The unassuming cook is the culinary story of two young ladies with similar stories – both simple accountants who moved out of their parent’s homes to the ‘big city’ and discovered that, although the corporate world keeps their schedules very full, 2 minute noodles and microwave pasta is not a long term solution for a home cooked dinner. With no prospects of returning home in the foreseeable future, and no option of getting home cooked dinners freighted to them (this option being thoroughly explored), it was decided that the time had come to embrace their inner chef and try out some new recipes.
This is their search for recipes which are easy and simple – and will fit into a busy schedule.
Meet the team:
Cinnamon:
It never really occurred to me to learn how to cook. I just assumed that it was something people did when they got married and wanted to impress their in-laws – and I would get around to that eventually. Right now though, I would focus on what was important – studying, working, friends, family and having fun. The first 3 years of my working life, I lived at home. In between deadlines, leaving the office at 2am and still going home with 5 files and a hundred things to complete before 8am the next morning, a home cooked meal was something I took for granted. There was always something bubbling on the stove, something delicious in the fridge - I never bought take out on the way home. However, 2011 was the year all that changed. I moved to a larger city for better job opportunities, and discovered that those microwave meals have some rather questionable ‘cheese substitute’ toppings, those drive through meals are made from what appears to be a rubber compound, and breakfast for dinner everyday does not an alert mind make. So, (I thought, while watching Take Home Chef (yum - and I don't mean the food) ) how hard can this cooking thing be? With numerous half hourly calls to my mother, all new cooking gear and an in-depth working knowledge of the ‘cook in sauces’ isle in the grocery store – I embark on my journey for culinary success.
Honey:
There was no hope for me. I was completely uninterested in cooking. Coming from a culture where the basic skills of life are the FOUR R’s – Reading, wRiting, Roti making, and aRithmetic – this was a dire situation. My mother said I lacked the prerequisites for life itself, and as I got into my 20s with no change in my interest in the art of curry making – things were looking bleak. Baking I could do – this was a precise, orderly art – exactly 1.5 cups of flour, exactly ¼ teaspoon of vanilla essence – these instructions I could understand. But ‘salt to taste’? Sauté onions ‘until pink’? What does that mean? What exactly is a ‘pink’ onion? However, fate conspired into forcing me to learn how to cook – an upcoming wedding, and an impending move away from the comforts of home. A few cooking lessons later, some (rather feeble) attempts at producing a home cooked meal, a husband who does not criticize any meal (*thumbs up*), and I could finally produce a meal that is halfway decent. No, I can’t cook for 10 people (or 5 people for that matter) – but I can cook. And if I can do it, anyone can.
