If you are anything like me, Kathey Raskin, you had to start teaching yourself how to cook from the bottom up. My grandmother could, and would burn garlic bread without breaking a sweat. Let’s not even talk about what happened to her steaks on the grill. Let’s just say that there are some things that ketchup can’t even fix. Her stuffing is still stuff of legend and you will thank yourself that you never have to choke it down. My mom didn’t exactly have time to cook every night so I’ve had to teach myself every step of the way, and I will gladly share some of my best tips to be successful in the kitchen.
Boiling Water
Now, don’t roll your eyes. If you watch Worst Cooks in America, you know that it’s not the easiest thing in the world. There is more than one way to boil water too, so make sure that you use the one you feel comfortable. My favorite is to use the microwave. As long as you use safe cups and bowls, without metallic paints and detailing. To test whether it is microwave safe, place it in the microwave, empty, next to a cup of water. Put on one minute. If the dish is hot after the minute is up, it is not microwave safe.
Washing Hands
Our hands are one of the main ways that germs are spread, so it is important to wash them thoroughly with soap and warm water. A single gram of human feces—which is about the weight of a paper clip—can contain one trillion germs. You need to do it after touching the bin, before cooking, going to the toilet, and before and after touching uncooked food. First, wet your hands, apply soap. Next, lather your hands by rubbing them together and scrub them for 20 seconds or humming “Happy Birthday” twice. After that, rinse and dry them with a clean towel or air dry them.
Properly Store Food
Raw meat, including poultry, can contain harmful bacteria that can spread easily to anything it touches. This includes other food, worktops, tables, chopping boards and knives. When you buy chicken, you want to keep it away from ready-to-eat foods such as bread, salad and fruit. These foods won’t be cooked before you eat them, so any germs that get on to them won’t be killed. When storing raw meat, always keep it in a clean, sealed container and place it on the bottom shelf of the fridge, where it can’t touch or drip on to other foods. If it does leak, clean it with an antibacterial cleaner, and make sure that nothing else has been looked on.
Hope this all helps!
