When I got to college, I earned a reputation among my roommates as being a good cook. Now, don't be fooled, I am by no means the next Rachel Ray but I did know my way around a kitchen. I could use a garlic press, make scrambled eggs, bake a cake, cook something in the oven besides a frozen pizza and basically follow most recipes. I guess it never occurred to me that not everyone's parents and friends' parents cook a lot. I was used to helping my mom out in the kitchen and watching while my best friend E (who is an amazing and mostly self taught cook) cook with her mom.
It's not the end of the world if you don't know how to cook in high school, college, or even after college. But it can be a lot of fun. Also it ends up being cheaper (And FAR healthier) than buying fast food or already prepared meals. And there's a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes with making a really good dish for your friends and family.
So let me know, do you cook? Do you want to learn?
Whether you do or not, here are a few great resources for learning a bit about the art of cooking that are written for teens (though I've been known to use them myself!).
Young People Cooking: sick of reading cookbooks for young people that included 'Ketchup Spaghetti pie' Toni Von Eeden created Young People Cooking to give teens and young adults an easy guide to cooking. This site is pretty awesome, check out it's Epic Online Guide to Understanding: How to Cook for helpful hints for starting out. You can also join their group on facebook.
and 
(Click on each picture for a link to the library's catalog)
Sam Stern's books are really great, lots of beautiful pictures and easy to follow recipes that are a little adventurous for American taste buds (he's British).
Step by step instructions for tons of great recipes for meals, snacks and desserts.
DFTBA,
Sti
Comments
Thanks for the info!