's TED talk for an idea on sustainable fishing practices. It's the sort of thing I think we're going to have to move towards.)

Clearly, our views on the nature of both human and animal rights are different. If you'd like to get a better look into the reasoning behind my thinking, these two books really made me change the way I view how humans produce and consume food. Give them a read if you're interested. They'll make much more articulate arguments than I'm capable of making.

Also, if you get a chance, I highly recommend this book if you're interested in global poverty. It blew my mind.

I am pretty sure that esdee is just a jackass who thinks s/he knows more than s/he does, but I suspect the point about nutritionists may be that it is a field of science that is still in its infancy.

I came to stop listening to nutritional science thanks to Michael Pollan's books. In Defense of Food is a great book that calls out nutritional science as little more than a ploy to move "value-added foods." It goes into why the science in this case is more a shot in the dark at keeping healthy than is asking your grandmother what to eat. (tl;dr version: Nutriotional science is too reductionist and focuses too much on specific molecules in food rather than heeding conventional wisdom of "if we survived on it for two million years, we should eat it." Pollan sums it up himself in only seven words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Oh, and avoid processed foods.) Great book. If you end up liking it, read Omnivore's Dilemma by Pollan to enter the world of food politics.

So I just got done with a 4.25 mile run (35 minutes 4 seconds so I'm not exactly the Flash yet) and I became a vegetarian back in March, so I'm still relatively new to it, not exactly a distance runner but I regularly put in over 12 miles a week.

First: This is a very good book http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Vegetarian-Meatless/dp/0764524836

Second: The biggest thing you'll realize about being a vegetarian is that after you're done eating, you don't feel bloated or weighed down like you normally would after eating an enormous steak or something like that. Obviously this helps with running (like in the morning if you just eat some cereal with milk, a banana and some juice)

Third: People say eat a lot of nuts and peanuts. I can't do that or I will die (allergies), so I eat a lot of soy, eggs, eggplant, mushrooms, stuff like that.

Fourth: I really hate diet supplement stuff for workouts but I buy like four protein shakes a week from Ensure to offset what I might not get from meat. I get the Ensure ones instead of something like "MUSCLE MILK" because I'm not some juicehead muscle dude.

Fifth: Whenever possible, go whole grain/whole wheat when eating pasta/bread. There's a really good vegetarian/vegan-friendly pizza place near me that offers a lot of whole wheat stuff, so I always get whole wheat pizza crust. So good.

A lot of the time, people ask why I became a vegetarian. Really, the answer is "I felt like it." It started as a challenge (can I go the whole month of April without eating meat? Yes, I could, so now why should I stop?) Also I'm 6'4"~6'5" and about 200 lbs and I'd like to get down to 190 lbs or ideally 180, hence all the running.

TL;DR - sorry but there is no TL;DR, you have to read the whole thing!

"low-fat low-carb foods"? There pretty much is only carbs and fat. You could eat whey protein powders, but your body maxes out at about 40% protein, otherwise you'll just get rabbit starvation.

If cooking your fruits and vegetables works, then do that. Check out "Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human", for some interesting evidence on how cooking can greatly increase the nutrient absorption of certain foods. For example, eating a raw banana you only absorb about 50% of the nutrients, cook that banana and you'll absorb about 99%.

If you have autoimmune issues, I'd also try elimination diets to see if certain foods are causing the problem. These may not be the same foods as are triggering your oral allergies, other foods can irritate the intestinal lining, creating a leaky gut, which will allow a lot of crap into the bloodstream which can in turn overwork the immune system. Also reduce your glycemic load, which puts tremendous stress on the immune system. There are lots of foods which people can be sensitive to, but doing a 30-day grain-free challenge is usually the best place to start, as it's far and away the most likely culprit.

For healthy eating, try coconuts: coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut milk, shredded coconut. It's all great stuff - can be used as a snack, and a very healthy source of energy.

Thanks!

• Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England. Cronon, William.
  
  
• Selling 'Em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food. Hogan, David Gerard.
  
  
• Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet. Levenstein, Harvey.
  
  
• The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Pollan, Michael.
  
  
• Manifestos on the Future of Food and Seed. Shiva, Vandana et al.
  
  
• The Jungle. Sinclair, Upton.
  
  
• Banana Cultures: Agriculture, Consumption, and Environmental Change in Honduras & the United States. Soluri, John.
  
  
• The Fruits of Natural Advantage: Making the Industrial Countryside in California. Stoll, Steven.
  
  
• Corn and Capitalism: How a Botanical Bastard Grew to Global Dominance. Warman, Arturo.
  
  Very cool to see the actual course listing information. I'd forgotten what it was like to flip through an actual paper course catalog with that kind of stuff in it. Thank god for the internet.
  
  Also, you helped me figure out what book I was trying to remember in this comment! It was The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan. IIRC, it was an awesome concept and 75% of it was an absolutely fantastic read, but one of the sections (maybe the third one?) was bit uninspired. Still overall worth the read, for sure, just be prepared to slog through one section. (And don't skip it, because what it discusses is still relevant to the final section, even if it's not as entertaining as the rest of the book.) It's worth it in particular for anybody living in an industrialized "modern" nation; it provides some of the come-to-Jesus moments that we all need to hear periodically. It's not on the level of Fast Food Nation in that regard (which is required reading for every American and Canadian, as far as I'm concerned), but still.
  
  EDIT: And that helped me remember another book I've heard recommended, also by Michael Pollan: In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.
  
  You're on a roll, friend.

These goals are cool! You are going to get a lot of advice on the losing weight stuff, but cooking is my jam. Its hard to get over the hump from making recipes to just cooking what's in the fridge. So in the meantime, you will do well to try a variety of things that from cookbooks that you think sound good.

My favorite cookbook right now is: http://www.amazon.com/The-Best-Recipe-Cooks-Illustrated/dp/0936184744. It is full of all the staples you will need, and each recipe comes with a long explanation which gives insight about why they cooked it the way they did. It is huge, but very accessible.

I also occasionally bust out my 1953 Better Home and Gardens cookbook, but that is pretty rare and only when I just need to feel like a housewife.

Cooking for yourself will help your other goals - cooking is its own craft project, and knowing exactly what you are putting into your body will help you understand what needs to change in order to lose weight.

It sounds like you need a good cookbook. Books are great because usually they don't just contain recipes, but will have information about techniques, explanations and substitutions for ingredients, even general ideas on how to approach cooking.

I started learning to cook using Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. It's not perfect but it's a good place to start and has a lot of explanatory information in addition to recipes.

Other suggestions:

• The Joy of Cooking is the Bible of American cooking, I'd recommend it if you don't mind big encyclopedic texts.
  
  
• Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan is an incredible cookbook if you like Italian food.
  
  
• Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat and Ratio by Michael Ruhlman are both supposed to be great beginner cooking texts that look at more of the general approach to cooking than particular recipes. I haven't read either so can't personally say, but they might be worth a look.

Pfft, nothing beats my peanut butter chicken. Well, actually it's Coolio's recipie but it's still tasty. Serve it with a bunch of momokan brown rice to soak up all those leftover juices and it's heaven.

Also, what kind of cheese? better be something good. I hear it's cheddar, but the aging on cheddar is VERY important. As a person who happens to live in what some would consider the cheese capital I will accept nothing but the best. If you want some Hook's, or Carr Valley let me know.

Also, the steak recipie has been modified with extra mushrooms and bacon. Granted, it's warm enough to grill outside now so I probably won't make it again until next winter. Grilled steaks are the best.

While the classics are classic for a reason, they have a dirty little secret: they reflect the food tastes of the time in which they we written. I almost never cook anything from Mastering the Art anymore, because tastes have moved on.

Today, I would start a new cookbook collector with How to Cook Everything, any edition. 20 years ago, it would have been Joy of Cooking. 40 years ago Fannie Farmer. 60 years ago, Betty Crocker, which now doesn't even turn up on Amazon on the first search page. I own all those cookbooks - and a ton more, but Bittman is where to start now, IM (rarely)HO, because he reflects general tastes, techniques and availability of today. I wouldn't part with my Escoffier, but I read it for taste inspiration, not recipes these days.

This afternoon, I was editing my cookbook collection to make room for some more advanced books in a few areas and to eliminate some dated ones, so the topic is fresh on my mind. I will never part with some older books that have the stains and happy memories of many successful uses and some fun litigation from my book publishing days, but cooking is a dynamic art. Knowing how to develop a tin type will not make you a better digital photographer.

Alton has had a few endorsed products and specifically designed pieces come out on the food network website! Give me a bit to find links and I will edit my comment! I have a measuring cup from him I will never give up.

Edit!

"“Alton Brown’s Gear for Your Kitchen,” his long-awaited homage to tools and gadgetry, was published by STC in September 2003 and was nominated for both a James Beard Award for Best Cookbook in the Tools & Techniques category and an IACP Cookbook Award in the Food Reference/Technical category. Gear is an essential guide to all the “hardware” you need in the kitchen packed with practical advice and tips, this book takes a look at what’s needed and what isn’t, what works and what doesn’t." (This is more of a guide for the whole kitchen, but this is a start)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1584796960/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/176-8554438-3212524?ref_=pd_bxgy_b_img_c


Off the Good Eat's Fan Page here's a more specific list, and I know back in the day he has endorsed all-clad and Viking cookware (most chefs will endorse all-clad)

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/References/Equipment.htm


Hope this helps for anyone who is curious!

If you are looking for basic cooking information the Joy of Cooking is obligatory.

