Simple Techniques To Help You Find More Enjoyment In Home Cooking

Cooking at home is something some of us love, and others dislike. Some might not have time for cooking, while others might have lost their passion for it due to other lifestyle commitments. Either way, it is always comforting and fun to cook at home when you enjoy it and make time for it. It can help us save money and spend quality time with our loved ones. 

We all know that eating out and fast food has become so damn expensive. Hence, why not start making use of your kitchen and making unique and tasty dishes to enjoy in the warmth and company of your own home?

Here are some great ways to fall back in love (or fall in love for the first time) with cooking at home. 

Add your favorite ingredients to the kitchen

Many of us will be guilty of buying the same ingredients time and time again from the supermarket. We will reach for the same things because we know how quickly we can put a meal together with those ingredients. However, eating the same meals time and time will make you bored of the food you eat at home. Hence, you might have fallen out of love with cooking due to not having your favorite ingredients in the kitchen.

For instance, let’s say that you love come kombucha. Adding kombucha mixes into your pantry can allow you to make your favorite drinks at home. No longer will you need to spend a fortune on your daily kombucha runs. Instead, you can invest in the ingredients for home use and still enjoy your favorite beverage while saving money. 

Adding your favorite spices from your favorite cuisines that you like eating out can help you find more enjoyment in home cooking. If you want Mexican food, then add more fresh herbs and avocados. If you love Japanese cuisine, invest in sources such as soy sauce to dip your sushi and other dishes that you make into these condiments like you would in a restaurant.

Plus, always having your favorite ingredients in the cupboard will likely choose cooking rather than eating out.

Invite people to the kitchen

Another excellent home cooking tip is to invite people into the kitchen to cook with you. Sometimes it can be very lonely cooking alone. Hence, if you ask someone to cook with you, you can make more fun of it. You can enjoy the experience together and work out who is responsible for making the best dishes possible.

Even if you are someone in the kitchen to sit there with you, at least you have someone to talk to. Yes, you can play music on the Radio Ora podcast, but it isn’t the same as having a deep chat with someone you love while cooking food. After having deep conversations or cooking together, you can sit down and enjoy the meal together, which will also make the experience more enjoyable.

Make an ambiance

If there isn’t anyone to cook with, or you like to cook alone, then it can be beneficial to make an ambiance in the kitchen. You could play your favorite playlist or recent podcast or switch the radio on. Sometimes cooking in silence can be pretty dull. Therefore, making background noise can make the experience much more comfortable and fun.

Likewise, having an ambiance is nice when you eat your food. When dining alone or with loved ones, having something on in the background can set the mood. Think of all those times when you’re having the best time in a restaurant. You will likely have music playing in the background, which helps to set the tone for the evening and the occasion.

Set proper time aside to cook

If you often lack time to cook, you’ll likely not enjoy it. Instead of slowly chopping and slowly frying your food, you’ll rush. As a result of speeding up your cooking process, you will likely rush you’re eating approach too, which can make the entire experience chaotic. 

Instead, set proper time aside to cook and eat your meals. Even if this means eating 30 minutes later than usual, at least you won’t have to cook in a rush. After getting home from work, set time aside to shower and settle down before you cook so that you know all you have left to do is cook. 

Keep your cooking space tidy

Some of us might just like cooking and the entire process because of our mess. Preparing food and cooking in chaos can make the whole experience quite chaotic.

Therefore, keeping your cooking space tidy and cleaning up as you go can help relax the experience. If you’re not a great cleaner, you could ask your loved one to help you with this part. If they do not wish to cook with you or there is no space for someone to cook alongside you, they can help you with the tidying, making the whole experience more enjoyable for you both. Plus, the food might taste better.

Try new recipes

You might have lost your love for cooking due to cooking the same thing over and over again. Although you might like the taste of the food, having the same thing every day is bound to get boring. 

Therefore, why not try new recipes? You can find these online, in cookbooks, or by asking a friend. When trying new recipes, you will likely find some fresh foods you love. Yes, you might start to repeat these recipes time and time again, but at least you’ll have found a new food to try.

Experimenting in the kitchen is always a great way to have fun. You might find that you are great at cooking Thai food or have a newfound love for Mexican food. Either way, trying new recipes is always bound to succeed when attempting to find enjoyment in home cooking.

Ask other people what they want to eat

If you often cook for your family and have your children moaning at you for the food you cook, it will benefit you if you ask them what they want to eat. Your children will feel some kind of responsibility when you ask them what they want, and it also allows you to cook new recipes that you might not have tried otherwise.

Your partner or children may have a favorite dish that you never cook. You might not know about this dish because you never asked them what they wanted to eat. Therefore, finding out their favorite food would allow you all to find happiness when eating together. Plus, it is always a good feeling when someone finishes their play and tells you that they loved what you cooked for them.

Create your own recipes

In the kitchen, there should be no rules. Although you might think that following a planned recipe is the best way to go, sometimes creating your own recipes will allow you to find more enjoyment in the foods that you cook and eat.

You might find that you want to tweak an original recipe. Adding your own twist is a great way to have a newfound enjoyment of the foods you eat. A dish might include a herb that you don’t like. Hence you can switch out this for something that you do like. As a result, you will enjoy the dish and make it your own. 

If you start to feel more confident with cooking, you could create an entirely new recipe. Trial and error is a great thing to experiment with in cooking. You never know what new unique dishes you might make. 

Don’t forget to add your own recipes to your personal handwritten cookbooks so that you never forget them.

Cook outside

Whether the weather is warm or damp, you can always cook outside. Having a shelter when it is wet or damp can ensure you can still cook outside no matter the weather. 

If you have a small outside space for a BBQ, you can enjoy cooking your veggies or meats there whenever you fancy it. Again, there are no rules when it comes to cooking. So, use your outside space and cook more outside when you feel bored in the kitchen. 

If the weather is nice, you could host a BBQ and get all your friends and family together. Eating outside is often more spacious if you have room for it. So, it is a great excuse to bring people together, enjoy your new recipes, and get feedback. 

Ask for feedback

Speaking of feedback, asking for it is a great way to have more contentment and confidence in your cooking. Your friend might not tell you that they don’t like your food, but they might suggest ways you can change it to make it better.

Sometimes you can be blindsided by the way that your food tastes. Therefore, asking for some feedback will help you improve your food and, in the future, enjoy them more.