A Beginner’s Guide to Becoming a Domestic Goddess

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to spend more time in the kitchen, these simple tips will help you discover your inner Nigella.

Find New Role Models

Watching Nigella Lawson effortlessly whip up perfect dish after perfect dish may not motivate you to stray away from your kitchen comfort zone. If you want to learn new skills but don’t want to give yourself unrealistic expectations, find new role models online. You can find a whole host of food bloggers on Twitter that can show you how to create simple, satisfying dishes at speed. The Londoner and Deliciously Ella are just a couple of noteworthy blogs to check out on your quest to become a better cook.

Invest in High Quality Cooking Utensils

You don’t have to spend a fortune on cooking utensils to be a great cook. As long as you invest in a few essential kitchen tools, you will be able to create tasty dishes without breaking the bank. Preparing dishes can be fairly labour intensive and therefore a good set of knives is a must have for novices. Measuring spoons and cups can also come in handy. If you are more interested in the baking side of things, you can find everything you need to learn to bake online somewhere like Bakery Bits.

Go Back to Basics

Before you attempt to create complex dishes, it is important that you master the basics. This way you will develop skills that you can put into practice on a daily basis. It is pointless being able to whip up a gourmet dinner for friends if you can’t put together a basic work lunch. Basic techniques to master include roasting or baking vegetables, steaming fish and poaching eggs.

Practice Makes Perfect

It can be easy to get disheartened if your dish doesn’t turn out quite how you expected the first time. Be prepared to experiment with ingredients and practice a recipe until it is perfect. Have patience when trying out new recipes and you will be surprised at how quickly you progress. Every time you make a mistake when attempting a new dish, remember it’s a case of trial and error. You can learn something from each dish that doesn’t quite meet your expectations.

Learning to cook doesn’t have to be expensive, simply do your research and start with easy recipes that complement your ability.