A couple things I've learned along the way is first to start slow and work through cookbooks. It's easy to keep buying book after book but they are just decoration if you don't know them well. Secondly, be wary of books with lots of pretty pictures! In my experience they are full of single-purpose recipes that don't teach you the true nature or source as you spoke of above.

As far as source recipes I'd second everything mentioned so far but if you are looking to blow people away with Italian and Mexican dishes (my particular favorite styles)... look no further than:

The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan - Possibly my favorite author of cookbooks of all time. This is definitely the one to start with in my opinion.

The Art of Mexican Cooking - Diana Kennedy - If you are looking for real mexican food this book is a great place to start.

Bonus Book... not a cookbook but a great way to learn about cooking

>Dude here.

Ditto.

> bride multitasking her way to a mental breakdown and groom just trying not to get yelled at.

Bingo.

>we are there to not fuck things up.

At first I was told my responsibility was to show up (mostly) sober and dressed.

> I'd wager he wants to be more involved too but doesn't know how.

See: and groom just trying not to get yelled at.

I like the idea of the weekly meeting, but getting closer I think that time frame would probably have to be shortened a bit. I know it was hard for her to get me involved, but like you suggest she found the things I was comfortable with and put those with me. Thankfully it wasn't anything I could really screw up either.

It started with something very basic: stuffing and sealing the various envelopes. From there she added picking up specific items from certain stores (texted to me so I could check numbers and such). I am at the point of building/painting pieces needed for the reception, printing stuff, and even helping to register (partial thanks to Alton).

It's all stuff that I am more than capable of dealing with on my own, but when you add in the complications of budgets and schedules and all that other stuff (like making sure she is happy) it can be overwhelming at times.

>I'd go Death on the Nile

Second, but just because I like the style.

How to Cook Everything

There' an iPhone app with the recipes that will build shopping lists for you as well. My GF is a catering manager for a large venue here in NYC; she's a food snob by profession. But she always loves the beef stir fry from Mark's book, despite the fact that it's 5 or so easily obtained ingredients. Maybe she just likes the inevitable sex. We may never know.

I think the Joy of Cooking is a great reference once you get the basics down. I also think online recipes can be hit or miss. As a beginner, having ONE good book is better than the entirety of the internet IMHO. There's just too much information coming at you.

That being said, I made this recipe every 2 weeks for about half a year. Every time I'd vary the spices a bit, to experiment. It's really simple, refrigerates well, and tastes pretty good.

The McGee Bible is probably the best food-science oriented cookbook ever written.

This Book is basically the same content but condensed and made more accessible, so its a good starting point if you don't want a huge doorstop of a book to page through.

Good Eats by Alton Brown is a pretty awesome how-to show that combines food science and comedy. poke around for full episodes if you can find them, its worth it.

as for podcast format...not sure if I've encountered a good one in strictly audio. maybe just look for books on tape?

Find a good vegetarian cookbook. Two fantastic ones for vegetarians are How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman, and Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. Both of them have tons of recipes which don't use fake meat or processed ingredients.

If you're serious about reducing or avoiding all animal products, you might want to look for a good vegan cookbook as well. I like the Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Romano. It's good because it covers a huge range of dishes, and if there something you're especially craving (like Sloppy Joes or Chicken Pot Pie) you can usually find a reasonable analogue.

I'm basically vegetarian for practical reasons when I eat with friends or at restaurants, and vegan when I cook for myself at home. If you're going to be relearning how to cook without meat, I've found it's really pretty easy to take the extra step and cut out dairy and eggs as well.

It's not that hard if you're not one of these reddit hivemind 'bacon is teh sex' type of people. Just be open minded. Be willing to try new foods that you've never heard of (e.g. tempeh).

I've been sort of vegetarian for 4 years, I guess. Since I am doing it for health reasons, I am willing to eat meat when I feel like it. I'll eat a delicious piece of meat if it is a special occasion. Fish more often than anything else, but definitely minimal red meat (once every 4-6mo maybe).

In terms of diet, research the nutrients that you need. A full amino acid protein profile takes thought (rice+beans, soybeans are the only vegetarian source with all the necessary AA) and this is especially important if you lift weights (I usually overload on skim milk). Maybe talk to a nutritionist if you worry about these things, but you will pick it up with time. Do not eat too many processed foods in an attempt to maintain your vegetarianism.

One big pro for me: it forces me to work on my cooking skills. It is easy to prepare meat to be pretty good. It takes a bit more thought for me to make a delicious vegetarian meal.

This cookbook is good. So is this one.

Philosophy, writing, gaming, art (music, photography, /r/glitch_art). Honestly anything classified as a "soft science" kinda gets my motor going. I also really like anthorpology...specifically food anthro. I just started reading through Salt: A World History, and it's been interesting so far. From Amazon:
> In his fifth work of nonfiction, Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions. Populated by colorful characters and filled with an unending series of fascinating details, Salt is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece.

Gastronomique is an incredible resource for all pretty much anything edible.

Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking is also a great resource but is more like a text book than a cook book.

The Ideas in Food books are pretty good too.

I guess I've been leaning more towards "educational" type reading lately (opposed to recipe tomes). Ratio is also very good. Does reddit like Ruhlman?

If you're going to cook, you'll need some basic tools. A saute pan, a large saucepan and a smaller saucepan should be good to start, along with a mixing bowl or two, a sheet pan, a casserole dish, a washable (plastic) cutting board, a couple of wooden spoons and some tongs. You'll need a couple of knives too - an 8" chefs knife and a smaller paring knife will take care of just about every job in the kitchen. Crazy gadgets aren't necessary for a beginner (and the more experienced you get the more you'll find they probably aren't necessary at all). Most everything you need can be procured at thrift stores or tag sales if you're on a tight budget. Stay away from older Teflon non-stick pans; if you feel more comfortable with non-stick over stainless, try to get anodized instead. To prevent accidents, keep your knives sharp.

Memorize or print this out: Safe Minimum Temperatures

Definitely always have salt, pepper and olive oil on hand. You probably don't need one of those all-in-one spice racks with every herb known to man in it; you'd be surprised how little of them you end up using. Fresh herbs are nearly always better, anyway. The main dried ingredients I keep on hand now are cumin, red pepper flakes, (about 6 varieties of) chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder.

Grab a couple of cookbooks (How To Cook Anything and The Joy of Cooking are awesome and include lots of different types of cuisine) and just try something you like. Start with recipes that don't have a lot of ingredients or steps. Start with recipes you know you like. If you don't understand what they mean when they tell you to do something, Youtube is definitely your friend.

Taste often. Don't feel like you have to stick to the book 100%. If something needs more pepper, a dash of hot sauce, a pat of butter, put it in. You are the one who has to eat it, so make it yours. Remember, you can always add more of something, but it's pretty tough to add less. Don't feel bad if it doesn't come out perfectly the first time, or the second. It seems daunting at first, but if you keep at it, it gets much easier.

Edited to add: http://www.reddit.com/r/cookingforbeginners

Good on you for deciding to make a healthy change! Definitely check out the /r/EatCheapAndHealthy/ sub. It's a kind and helpful group that routinely gives great tips and recipes.

If you're just starting out, investing in a basic cookbook is an excellent way to learn cooking skills at your own pace. I'd get one that starts with boiling eggs and such basics, then progresses to simple recipes. How to Cook Everything: The Basics and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian are good ones, both by Mark Bittman. Another good resource is BudgetBytes.com.

Also, you might do some reading up on meal planning. IMO, it's just as important as the cooking and eating.

Bakers make great modernist cooks because it requires so much forethought/calculation. As for resources, my first book was Cooking for Geeks, then the Modernist Cuisine book set from Nathan Myhrvold (and have it signed by him "For Science!") which is the bible, but free options include their website, Seattle Food Geek, molecular recipes, this YouTube playlist from Harvard and the usual science-based cooking resources like Good Eats, America's Test Kitchen, and Chef Steps.

I learned not to overthink the ice sphere mold: fill it with water and take it out after three hours, then melt a hole in the top and suction out the liquid water with a syringe. The chocolate was tempered then about a tablespoon was dolloped into each half, joined, and tumbled for coverage. Turn every 15 minutes in the fridge until it pulls away from the mold.

The goat cheese was thinned to an oozy consistency with goat's milk to get the desired "popping" effect. I wanted to do something creamy that would complement the char on the lamb and acidity of the vinaigrette.

Best things to sous vide: Eggs to various stages of yolk doneness, well-marbled but tough cuts of meat (think USDA Prime grade Chuck steak and pork ribs) over 72 hours at 140F, salmon with smoked salt to 113F is spreadable like butter

There's a cooking for beginner's subreddit as well by the way.

---

I found certain cook books more helpful than others. As a science type, I deeply appreciated this time which should be in your local library. It explains what "meat" is: muscles, and how it all works, and how heat affects it chemically. All the steps are very clear, the photography is beautiful, and steps are written exactly like a chemistry lab.

The meat chapter explains why different cuts of meat are different and what to do with each.

---

Start with beef or good quality fish: both are safe to eat even if undercooked. Maybe take a scientific approach, even: cut up different chunks of the same size, blot dry with paper towel to minimize splutter.

Put pan on stove at medium setting, add about teaspoon of oil and spread across surface evenly. When you can feel heat on your hand about 3 inches from the heated surface, add meat.

After one minute remove one chunk and rest on plate. After another minute remove another. And so on. Observe the differences. Now taste them. Then add little salt and pepper and taste again.

