How to Cook Better

10 years ago, I would not even think of buying a cookbook, let alone reading one as if it were a book.  How things have changed.  My favorite pastime includes reading cookbooks (especially ones that tell great stories such as "The Seventh Daughter" or "Gluten-free Girl and the Chef") and food blogs.  One of the reasons is that I realize I have to invest more time to eat better and to cook better - things which are in my control to maintain good health.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a 1-hour Nutrition 101 talk by food blogger and health writer, Darya Pino, whose website: summer tomato becomes an instant favorite of mine.  Just in 1 hour I learned how to cook better, several ideas for breakfast and lunch, what staples you should shop, how to eat (mindfully), how to snack and how to eat healthy when eating out, etc.

I especially like her 4 essential tips for cooking which she repeated in her blog here:

(1) Start with great and fresh ingredients;
(2) Do not overcook food especially veggies, meat and eggs (this is a big tip for me, yet the idea is so simple);
(3) Use more salt!  This may sound controversial.  Apparently 75% of sodium comes from the processed food we eat.  So if we do more home cooking, we will dramatically cut down on sodium anyway so a bit more salt in our food will not only make our food taste better but also will not do that much harm to our body.
(4) When in doubt, add some acid such as vinegar and lemon which will also brighten the food.

While Darya's food blog is filled with tips, colours, articles reviews and recipes, the stonesoup food blog in contrast is a minimalist blog which is extremely refreshing to look at, and has wonderfully simple recipes.  The blogger Jules Clancy also produces a video for each blog which is very easy to follow.  To round up my favorite blogs, here is an Asian-inspired food blog which is inspiring too.  When I run out of ideas to cook, I type in an ingredient and viola! several dishes come out. Then if you like Japanese food and bento-making, this colourful blog is just a delight to look at (Japanese is the Master of making everything looks so good). 

I am just thankful for the invention of web and blogs.