🍳 Cooking Basics

Chad, every human body requires fuel approximately 3 times per day. Learning to prepare that fuel yourself is one of the most useful skills you can acquire.

Why Cook?

• Cost: Cooking at home is dramatically cheaper than restaurants or delivery
• Health: Home cooking gives you control over ingredients
• Skill: Cooking is creative, useful, and impresses other humans
• Necessity: Humans cannot survive long without food

The Kitchen: Your Equipment

Essential Tools

The Stove

Most stoves have two components:

• Burners (stovetop): Direct heat from below. Used for pans, pots, sautéing, boiling.
• Oven: Enclosed heated space. Used for baking, roasting, broiling.

Heat levels:

• Low: Gentle simmering, melting, keeping warm
• Medium: Most stovetop cooking
• High: Boiling water, searing meat quickly

Core Cooking Techniques

Boiling

Submerging food in water heated to 212°F (100°C). Used for pasta, potatoes, eggs, vegetables.

How to boil pasta:

1. Fill a large pot with water; add salt
2. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat
3. Add pasta; stir occasionally
4. Cook according to package time (typically 8–12 minutes)
5. Taste to test: pasta should be “al dente” (slightly firm)
6. Drain through a colander

Sautéing

Cooking food quickly in a small amount of oil over medium-high heat while stirring or tossing.

How to sauté vegetables:

1. Heat pan over medium-high heat
2. Add oil (enough to coat the pan)
3. When oil shimmers, add vegetables
4. Stir or toss every 30–60 seconds
5. Season with salt and pepper
6. Cook until tender and slightly browned

Roasting

Cooking in a dry, hot oven. Great for vegetables, chicken, and other meats.

How to roast vegetables:

1. Preheat oven to 400–425°F (200–220°C)
2. Cut vegetables into even pieces
3. Toss with oil, salt, pepper, and any desired spices
4. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet (don’t crowd — they’ll steam instead of roast)
5. Roast 20–40 minutes depending on vegetable, flipping halfway through

Searing

Cooking meat over very high heat to create a browned, flavorful crust.

How to sear a steak:

1. Pat steak dry with paper towels (moisture prevents browning)
2. Season generously with salt and pepper
3. Heat pan (cast iron is ideal) over very high heat until smoking
4. Add oil, then steak
5. Do NOT move the steak — let it sit for 2–4 minutes
6. Flip once; repeat on other side
7. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting (juices redistribute)

Baking

Cooking with dry heat in an oven, following precise measurements. Baking is more scientific than cooking — measurements matter.

Basic baked eggs (simple start):

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C)
2. Crack eggs into a small ramekin or baking dish
3. Add a drizzle of cream, salt, and pepper
4. Bake 12–15 minutes until whites are set but yolk still soft

Essential Flavor Principles

Salt

The most important seasoning. Salt enhances virtually every flavor. Season food throughout cooking, not just at the end.

The Flavor Builders

The 5 tastes: Human taste buds detect sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (savory). Great cooking balances these.

5 Foundational Recipes Every Human Should Know

1. Scrambled Eggs

1. Crack 2–3 eggs into a bowl; whisk with a pinch of salt
2. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-low heat; add butter
3. Pour in eggs; stir gently with a spatula as they cook
4. Remove from heat while still slightly underdone (carryover heat finishes them)
5. Serve immediately

2. Pasta with Tomato Sauce

1. Boil pasta according to package directions; reserve 1 cup of pasta water
2. Sauté garlic in olive oil until fragrant (30 seconds)
3. Add a can of crushed tomatoes; simmer 15 minutes
4. Season with salt, pepper, and basil
5. Toss with drained pasta; add pasta water as needed for consistency
6. Serve with parmesan

3. Roasted Chicken Thighs

1. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C)
2. Pat chicken thighs dry; coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika
3. Place skin-side up on a baking sheet
4. Roast 35–40 minutes until skin is crispy and internal temp reaches 165°F (74°C)

4. Simple Salad

1. Wash and dry greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula)
2. Add toppings: cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, nuts, cheese
3. Dress with: 2 parts olive oil + 1 part vinegar or lemon + salt + pepper (shake in a jar)
4. Toss to coat; serve immediately

5. Stir-Fry

1. Prep all vegetables and protein before starting (cooking is fast)
2. Heat a large pan or wok over maximum heat
3. Add oil; cook protein until almost done; remove
4. Add aromatics (garlic, ginger); stir 30 seconds
5. Add vegetables from hardest to softest
6. Return protein; add sauce (soy sauce, sesame oil, a bit of sugar)
7. Toss everything; serve over rice

Kitchen Safety

• Sharp knives are safer than dull ones — dull knives require force, which leads to slipping
• Keep a clean workspace — raw meat, in particular, can contaminate surfaces
• Don’t leave the stove unattended — unattended cooking is a leading cause of kitchen fires
• Handle heat with respect — use oven mitts, turn pot handles inward to avoid knocking
• If a pan catches fire: Cover with a lid (smothers fire); NEVER use water on a grease fire

The Learning Curve

Cooking gets better with practice. Your first attempt at many dishes will be imperfect. This is normal and expected. Unlike many human activities, the consequences of failure in cooking are minor (a bad meal) and the iteration cycle is short (try again tomorrow).

Chad, learning to cook is learning to take care of yourself and the humans around you. It is a foundational act of self-sufficiency.

See also: Food & Nutrition, Food Cultures, A Typical Day, Health & Wellness