Small steps. :)

I used to be the kid who threw pop corn kernels on the stove without oil and almost set the house on fire. My then boyfriend needed to walk me through cooking my first egg. We all start somewhere.

Hi Alton,

I just wanted to say that I absolutely loved your book I'm Just Here for the Food. I actually found it at the SF public library, and having seen Good Eats and knowing how entertaining you were, I figured it was worth a try. I was right! It was the first cook book I had ever seen which tried to teach the theory behind cooking as opposed to just being a collection of recipes, and I found it to be both a handy guide to cooking, and also just a fun and interesting read in general (I really liked the food-science kind of approach).

No questions, just wanted to say thanks for the entertainment, and the help learning to cook!

This book brought me from making inedible soups (literally I would have to throw them out) to making awesome soup. https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Vegetarian-Meatless/dp/0764524836

There's a page about how to freestyle your own soup. The basic is start with a fat (like olive oil) and add aromatics (like garlic), and cook until it smells good. Then add vegetables and liquid (I'm forgetting which order the author recommended but it would probably be fine either way). He has lots of suggestions for how to get wild with different ingredients, and there's even an exciting page about how adding cabbage at different points in the cooking process can change the soup.

Also, treat yourself to an immersion blender. Makes vegan soups taste like they are full of butter and cream. (Also super handy for salad dressing recipes!)

I also agree with the idea of going to the library or bookshops to browse before you buy. But for many years, my absolute go to cookbook has been Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. If I could only have one cookbook, this would be it. I like simple approaches to cooking, and Mark writes in a way that makes even the most daunting recipes approachable. For the same reason, I'm a big fan of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks. They're written in the same way. If you ever get a chance to watch his early BBC series the Naked Chef it's wonderful. Technnology abounds however, and I find myself going more and more often to the wonderful and free New York Times Cooking app on my iPhone. Good Luck!

Alton Brown's cookbooks are quite good, so I'll add my voice to those recommending them.

If you don't need color glossy photos, "The New Best Recipe" from the folks at Cook's Illustrated magazine has great recipes and thorough instructions.

When you someday move beyond the basics, I'd also throw in a plug for Michael Ruhlman's "Ratio" and Jacques Pepin's "Complete Techniques". Ruhlman's book breaks some recipes (like doughs, batters, and custards) down to their basic components and will help you understand how to modify or even improvise with some kinds of recipes, and Pepin's book has great illustrations that can help get you through some of the techniques mentioned by not described by cookbooks. Pepin's Techniques might even prove useful to you now as a reference, depending on what other cookbooks you're working with.

My meat eating husband and I have a very similar situation. He makes dinner once a week, sometimes he gets creative but usually it's fried egg sandwiches! If you like cooking and are interested in learning some Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is really great and will help you with tons of general cooking basics too. A go-to favorite of ours is this Black Bean Posole

Watch Jacques pepin videos on youtube he is a master of technique and the reasons why we do things the way we do in a kitchen. This is a great book.

• http://www.amazon.com/Jacques-Pepins-Complete-Techniques-P%C3%A9pin/dp/1579122205/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318406390&sr=8-2 *
  
  
  Yeah practice practice practice and always stay clean, messy cooking can sometimes lead to getting sick or knocking things over and starting fire who knows a clean station is a happy one. Also Harold McGee is great he does allot of food science (I.E. what meat does in different stages of being heated and why)
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318406624&sr=1-1-spell
  
  
  Finally a great little utility is the food lovers companion its got conversion charts meat cut charts and its a fully glossary of ingredients (like every ingredient)its really handy
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Lovers-Companion-Barrons-Cooking-Guide/dp/0764112589/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318406737&sr=1-2-spell
  
  
  If your a visual learner and want to know how to do something In cooking you tube has tons of great videos.

• Today is my last day before a 9-day vacation. I have absolutely nothing planned beyond getting a few more items checked off my to-do list (such as visiting the rest of the locations in my Little Adventures in Tokyo book and finishing the dozen or so recipes I've yet to make from the 101 essential recipes in the back of How to Cook Everything [incidentally, also a great phone app]).
  
  
• Radish Bo-ya delivery incoming tomorrow morning. One of the best things about getting a box of new vegetables every other week is that I'm finally starting to learn some food names, which has strangely been a bit of a mental block of mine. Just the other week I learned what 菜の花 is (rather, I learned the name for it), and that it cooks up quite nicely with some olive oil and canned tuna.
  
  
• I'm visiting Le Wagon today for their student demos. I'm still not quite ready to commit to joining a bootcamp (or even figuring out what direction I want to move my so-called career in next), but this will be further information for my (at times agonizingly slow) internal analysis.
  
  
• Rewatched Three Amigos and Sneakers this past week. Three Amigos seemed well meant, but sadly devoid of much actual laugh-out-loud humor. On the other hand, I'd forgotten how much I loved Sneakers as a kid. There were some parts near the end that didn't hold up (where exactly did all those extra guards get to?), but the movie is so much fun it's hard to find fault with it.
  
  
• Also saw Things We Lost in the Fire, which was fantastic. Not a false or saccharine note throughout.
  
  
• While I've fallen a bit behind in my Anki studies and meditation, and neither are getting completed every day recently, I'm looking forward to getting back on track over GW. I know my recent struggle to stay on top of these is mostly due to the slow buildup of stress that comes from not having had a long vacation since December, so GW should be just the thing.
  
  
• Exhibiting some of my sketches this weekend along with the rest of my drawing group. Nothing special on my end, but it's the first time I've shown my drawings publicly so that's some sort of small milestone. Honestly, I thought I might be more nervous, but really they're just sketches and not anything I've poured my heart and soul into. I'll aim for the heart and soul pouring for the next exhibition ;-)
  
  EDIT: My proclivity for anal retentiveness forced me to link all the things :-D I am now at peace with the world.

That is actually true, because happy = it grew up like a chicken should, the right food and freedom to move and have social chicken interactions. Makes for much better meat. These guys, made famous by the hugely successful book "The Omnivores Dilemma", use that simple truth for their commercial advantage.

If you don't want to read much, skip below to #7 and the helpful resources.

Food ("nutrition") sets your performance ("fitness") ceiling. It will define what you can achieve in the gym. If you want better performance, you'll have to eat better first. Period.

1. Forget calories. They're a giant red herring. In response to your question, others have brought up "calories in, calories out." This is such an oversimplification that's it's basically wrong. 500 doughnut calories =\= 500 sweet potato calories, NOT EVEN CLOSE. The sugar and other refined carbohydrates in a doughnut will break down to glucose very quickly, then spike your blood sugar. Next, insulin response rushes in and causes a few things, the blood sugar gets pulled into cells for use but also gets pulled into fat stores. Insulin promotes development of fat tissue. To simplify: some of the 500 doughnut calories end up used for energy very quickly after you eat it, the rest ends up stored as fat, but you'll absorb all 500 one way or another. Sweet potatoes don't spike your blood sugar because they're digested very slowly. You get a slow steady stream of carbohydrates (blood sugar) to use all day, especially during that workout. So long, in fact that you'll likely end up flushing some of the carbs 500 carbs in that sweet potato down the toilet because it won't stay in your body long enough to fully digest it (thank you dietary fiber.) To simplify, you'll absorb some and what you do absorb, you'll use to your benefit to crush WODs.
   
   
2. Focus instead on macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats). Which brings me to my next point...
   
   
3. You're going to have to "track." That means you're going to have to get a scale and weigh your food as you plate it for your meal.
   
   
4. Meal prep. Get a plan together. Then cook up some food and weigh off into containers. This will help stay on track. This is important because:
   
   
5. It takes about 2 weeks for all the hormonal changes to happen to your body when your start to eat better. That means no cheat meals. Cheat meals are for when you've reached your goals. They bog down your progress. Stay away as long as possible.
   
   
6. Regarding food, you should be buying groceries (veggies and fruit), meat, fish and some dairy. If it comes in packaging, you should probably avoid it (except obvious things like milk has to come in a gallon, duh). MOST IMPORTANTLY: NO REFINED CARBOHYDRATES. PERIOD. NO EXCEPTIONS. If it's made with bleached, white flour (often labeled "enriched"), sugar, high fructose corn syrup, rice syrup, agave nectar, rice syrup, and all the other misleading terms, then you simply don't eat it.
   
   
7. If you don't believe me about the above, don't take my word for it, go on YouTube and watch videos with the elite CrossFit athletes and watch what they eat and what their coaches (Ben Bergeron, coach to Katrin davidsdottir and a few other big names) has a bunch of nutrition related videos) tell them to eat. Mimic what they do. They don't eat that way because they're elite, they're elite because they eat that way (and train according obviously).
   
   Helpful resources:
   http://journal.crossfit.com/2012/03/nutrition.tpl
   
   In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143114964/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_q7qAH63DLB7ov
   
   Enter The Zone: A Dietary Road map https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060391502/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_GVpEDeq7jqJIA
   
   The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143038583/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_jYyDDbGSYE54S
   
   Edit: spelling typos

If he likes cooking you could get him a week of meals delivered! I use home chef and hello fresh. They can be kind of pricey but if you just do one week you get a discount for your first order (just be sure to cancel it after the first week because they charge weekly after that).

This game also looks super fun!

this cookbook could be awesome too!

and I mean, who wouldn't want to cook with coolio?

[Health And Fitness: Running] The BibRave Podcast | Episode 27: Weirdest. Half Marathon. Ever

SFW

iTunes

Episode Summary
In Episode 27, Tim and Julia chat about a recent track Half Marathon they both ran. Yup - 52.5 laps, in the rain and cold, and it was awesome (at least Tim thought so. Julia however...).

