The no recipe cookbook : a beginners guide to the art of cooking /

What has happened to cooking? Where has it gone? For most people, it is left to the experts in restaurants and on television. Thanks to the constant availability of takeout, frozen dinners, and fast food restaurants, for the majority of Americans, cooking has become a spectator sport—an entertaining activity you watch on television, but not something to try at home. The No Recipe Cookbook is a warm and funny instructional guide that addresses this issue head-on. Rather than simply collecting recipes, author, chef, caterer, and nutritionist Susan Crowther offers people something even more useful—an understanding of how to cook. The No Recipe Cookbook is a commonsensical and creative approach to preparing delicious meals, focusing on principles, intuition, and integrity. Cooking is also explored holistically, incorporating aspects such as local ingredients and “green cooking.” Each page explores culinary virtues of patience, adaptability, and love next to principles, utensils, and procedures. From preparing simple salad dressings to simmering soup stocks to kneading dough for bread, Crowther takes the intimidation factor out of cooking by giving readers the basic information and tools they need for culinary success. Once you understand a few basic rules and generally what ingredients in what proportions are necessary for certain dishes, you’ll be free to confidently experiment with all sorts of culinary creations. With a handful of easy-to-follow cooking time charts and shopping lists, plenty of warm advice, and a pinch of humor, Crowther welcomes aspiring cooks on a fun and exciting culinary adventure. 208 pages Publisher: Skyhorse (1 July 2013) Introduction. Why no recipe cooking? ; Let's get cooking The basic philosophies. Mise en place ; Seven virtues of cooking ; Top ten tips in the kitchen The Basic Ingredients. What's in a recipe? ; Top ten lists ; To meat or not to meat? ; Top ten ingredients ; Seasoned with accomplishment The Basic Procedures. Three basic steps ; Salads : the tip of the iceberg ; The vegetable rainbow ; Amazing grains and simple sugars ; Cooking grains ; The magical fruit ; Stone soup ; Making soup from scratch ; Dancing, swinging, poetry... marinade ; Sauces and spreads and dips : oh my! The Basic Beverages. The good, the bad, and the smoothie ; Coffee, tea, or me? ; The non-milk of human kindness Beyond The Basics. Mish mash ; Wild things ; Rosemary How to follow a recipe.