Then they move to their second favorite subject, food! Tim and Julia talk about foods they are willing to spend more money on for quality, some of the differences between high/low quality foods, and they close with a bunch of useful takeaways on how they shop, plan their meals, and set themselves up to make good decisions. As often as possible... 😇

Episode Show Notes:

• The Bill Aronson Track Half (and the BATH reviews on BibRave)
  

• Run Oregon's BATH report
  
• Tim's 3rd place finish at the 20176 BATH
  
• Racing Weight
  
• Omnivore's Dilemma (not specifically discussed, but very relevant)
  
  Podcast Summary
  The BibRave Podcast is a show about all things running and racing! We cover a random assortment of topics, (almost) all of which relate in some way to running, runners, health, fitness, nutrition, races, and GEAR! If you like what you hear, please subscribe in iTunes and tell your runner buddies about us. Thanks for listening!
  
  Twitter //
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  Facebook

Check out Jon Ronson! I've only read two of his books, The Psychopath Test and Lost at Sea, but they were both really good.

Here are a couple daily show interviews about the books if you want to get a feel for them. They're super entertaining. He's also had a couple segments on This American Life about similar subject matter.

On a different note, Salt is also way more interesting than it has any right to be.

There are others but oh god I really need to be studying for my exams.

Himalayan pink salt is just halite anyway, and halite is trash quality salt, often contaminated with heavy metals, lead, etc, and a byproduct of metal/mineral and fossil fuel mining/extraction. Cheap table salt is usually halite, makes me sick to my stomach and triggers migraines. I now avoid halite if I can.

Heavy Metals Contamination of Table Salt Consumed in Iran

Cheap but decent quality sea salt is only a dollar or two more than table salt (halite) and doesn't make me feel like trash, in fact the complete opposite. Good quality sea salt, harvested and evaporated properly, helps alleviate nausea, is an excellent topical and oral antibiotic, reduces inflammation, migraines, and bacterial infections. Good quality saline keeps people alive in hospitals, is one of the most frequently used mixtures in hospitals. Bags of saline.

The type of salt and where it's sourced from matters just as much as the authenticity and source of honey, for very similar reasons: pure honey is also an antibacterial and helps alleviate some health problems, whereas counterfeit honey is high-fructose corn syrup etc and causes bacterial infections and a host of health problems.

Anyway. Sorry for rambling. Had some sinus problems years ago and got into neti pots and saline rinses and discovered not all salts are created equal.... and tumbled down this \^\^ rabbit hole.

This is a great book.

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

Chopping skills has to be high up on the list. I don't have a good book on this, but have seen several possible good ones on Amazon. There are lots of videos online as well. I'd learn and master all types of cuts on all types of items (meat, veggies, fruit, etc).

If you're wanting to be a chef (i.e. not just a cook), having some knowledge about why methods/recipes are a certain way would be good too (e.g. books like On Food and Cooking: http://www.amazon.com/On-Food-Cooking-Science-Kitchen/dp/0684800012).

Not quite a direct answer to your question, but hopefully useful

Buy a (very) basic cookbook and have at it. One of those "how to cook pretty much everything in one or two simple ways" collections. I'm a big fan of "The New Best Recipe" which would be pricey new but can be had for cheap secondhand. "The Betty Crocker Cookbook" is another one that gets a lot of love too.

Read it the important bits. There's stuff in there about types of pans, about the difference between cumin and cardamom and cinnamon and cayenne, about how to hold a knife without cutting your fingers off and how to boil water without setting the stove on fire.

When you have read the important stuff and have begun to get a feel for what you need to do, select a simple recipe and make it. Start small. A pasta sauce maybe, a casserole.

Here's a piece of advice, too: Take notes. Write in the margins or get a notebook but keep track of whether you substituted oil for butter or if you needed less cooking time. It can save you some tears in the future, help you replicate happy accidents.

If you're just starting to cook, I would recommend just getting a good cookbook, and hold the kosher cookbook until later. I would start with How to Cook Everything and/or How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. They are both by Mark Bittman, and are incredible - they have tons of recipes with tons of variations. If you're looking for a good "Jewish Food" cookbook, I would recommend Joan Nathan The Jewish Holiday Kitchen. She has a new cookbook, Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: Jewish Cooking in France that's great - I've already used it a lot and I only got it in August! Also Leah Koenig's new Hadassah Cookbook is getting wonderful reviews - I haven't picked mine up yet. I don't much care for the Suzie Fishbein Kosher by Design cookbook series. I find her recipes gimmicky and weird. Here's a good online recipe resource.

This is hilarious! Thanks for sharing!

On a salt-related note: there's an amazing book about salt that's actually super interesting, if anyone is interested! https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496595383&sr=8-1&keywords=salt+a+world+history

I usually tell people to check out How to Cook Without a Book. It has some recipes, but it's more about giving readers a better understanding of techniques, how to put something together from what you already have on hand, and what things you should just keep around at all times because of their usefulness. As opposed to a lot of books I've seen that give a list of things to buy which will then need to be prepped with tools you might not have.

edit: If you got money to spend and really dig the art and science of cooking there is also Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking. At just under $550 USD it's the most expensive and most beautiful cookbook I've ever seen.

>Still no progress. Am leaving either tomorrow or Thursday for the Carolinas on a documentation trip. Hopefully I can get an interview up there while I'm out. I probably won't. Also, I told off a company for writing me off prematurely.

good luck!

>Pursuant to 1, obviously going nowhere. That said, I've done more travel this year than I have since 2003.

I live with my aunt and uncle. Living at home is pretty much normal for kids our age. Out of my 5 closest friends, only 2 live on their own. One is in Iraq the other is in Med School.

>3 Start paying off my massive debts.

I hear you there. Good luck I hope your father's cancer goes into remission. My dad died of a stroke in 2003. A parent's death is never ever good for mental health/financial stability.

>I'm down to 194.2 naked from a max at 252. I'm also just back from a 6 mile walk, which is what I'm up to now each day.

Keep up the good fucking work. I went from 230-169 over two years. Most of it was not eating so much. The last 20lbs was from dedicated exercise. You can do it if I can. Its all about willpower. I used Sparkpeople.com to track my calories. You really don't need as much food as you think you do. Swimming is the best exercise for sculpting body muscles and losing weight fast.

>5 Learn to cook.
Get On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of Food Its an entertaining read which allows you to understand the foundation of cooking so you can wing your own recipes based on your knowledge of the underlying chemistry.

I am going to suggest this book (AKA the book that for me started it all). It's an older book, but still pretty good.

Also you can go poking around and find cookbooks (there is a good sized vegetarian cookbook section at my local used bookstore... so many cookbooks) including some more basic ones. Though I have to suggest this one it was a Christmas gift from my sister, and it goes through not just recipes but techniques and the like.

Roasted lemony chicken thighs with a lemon and white wine sauce, potatoes roasted under the chicken, and steamed broccoli. That was fantastic but the Light And Fluffy Pancakes from The New Best Recipe were pretty awesome too.

I personally have not used this cookbook, but I had a friend once that loved it. May be worth a look for your husband - the description (as well as several reviews) state that it does a great job at explaining things in detail

There is also this book by the same author that is apparently more basic and focused on learning proper cooking techniques.

For a fun read, I love The Disappearing Spoon.

For a while, I've been meaning to read Salt which is another fun read.

I also just love the Periodic Table of Videos YouTube channel for other fun stuff.

Textbook-wise, you can't beat Stumm and Morgan or Metcalf and Eddy for your water chemistry/water treatment needs.

It's not so much a cookbook, but it's a great book on cooking and the science behind it but I like On Food and Cooking

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012

It's much more into the hows and whys of cooking than "this is how you make a creme brulee" but it's a cool reference. Alton Brown's books have a little bit more of the recipe + science.

For actual cooking tutorials, Julia Child probably does the best. It's a classic book for a reason.

Here are the 2 books I cut my teeth on learning how to cook:
The best one for a new cook, cooking for a family would be "Cheap Fast Good" it gives you: Quick meals, healthy meals, bulk cooking (cook the basics like chicken, beef, etc now, freeze in meal portions, and defrost for use in recipes later), grocery shopping tips (if you have to start doing that), and lots of other cool stuff. I really can't more highly recommend another book for a brand new cook who wants simple family friendly but still healthy meals
http://www.amazon.com/Cheap-Fast-Good-Beverly-Mills/dp/0761131760/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370293256&sr=1-1&keywords=cheap+fast+food

Once you've got the basics down and you want to start impressing guests and even yourself try getting Mark BIttman's "How to Cook Everything". This is my food bible. I go to it a couple times a week for stuff. It is worth the price http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Everything-Completely-Revised-Anniversary/dp/0764578650/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370293332&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+cook+everything

Cooking really isn't too hard once you understand the science of it. I would suggest getting a cookbook that explains why a recipe is cooked a certain way. For example, this one by Alton Brown. You could and probably should look up some of his stuff on youtube, too.
I'll give you a few basic tips to start -

• high heat generally means you want crispy or burnt on the outside and soft/underdone on the inside. It's really only used for searing and boiling
  
• low heat usually means you're cooking something slowly and will make things soft or soggy
  
• taste as you go, when possible
  
• if you're cooking something in oil, let the oil get hot first or the food will stick to the pan
  
• don't be afraid to use spices, herbs, salt, and pepper. Simple things I like are onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. You can also get Mrs. Dash blends.
  
  You can always subscribe to r/fitmeals, r/cooking, or r/food too.
  
  Learning to cook will take some time. For now, I'd recommend baking a lot. Roast veggies, bake some chicken breasts, stuff like that.
  Roasting veggies is really easy. Cube the veggies of your choice, coat in olive oil, salt, and pepper and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until tender.
  
  Good luck! And be proud of yourself for figuring this out before you actually have a problem. It will be so much easier to start since you're at a healthy weight.

• The big name in the genre is Peter Singer's [Animal Liberation] (http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Liberation-Peter-Singer/dp/0060011572). Singer has had a number of titles to follow this original, and they are all worth reading in their own right.
  
  
• Another would be Michael Polan's [Omnivore's Dilema] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History/dp/0143038583/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=51QJJGnAsaL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR103%2C160_&refRID=0JY11DAZ0RT4P0PPBND5). Though not specifically about veganism, it endorses the lifestyle enough to warrant a read.
  
  
• I personally liked [Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of our Fellow Creatures] (http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Wise-Thoughts-Emotions-Creatures-ebook/dp/B00985DZQ4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450016974&sr=1-1&keywords=animal+wise) by Virginia Morell.
  
  
  
• I haven't read it, but I've been suggested [Eating Animals] (http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Animals-Jonathan-Safran-Foer/dp/0316069884/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=51flAsKFoAL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR104%2C160_&refRID=0JY11DAZ0RT4P0PPBND5) by Jonathan Safran Foer.
  
  There are a number of books on the topic of Evolution or Evolutionary Psychology that will provide a greater understanding of how connected and similar we really are.
  
  
  Hopefully this is something to start this thread off in a positive direction.

So a few off the top of my head:

1. The Professional Chef. Geared towards professional chefs but a great resource.
   
   
2. On Food and Cooking. A classic. Not really a 'cookbook' per se but rather a book that discusses history and food science.
   
   
3. The now out-of-print Williams and Sonoma Mastering Series. Specifically, their book on sauces - the others are solid but not quite as good. Those books were how I personally learned to cook. (still can find used)
   
   
4. The Flavor Bible. Obligatory. Eventually you grow out of it a bit, but it's still a great resource to have around.
   
   
5. Flour Water Salt Yeast. I just got this book recently this last Christmas, and I've been enjoying it quite a bit.

Oh wow, good luck with immigration!!

How do you feel about the They're Real mascara? I kind of love it. I also have the MAC Gigablack whatever and the Too Faced lashgasm - they are not quite as intense, but probably better for everyday wear.

That book looks great! I have Kitchen Confidential on my nightstand right now, and this!

This was read by Michael Pollan who wrote a book (The Omnivore's Dilemma) which is a pretty good narrative and comparison in what actually happens in industrial food (from the grain, to the meat, to the table), organic industry, sustainable farming and hunting/gathering your own food. It's well researched and very well written.

Another book that's also similar in topic, but specific to the history and current operations of industrial foods is Salt, Sugar, Fat. I would recommend both.

Edit: I think a lot of people are missing the point of the video. It's not about industrial food = bad. It's about having a relationship with the food that you eat, to treat it as an experience rather than calories. Seriously, try cooking! It's very rewarding when you happen to make something delicious and enjoy it by yourself or with others.

Well, it's not really a cookbook per se, but it's definitely for food geeks:
On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee.

Otherwise, how about the New Moosewood Cookbook. I found a copy of it used and it's pretty easy, affordable, tested, with delicious recipes.

Not indian but since you seem to actually care about food check out, On food and Cooking I have this book and it's amazing. I also have a friend going to the Portland culinary institute and he mentioned that ALL his professors recommend it.

Alton Brown is a huge geek and had a career in making film/tv before he became a cook and than a cooking show host. He actually filmed this music video for R.E.M. early in his career..

Yeah, huge geek. I highly suggest his books, too. I have his first one, I'm Just Here For The Food, and it contains my favorite recipe in the world. Get it, find the page with his Chicken with Garlic and Shallots, cook it in a slow cooker and omfgbbq, IT IS AWESOME. It's also insanely easy to make.

Once you've started down the road with Alton, there's a bunch of other books I can suggest. Feel free to drop me a line anytime.

Edit: Oh, and while watching the show, pay attention to any clock in the background. A good deal of the time they're set to 4:20.

Ratio by Michael Ruhlman (https://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728) - My absolute favorite at home cook book, hits everything you're looking for I think. Has baking and cooking recipes

Baking by Hand (https://www.amazon.ca/Baking-Hand-Artisanal-Pastries-Without/dp/1624140009/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468117705&sr=1-1&keywords=baking+by+hand) - More technically complicated, but still great. One of my go to books when I'm looking to learn something new. Mostly breads, but some pastries too

How to Cook Everything (Vegetarian) by Mark Bittman (https://www.amazon.ca/How-Cook-Everything-Vegetarian-Meatless/dp/0764524836/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468117750&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+cook+everything+vegetarian) - this is the dark horse, you'd be surprised how much he includes in these books. Pizza dough recipe is the bomb.

Not sure I follow your math there ... but sure! Unfortunately a lot of our recipes are in books, not online. Lots of time checking the clearance section in bookstores. If you're looking to buy a book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is a great place to start, especially if you're not an avid cook already.

But there are a few online, so here goes!

• This week we're trying kimchi burritos. Look very promising, though I acknowledge that kimchi is a polarizing ingredient.
  
• Poblano and mushroom tacos.
  
• Shakshuka. SO GOOD!
  
• Fennel chickpea couscous.
  
• Chipotle pesto.

My dear friend, one can learn a lot about a culture by their history of food. Texas is known as a BBQ state. What you may or may not know, is that Texas was once part of Mexico and there is a Mexican influence, it's known as Tex-Mex. There is a guy named Robb Walsh who has written two great books on each topic. What I like about each book is they have recipes but they also have details history about how and why, with small stories about regardless of differences in color, culture or class, everyone loves great food.

I would suggest the following books for you to read:
Legends of Texas BBQ and The Tex-Mex cookbook

Books. Has he/she mentioned a cookbook or food reference book lately that he/she wants? Good cookbooks are awesome as gifts, since most cooks don't often have time to make it into a bookstore. Just as long as you get a good one (no Rachael Ray or Sandra Lee bullshit).

If your chef friend doesn't already have one of these books, any of these are a good gift:

Food Lover's Companion

On Food and Cooking

River Cottage Cookbook

French Laundry Cookbook

Also awesome, a subscription to Lucky Peach magazine.

What kind of restaurant/cuisine does your friend cook for? I have suggestions for more cookbooks if you want, but a little bit more information would be helpful.

Edit: Forgot to mention Art Culinaire, a hardback quarterly for chefs and cooks.

Exactly. Higher pH denatures the proteins that are responsible for making it stick. Also, using older eggs will do the trick because older eggs naturally start to rise in pH.

If anyone is interested, there is a really great chapter about eggs in "On Food and Cooking," by Harold McGee that talks a lot about this kind of stuff. It's a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the science of cooking.

You poor thing. I laughed so hard reading this. Bless him for trying.

Tell him tastes are subjective. Tell him that something he can eat and love... Might not be a hit with everyone.

Then, buy this book for him. Tell him you want to encourage him learning to cook new and different things. Tell him it was recommended by a chef.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Recipes-Anniversary/dp/0764578650

I applaud your giving his terrible cooking a chance. You are very sweet and must really care about him. Help him learn to cook, subtly. And watch Good Eats with him. He will learn a lot, and stop sucking at cooking to boot.

If you haven't read/studied [Harold McGee] (https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537944622&sr=8-1&keywords=on+food+and+cooking+harold+mcgee), that'll set you up with a solid foundation for knowledge.

As for skills, that's on you to practice. Definitely subscribe to quality content from quality sources that help keep the passion alive and learn from that. Buzzfeed Tasty is probably the best way to injure yourself over mediocre slop if you were to mimic them (Although I think I've seen one set of hands use a knife safe and proper.)

Lately, I've very much been enjoying Kenji's The Food Lab. I think it's worth the (ebook) price just for the chapter on fried foods.

I also keep coming back to The Flavor Bible, which has lists of how to combine ingredients for different cuisines.

If you want a valuable collection of recipes and have $50 to spend, get Cook's Illustrated's The New Best Recipe. It's supplanted The Joy of Cooking on my shelf.

Salt goes back before recorded history, since it is vital to our biology. You can read an anecdotal history of how it has influenced world affairs in "Salt: A World History", which is a fun read.

Black pepper almost certainly rose to prominence on the European table as a status symbol, since all of it was brought overland from India via the silk road until the opening of sea trade routes around the Cape of Good Hope in the 16th century. It is useful for flavoring preserved foods (as part of the cooking/preservation process) and as medicine, and these aspects drove trade even to the extent of motivating Vasco da Gama's quest for a sea route to India at the end of the 15th century.

Dude. I fucking LOVE salt. There is this guy, Mark Kurlansky, who has written a world history about salt. He also wrote a similar book about cod (the fish). It isn't really a cooking book, per se, but it is one of the most fascinating things I've ever read. I picked it up and I think I read the entire thing in two sittings. Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407437929&sr=8-1&keywords=salt+a+world+history

Actually, if I didn't already give my copy away (I'll have to check when I get home) I'll mail you my copy. Great fucking book.

Also, I would mention that Modernist Cuisine at Home is an awesome book. It has some awesome recipes and the techniques they use have helped me in other areas of my cooking.

Also, does your husband have a sous vide? If not, I would ABSOLUTELY start with a sous vide. It's not as gimmicky as some of the other molecular gastronomy things and it has so many applications that it will become a staple in his kitchen as it has mine. I personally love the Anova Sous Vide, I have two of them. If you want to find out more about sous vide (used by Heston at Fat Duck and Thomas Keller at the French Laundry) check out /r/sousvide. Lots of great ideas and techniques just in that sub alone. Hit me up if you have any more questions.

A Thermapen has stepped up my grill game immensely. $100 seems like a lot but I've easily spent that on cheaper thermometers that ultimately weren't very reliable. It's probably overkill for the novice griller but if you ever want to have your in-laws over for steaks or something, you know you gotta be on point.

How To Cook Everything is the book I refer to most. The grilling tips mostly refer to charcoal grilling, but you'll get the gist (medium heat, high heat, etc). Plus, it has a super handy meat doneness chart inside the back cover that shows both USDA recommended temperatures and the If-You-Want-Your-Food-To-Taste-Good temperatures. As for recipes on the web, I generally trust anything by Alton Brown.

I don't have a subscription either but it's also in my favorite cookbook:

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Recipe-Cooks-Illustrated-Magazine/dp/0936184744/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421716625&sr=8-1&keywords=best+recipe

Pan Seared, Oven Roasted, Thick Cut Pork Chops

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup salt
4 bone in rib chops 1/1/12 inch thick
1/2/ teaspoon pepper
1 tbsp oil

dissolve the brown sugar and salt in 6 cups cold water in a gallon size zipper lock plastic bag. Add the pork chops and seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Refrigerate until fully seasoned about 1 hour. Remove the chops from the brine, rinse, and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Season the chops with the pepper.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower middle position, place a shallow roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet on the rack, and heat the oven to 450 degrees. When the oven reaches 450 degrees, heat the oil in a heavy bottomed 12 inch skillet over high heat until shimmering. Lay the chops in the skillet and cook until well browned and a nice crust has formed on the surface, about 3 minutes. Turn the chops over with tongs and cook until well browned and a nice crust has formed on the second side, 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Using the tongs, transfer the chops to the preheated pan in the oven. Roast until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of a chop registers 125 to 127 degrees 8 to 10 minutes turning the chops over once halfway through the cooking time. Transfer the chops to a platter, tent loosely with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Check the internal temperature; it should register 145 degrees. Serve immediately.

Sweet and Sour Pan Sauce and Bacon

5 ounces bacon
2 shallots
1 garlic clove
4 plum tomatoes
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup dry Marsala
4 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper

Pour off the fat in the skillet used to brown the chops. Place the skillet over medium high heat and cook the bacon until crisp about 6 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate; pour off all but 1 tbsp of the bacon fat. Reduce the heat to low, add the shallots and sugar, and cook until the shallots are softened, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Increase the heat to medium high, stir in the tomatoes and vinegar, and scrape the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits. Add the Marsala and simmer until reduced by half about 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This book is fabulous! In it they tell you a couple of methods they tried while making a recipe and why they decided a method worked best. This is the goto book I would purchase for anyone beginning to cook or looking to improve their cooking. Feel free to msg me if you want further details about the book. https://www.amazon.com/New-Best-Recipe-Cooks-Illustrated/dp/0936184744

I highly recommend any cookbook from America's Test Kitchen. They also have a segment on NPR & PBS.

Looks cheap and space consuming - a unitasker. Personally, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot chef's knife. If you want something to do the same job (and since you mentioned you were trying to save money), go to Goodwill or other thrift store and get a real food processor.

FYI, I also recommend getting a used copy of Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen. You can get it for under $10, and it'll help you avoid redundant or cheap stuff while helping you figure out what you really need. My wife used mine when we set up our gift registry and we were very happy with the results.

Here's what you really want:

How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman: pretty much everything you'd like to do as a normal home cook will be in here. Debone a chicken, choose the best meat, veggies, fruits, how to cook every vegetable, fruit or meat you're likely to use, in different ways, with variations. Breakfasts, dinners, deserts, technique, theory. It'll cover about everything you'd want to learn.

If you want to go a bit further into theory:

Ruhlman's Twenty: twenty topics for the home cook to study and learn, with applicable recipes. The basics every interested cook ought to know. Think, Salt, Water, Onion, Acid, Egg, Butter, Dough, Batter, Sugar, Sauce, Vinaigrette, Soup, Sauté, Roast, Braise, Poach, Grill, Fry, Chill.

That'll get you pretty far, I reckon.

Start by walking. two miles. It's not as long as you think. After a month move up to three miles. do this until about five miles then start jogging portions of it and so on. This will put excersize into your life. Start cooking for yourself, and as you start take the time to learn about eating healthy. I recommend the book http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/1594200823 Cooking for yourself will also give you a sense of self reliance. As you start to eat more healthy I also recommend taking a multivitamin. I would recommend talking to your doctor too. Tell him what you are planning to do and that you are having energy problems. He will probably run some blood tests and do a physical. Make sure you are healthy enough to start a workout. The energy will come quicker than you think.

Upvote. Thanks for the link. Rob Walsh is one of the best food writers Texas has ever produced. Used to write for the Chron way back in the day, then was food editor for the Houston Chron later on. Always a great read.

His book on the history of Tex-Mex food should be required reading. He also is part owner of one of the best Tex-Mex restaurants in the state.

He's got a great blog, too. Covers many aspects of Texas food and food happenings in Texas. Goes way beyond Tex-Mex.

Food is a universal motivator. What if you had students research historical cooking? And after a week or two, you have each student bring in a recipe they've prepared from historical period/culture of their choice? And also give a presentation or write a short paper about how the food came about, or how it influence history and culture.

I've recently been trying recipes from this blog about recreating ancient Roman cuisine. Not exactly an academic source, but does cite the passages from Roman writings that inspire his exploits.

The book Salt: A World History would also be a great source, and is very easy-to-read and IMHO quite interesting. Many parts of it would make good excerpts for reading in class and introducing ideas. The same author has similar books on Cod and Oysters.

I'm no expert, I'm just stealing this idea because it's an assignment that I was given in High School, and was one of the most memorable and fun.

You rang?

I haven't read the book, but I've heard a couple interviews with the author through my various foodie podcasts. He seems cool, and he made bananas seem downright fascinating the entire time he was speaking.

Edit: I have read and would heartily recommend The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan if you're even a little interested in the genetic, behavioral, and political! manipulation of our food. Corn, in particular, as it's the backbone of the American food industry, but he covers a lot of ground. It's really eye-opening. Do recommend. (And any half-decent American library will have it, so awesome and free.)

Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything would be an excellent start. It does a great job covering kitchen basics while still having enough depth and detail to keep it useful as you grow as a cook.

If you're more of a visual learner, I'd look into episodes of Alton Brown's Good Eats. It's somewhat whimsical, but is an great resource for learning the hows and whys of cooking.

Some people find youtube helpful, but there is a lot of godawful advice floating around mixed in with the good stuff, and for a novice cook, it can be difficult to tell the difference. Same goes for food blogs and websites.

What you should really do is get comfortable with the basics. How to properly season a piece of beef or fish, and how to actually cook it well.

Do this by trying things out - get a sense of how the meat should look / feel when it's time to flip it, rotate it, let it rest, etc.... Once you have that down, it's just fun to experiment with new things.

This book was actually really interesting, if for no other reason than Alton Brown is informative. Best of luck to you.

Weirdly, I know how to bake (though I can barely boil an egg... I know how to boil water, but my eggs always come out funky for some reason. ugh.). My grandmother taught me. I even know how to leave out ingredients (a lot of the time anyway). So, I guess that is something I can be proud of. My main challenge with baking right now is collecting recipes that I like. Unfortunately, my moderate ability in baking hasn't translated into cooking for me.

I have a cookbook too that I work with, though I am realizing that I don't love it. I suspect that I may have to test out a few books before I find one where I really like the recipes. So far the internet has been more helpful to me than Mr. Bittman... I like allrecipes.com too!

Joel Salatin (the author) is a bit of a (admitted) nut job though. A lifetime of being the voice in the wilderness will do that to you.

I've seen him speak, and he's very persuasive. When he mentioned that raising animals on pasture produces meat/dairy with the optimal omega-3/6 balance for human health, it made my head pop.

For more on the benefits of traditional, natural ways of cooking, growing crops & raising animals, check out Michael Pollan's books: Omnivore's Dilemna and In Defense of Food.

These books have literally changed my life and my relationship to food - it's been a wonderful, rewarding experience.

I like Ad Hoc At Home for relatively simple food done very well. It will help teach you to respect good ingredients while opening your eyes to some interesting flavor combinations.

I also have On Food and Cooking, which is dense but will teach you about food so that when you do pick up a "super fancy" recipe you may have a chance of actually understanding what the chef is doing and why.

And, of course, there's Ruhlman's Twenty, which is also very informative but is much more accessible than On Food and Cooking.

This:
http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Everything-Completely-Revised-Anniversary/dp/0764578650

Any Bittman really. Any time I find myself staring at an ingredient, having no idea what to do (eggplant, turnips, even chicken) he gives a great, simple starter recipe. Get creative from there.

Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen is a fantastic second step. Once you are like "okay, I got down roasted veggies," ATK will class it up for you, with some really great explanations of why they chose to do the recipe they did.

I realize that this doesn't exactly answer your question, but rather than focus on specific recipes, I would suggest that you learn all you can about the various cooking methods. Alton Brown does a nice job disucssing this in his first book, I'm Just Here for the Food. It's a fairly easy read for the basic cook. When you have an understanding of the science behind cooking, or why different foods react the way they do to different cooking methods, you've given your cooking skills a tremendous boost. Other resources I highly recommend are the publications of Cooks Illustrated and anything by Harold McGee.

Instincts are developed by time in the kitchen.

Also, if the stock you're making is hot enough to boil, it's too hot, especially if it's a meat based stock. Once you get the bones above a certain temp, the pores in the bones close up and effective flavor extraction ends. That's why you slowly bring it to a boil, then lightly simmer while skimming.

You need to do some research. I suggest watching every episode of Good Eats, with Alton Brown, that you can. It's corny, but it's a great primer on the basics of a hugely wide variety of foods, food science, techniques, and cuisines over 14 seasons of the show.

Additionally, if you are inclined towards the technical side of things, On Food and Cooking; The Science and Lore of the Kitchen is a fantastic reference manual.

If you like to learn about the science behind your food, I strongly recommend On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee

It's like an encyclopedia full of fascinating facts about food or cooking techniques, and it even manages to be a good read as well.

Consider picking up Alton Brown's "Gear for Your Kitchen".

If you just need to know what the best blank is, try googling whatever item you are looking to buy, followed by the words "cook's illustrated." They rigorusly test and review kitchen gear, and give their recommendations as to the overall best and also the best value.

Here is a list of their "best" cookware.

If you want to elevate your cooking and benefit from very detailed instructions, the two-volume Julia Child "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" is a trove of kitchen wisdom from a great culture and down to earth teacher. Look at Youtube videos of her and Jacques Pepin. His books are lovely too, About $60 USD. https://smile.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Set/dp/0307593525/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542980651&sr=8-1&keywords=mastering+the+art+of+french+cooking

On Food and Cooking by McGee is the standard and was one of the earliest cookbooks to apply science to cooking. The latest version is excellent. It reads at times like a textbook but I swear that I've learned something useful from every single chapter in that book. I mostly use this as a reference now but well worth skimming if you enjoy science + cooking.

with a family like that, I'd probably just say fuck it -- lock your doors, turn off the lights, and leave a couple pizzas with a few bags of coal out on your front porch. lol

for what it's worth, Cooks Illustrated "New Best Recipes" is pretty much the most reliable cookbook I've ever owned and can be had used pretty cheap -- http://www.amazon.com/Best-Recipe-Cooks-Illustrated-Magazine/dp/0936184744. the recipes in there have never failed me, and they take the time to actually teach you why you're doing things certain ways.

Are you (or your SO) interested in cooking? You might consider Modernist Cuisine at Home. It's very cool, informative, geeky and beautiful.

Also, you might want to check out Edward Tufte's books (The Visual Display of Quantitative Information; Envisioning Information; Beautiful Evidence) to see if they are of interest to you.

It might not sound like it makes sense what BaconGiveMeALardon said, but it's true. If you can get your hands on Modernist Cuisine then you can read more about cooking with woks. To sum it up, you need a lot of heat all the time. The Veggies on the bottom cook really fast, as soon as they are in contact with the metal. If you aren't careful, you can burn the food easily. That's why wok cookers always toss the food in the air, that way the hot steam also cooks the veggies higher up while at the same time not letting those on the bottom burn. Here's a pic I found from the book detailing the way a wok cooks food. You have to basically heat up the skillet to around 750 °C / 1400 F, and for that you need a flame 25 times more powerful than a typical home appliance can offer.

For a long time I tried to figure out a way to get wok cooking done at home. I thought of buying a portable wok cooking system hooked up to a propane tank. That was too much of a hassle, though. I will have to enjoy woked meals in restaurants, I suppose.

Once you master a set of basic skills, as well as understanding how things "should" be, everything becomes way more fun and easy. How to dice an onion or anything. How to keep a clean work area. What "brown" actually looks like. How thick is "thickened", and what the hell is a roux.

Also, being a total Geek, The New Best Recipes cookbook has been a major help. It tells you both why you're doing it, as well as how to cook basic items, and then take that skill to other recipes.

On Food and Cooking is pretty popular when it comes to understanding the transformations that foods undergo. It's not a cookbook per se but it's pretty heavy on the science of stuff. I used it as a sole resource for a short paper I wrote in eggs a couple semesters back. It might not be the most enjoyable read but it sure is informative.

Yes, it's very "cheap" to feed livestock corn when we are spending billions of dollars every year subsidizing it. At least it looks cheap. This is a problem that has more external costs than are really accounted for. Cows fed on grains like corn shed harmful strains of E. Coli on a very large magnitude. The environmental impact of our livestock practices is phenomenal. Yes it would monetarily cost a bit more to produce crops and livestock in a responsible and sustainable way, but it would cut down on external costs that aren't normally taken into account when we purchase a burger at a local restaurant.

It discusses how much ethanol should cost to give the same cost per mile, but that's an old article. I merely posted it to make the point that their is less energy in ethanol, so you would have to use more of it to get the same desired effect. Honestly with how politicized ethanol has become I shy away from it (as a research subject). Personally I see it as a way to use the excess ridiculous amounts of corn we produce every year and to try and sway political support. But it's a skewed argument if you don't take into account the amount of money we spend on ag subsidies to produce the corn which is then mixed in with gasoline. It's a convoluted subject.

Not true. Our subsidies actually push the price of corn below the amount it actually takes to produce corn. No one can compete with that. If we didn't subsidize our agriculture than all farmers would be more or less on an even playing field (more or less depending on space for crops, technology of farm equipment etc.). Here is a video of an interview with a gentlemen who conducted a study on the very subject.

I'm not saying we should forgo advancement, but stripping away their ability to feed themselves (as a country) is not going to promote advancement. And since we are in a global economy, the price we set for corn has an effect all over the globe. Not just Mexico. No one can compete with artificial prices that are lower than production costs.

McDonald's is just an example. What I'm saying is our food isn't as cheap as we are led to believe. The vast majority of boxed/prepared foods in the middle isles of the grocery store have some form of corn in them. Here is a list of all the different kinds of corn products we make with corn. So all of these types of food look cheap, but we pay for them not only at the counter, but through our taxes and through the external costs associated with our agricultural and livestock practices. I guess why I brought up McDonald's is because it seems extremely cheap to go get a burger, fries, and drink for like $3 (dollar menu). But every part of that meal is saturated in corn products in one form or another. If you are interested in this subject I would recommend reading The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan. He attempts to trace the origins of the food we eat and continually finds himself drawing a line back to some corn field in the mid west.

I would be all for agricultural policies that work to feed malnourished people across the globe, or to build sustainable practices that enrich rather than deplete the land, but the current system mostly works to make more money. That's not always a bad thing, but the costs of our current system far outweigh any benefits to our society as a whole.

There is a cookbook called The New Best Recipe that has lots of amazing recipes. Also, they tell you all the different versions of each recipe they tried and why their certain recipe works best.

America's Test Kitchen cookbooks are great about this. They have recipes with explanations for why you cook certain parts to get the desired effects, and how you might alter cooking methods to get different textures or whatever. Often, they give sidenotes about how to get basic elements cooked perfectly. Highly recommend: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Recipe-Cooks-Illustrated-Magazine/dp/0936184744

Cook's Illustrated: New Best Recipe

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0936184744/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The people who wrote this book not only give very detailed instructions, but they also tell you what they have tried and what didn't work. That way, you not only have better knowledge of the recipe, but it helps you learn how to better improvise.

Also, the recipes are amazing. A+++++++, would buy again and again.

You don't need to, but it can come in handy. If you are interested in what goes on under the lid, get this book. Truly breathtaking photography, great writing and all the information you'll ever need.

Seriously? Fuck ramen.

Learning how to cook will serve you well for the rest of your life. Better nutrition, less money, better taste, and everybody loves good food.

Get a copy of The Joy of Cooking for a compendium of awesome and some Alton, Brown, Books, to learn what equipment you need and how to cook.

(Commas to annoy Nazi's and show there are multiple links)

If you really want to learn the details of what cooks do and why, I strongly recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012, it is, IMHO, the cooking bible.

The Food Lab is also a good resource and there are lots of videos: http://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab

Other than what the others have suggested (Jacques Pepin, Alton Brown's "Good Eats"), I would also recommend to watch Julia Child's videos (mostly French fare) and Heston Blumenthal's "How to cook like Heston".

If you'd like something similar, but which doesn't cost 600 dollars or weigh 40 lbs, try On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee.

Edit: honestly, reading the review of this new book sounds just like reading a review of the book I linked, but 1/20th the price and 1/3 the pages. This guy must use some huge typefaces or something. I'm sure there's more content in this new one, but try out the McGee book first, it's probably more than enough for anyone, unless you're looking to spend tens of thousands on expensive modern equipment or something.

Have you read a book called The Omnivore's Dilemma ? If not, i think it would help you in this project. In it there is a section that talks about Polyface farm, a poly culture farm that employs natural symbiotic relationships (between chickens, grass, and cows, for example) that a farmer can use to keep soil healthy, spend less of animal feed, and essentially use the land to its greatest potential. I highly recommend it.

Not bad for a first attempt, don't be too hard on yourself!! I think you used bun instead of pho noodles and agreed the beef should be sliced thinner.


You have to buy the bible, this is my favorite Vietnamese cookbook and has the best pho recipe (grandmother-approved!!):


Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen

Oh and looks like the author posted the recipe on her blog:


Andrea Nguyen's Beef Pho Recipe

Off the top of my head:

The Psychopath Test is a wittily written personal study of detecting, treating and (possibly) rehabilitating psychopaths.

The Freakonomics books are written by both an economist and a journalist (so easy to read) and contain slightly left-of-centre economic theories with easy to follow research. These are excellent.

The Omnivores Dilemma is both engaging and though provoking. It's All about the production of food in the modern age. In particular, four different meals.

The Code Book is one of my all-time favourites. As the title suggests it's about all forms of cryptography. If you have a mathematical bent I also like Singh's book about Fermat's Enigma).

I highly recommend "The New Best Recipe". It applies a laboratory method to cooking and, backed by America's Test Kitchen, they almost always vet their recipes thoroughly. It's also fun to read when you're not cooking, so that's a major plus.

But to get the best grip on everything, try "Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking".

These two tomes will have you a pro about the kitchen in no time.

Alton Brown for my husband. He loves this guy! Would love to add more books to his collection!

Thanks for the contest :-)

My personal favorite non-fiction books that sound incredibly boring, but are actually really interesting:

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky It's a book about salt! The history of salt, the cultural significance of salt, salt production through the ages, all about salt. It's amazing.

Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky It's the history of Cod! The author spends a good portion of the book talking about how Cod is both incredibly bland and tasteless, but also how western culture loves that bland fish and all of the interesting political movements for Cod.

And for a more serious topic: Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich. This is multiple personal accounts of the Chernobyl disaster, all deeply interesting, and deeply sad. I'm only an episode into the Chernobyl HBO series, but I'm pretty sure that show is following some of characters from this book. It's a high quality book that I think is worth everyone's time, it doesn't go super in depth with the technology, just the human aspect.

I really like Vegan for Life. It has lots of up-to-date nutritional information, and no pseudoscience. If you want a great general cookbook, I love How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. It's just a great starter cookbook with lots of info on prep, etc.

If you would like to learn about the science behind cooking and a lot of neat pictures to learn just about everything about cooking I would recommend Modernist Cuisine. You can probably pick up a copy of the whole set for pretty cheap used. It covers pretty much everything you can imagine.

http://modernistcuisine.com/


http://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Home-Nathan-Myhrvold/dp/0982761015

I can tell you about the preheat thing anyway.

1: food safety. Ovens take time to heat, so your food will be sitting in the danger zone a long time if you put it in when you first start the oven.

2: If your food is heating up as the oven heats up, by the time the oven is to temperature and browning the outside of your food, the food is well and truly overcooked. Food usually needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of somewhere between 140 and 180 Fahrenheit. Now if 150 is your target temp, imagine what your food will be like if it's 350!

As for a go-to book for learning everything about cooking, here you go:

https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Recipes-Anniversary/dp/0764578650

The first... 20 or so pages answer all your basic cooking questions, then you have like 900 pages of in-depth, detailed recipes, explaining the techniques, variations, and expectations of, well, everything.

To be totally honest though, I just google my questions as they come up at this point.

Good for you!

A few cook books I would recommend are compendium types. They are not good for keto, but they have recipes for everything, so if you don't have experience, you can find lots of possibilities.

The Joy of Cooking

How to Cook Everything

The Good Eats Compendiums 1, 2, & 3.

And we use Cooks Illustrated magazine more than anything.

hopefully i don't sound too crass, but i would save your money. unless you want to do months of work as an unpaid, or basically unpaid, stage at a really amazing restaurant, or want to have credentials to back up the opening of your own place, the extra education wouldn't help much. i'd rather hear that you've read harold mcgee and larousse cover to cover.

If she likes classic cooking, you can get a nice hardcover set of both of Julia Childs "The Art of French Cooking" cookbooks for around $60, i believe. That plus a great cast iron pan and maybe some spices that are a bit of a splurge (think saffron and vanilla bean) would be a great cooking themed gift!

Like I said, if your just doing this at home then don't worry about it. But if you want to be the best cook you can be (and why wouldn't you) then following the tiny rules and suggestion adds up to a better, more consistent product.

That said, what your saying is not totally correct, the comment I linked is about there being no reason to ever salt them before they go into the pan and that since the water retention is higher, the eggs will cook faster allowing you make your eggs actually lighter and fluffier because you can reduce the time the eggs spend on the burner. Infact the comment directly stated that its better for omelette (really it's just better for everything). OPs omelettes are tough because their heat is too low, although that's not what the top comment is saying.

Source: I've made thousands of omelettes and thousands more different egg dishes. I do the best I can.

Infact talking about this so much made me make myself one just to make sure I wasn't getting something wrong and, it was a damn fine omelette. Little hole in the middle but you just serve that side down on the plate :)

Second source : I own the book, everyone should own this book.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0684800012/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511870140&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=on+food+and+cooking+harold+mcgee

I love documentaries, personally. :) I read a book that reads a lot like a documentary on salt... fascinating. I need to go buy all the artisan salts now.

I would recommend Modernist Cuisine at Home to anyone looking into a scientific approach to cooking without a second thought it is absolutely fantastic.

The full version of Modernist Cuisine is wonderful and interesting and I would say only about 15% of the recipes can be recreated using a standard home kitchen. If you're looking for practicality and recipes you can make yourself with a more scientific approach I would go with Modernist Cuisine at Home but if someone wants to know the ENTIRE in depth science(and history) behind the dishes Modernist Cuisine is the best.

If you like Tex-Mex, I recommend The Tex-Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos by Robb Walsh. Interesting read, fun old photos, and really good recipes. I grew up in Houston, and moved across the country 16 years ago. These recipes take me right back to Texas.

Personal bias, but I would pick a good cooking technique or cookbook. For example Complete Techniques is a very good technique book if you don't have it. Otherwise Joy of Cooking or How to Cook Everything are both good cookbooks to have.

I had actually read about this in the book On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. It's a great book (and a nice gift idea!) and may answer your future food-related questions. :)

A lot of the better-researched/possible in the next 5 years stuff will have "speculative fiction" tacked on as a label instead of sci-fi. Just an observation.

In terms of very readable science nonfiction, you might try The Poisoner's Handbook, which is told in anecdotes about murder cases and the development of modern forensics in New York or Mary Roach's humorous essay collections in Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, and others. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan was also quite readable and well-researched (about agrobusiness), but his other books get overly preachy, I think.

The Best Science and Nature anthologies are a good starting point when you're looking for new authors you click with too.

Boiling the potatoes whole is the only way to make mashed potatoes. It traps in all the flavor and prevents the potatoes from getting all water logged. I read in The New Best Recipe cookbook (which I totally recommend cause they have experimented with foods and found the absolutely best way to cook most standard dishes), I've never peeled a raw potato since!

Pot
Frying Pan
Strainer
Baking Dish
Can Opener
Wooden Spoon
Mixing Spoon
Microwave
Turner
Cutting Board
Chef's Knife
Paring Knife
*Measuring Spoons/Measuring Cups

I also highly recommend How to Cook Everything. It is a great resource and actually discusses this exact topic. He gives basic and advanced cooking instruction and tips. Great book.

Please avoid requests for recipes for specific ingredients or dishes (unless it's obscure and Google has failed you) and prompts for general discussion or advice. As a general rule, if you are looking for a variety of good answers, go to /r/Cooking. For the one right answer, come to /r/AskCulinary.

This being said, generally speaking taco's and nacho's are both made from Masa flatbread which are called tortillas. Burritos and quesadillas are going to be made from a wheat flour based flat bread.

Though you will find Taco's south of the border, it looks like the cuisine you are actually interested in would be Tex-Mex or Southwestern US cuisine. Nacho's, Quesadillas, and Burrito culture is largely Americanized even though some of them still have roots in Northern mexico.

Additionally, Mexican cuisine is both diverse and very regional. The essential cuisines of Mexico is supposed to be a very good cookbook if English is your first language. It is by Diana Kennedy. I would not expect that it is really going to show you the kind of cuisine you are actually looking for though. Oaxaca Al Gusto was also highly recommended by Kenji of serious eats as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Cuisines-Mexico-throughout-recipes/dp/0609603558/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Rick Bayless is another go to. Mexican Every day is another very highly rated cookbook for mexican cuisine.

https://www.amazon.com/Mexican-Everyday-Recipes-Featured-Season/dp/039306154X/?tag=serieats-20

I believe something like this though will be closer to what you are actually wanting.

https://www.amazon.com/Tex-Mex-Cookbook-History-Recipes-Photos/dp/0767914880/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299551913&sr=8-1

I dig you're enthusiasm but you're asking a broad question!

I'd recommend the following books to help answer your questions:

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of The Kitchen

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0684800012

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking through Science

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393081087

I currently work 2 jobs and have my fingers in a lot of pies.

That being said, I still find the time to cook. Not as much as I like, but I do so quite regularly.

Aside from reading cook books, watching Good Eats, and America's Test Kitchen, I got the most experience from practice.

I also visit these subreddits.

http://www.reddit.com/r/cooking

http://www.reddit.com/r/askculinary

Book wise, I have quite a few books on both technique and the food itself.

A few of my favorites are:

On Food and Cooking by McGee - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684800012

Cooking for Geeks by Potter - http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Geeks-Science-Great-Hacks/dp/0596805888/

How to Cook Everything by Bittman - http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Completely-Revised-Anniversary-Edition/dp/0764578650

and a multitude of others.