This will be on the test
Life advice from two sisters and former teachers. We discuss topics that are not taught at school, but which are on the test of life. If you are a first-time adult and trying to figure life out, give us a listen.
This will be on the test
Cook like an adult
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Welcome to this week's episode. In today's home ec class, we are learning the basics of cooking. What's the difference between chopping, mincing, dicing, and who the hell is Julian and why does he keep coming up in my recipes?
SPEAKER_02You'll also hear about how I nearly burnt down my apartment and which fail got Amy hospitalized. So listen in for this week's this will be on the test.
SPEAKER_04Yay!
SPEAKER_03On the microphone, you've got Amy and Lydia. We're back with this will be on the test. Will this be on the test? Some of them.
SPEAKER_02So make sure to grab a notebook. Because this will be on the test. Hello. Hello. We're in our fancy setup again. We are.
SPEAKER_03It is really nice.
SPEAKER_02So before we start, again, we have a camera, so I'm not sure where to look. So if it's awkward, sorry guys, if you're watching the video.
SPEAKER_03It's just who we are.
SPEAKER_02Um but I have a funny story. Let me turn to you a little bit. Um so I teach primary school, and the other day I was well, actually, you know the story already. So I'm just saying you guys. The other day I was opening the window and I saw this red note on one of my students' desks, and I was like, shit, somebody wrote a mean letter or something again. And so I always look at the letters just to make sure nobody's being bullied or anything. Because she knows me. Well, yeah. It's to make sure they're not being bullied. And on the letter, it was this red note that was clearly fished out of the garbage or something because it was torn. And on it it said, I don't want to be your boyfriend anymore.
unknownAnd then the name.
SPEAKER_02It's so sad. So I sent it to one of my coworkers because obviously it was pretty funny. And um we were like third grader. So third graders, it can't be that serious. And I was like curious how the girl would react when she came to school. She was unfazed. No reaction to the letter. What if she didn't even know they were together?
SPEAKER_03You don't want to be with me. Who are you? Okay. Thanks. Yeah, so being a third grader is hard. It seems like it. Yeah. Life's tough. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but I do miss those moments of being a teacher where you get like really funny insights into somebody's life. Yeah. Well.
SPEAKER_02Anyway. Should we get into today's topic? Yes. Okay. We're talking about cooking. Guys, would you rather live with someone who did all the cooking or all the cleaning?
SPEAKER_03This one's quite easy for me. I think I've talked a lot about how Tarek's a good cook on this podcast. Um, he does the majority of the cooking in our house. It's a win. He also cleans, so he's kind of like, you know, gotta lock that one down. Yeah. No, but uh does he do the majority of the cleaning? No, I think we actually split that up quite evenly. But if we eat together, he's usually the one cooking. Whereas like if we do separate dinners and both of us just cook. I really like cooking, but I would love to have someone cook for me. I don't mind cleaning. I would love to have someone cook for me.
SPEAKER_02See, I don't find it as obvious. I see that cooking is like an act of love, which is nice. But I've really gotten into baking lately, which for me goes in the same way. Like if somebody's cooking for you, they're like doing most of the kitchen activities.
SPEAKER_03Exactly. But I think then you can like I still go in and I cook myself something really nice every once in a while or bake something when I want to and not because I have to cook every day because I'm an adult and nobody's gonna be like.
SPEAKER_02But they didn't do all the cleaning, all the cooking.
SPEAKER_04I still think you can if you really want to. Can you?
SPEAKER_03I mean I think I'd also be okay if he wanted to do it all the time. Honestly.
SPEAKER_02All the cleaning is nice.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I think I would go with all the cleaning because I enjoy making meals for other people. And I like like yes, I like when a meal is made for me also, but I really like I don't know, people feeling better because I got a nice deal or like for I don't know. I just really like cooking, or like like I said, I started making sourdough, and I just will make an excessive amount of sourdough bread and give it to people because I just like giving people stuff that I make.
SPEAKER_03That's very cute. It's me.
SPEAKER_02Um okay, so I'm going somebody who cleans.
SPEAKER_03I'm going someone who you want to move in together? You want to do all the cooking and all the cleaning. Cleaning helps me like bring my anxiety down.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I see that.
SPEAKER_03It focuses everything on a very manageable task. But so does cooking for me. Yeah, but sometimes cooking is like fuck, I have to cook again. And sometimes cleaning's like that too, but less often for me. Yeah. Whereas like at the end, at the end of cleaning, your apartment is nice. At the end of cooking, you have to clean. I think that might be the But you don't. Because they do all the cleaning. True. I'm still sticking with cooking. Okay. Well. Um, would you rather have to chop onions once a day or accidentally touch your eyes after chopping chilies once a month?
SPEAKER_02Chop onions.
SPEAKER_03I wait, I answered too quickly.
SPEAKER_02I only sell them once a month later after you.
SPEAKER_03Um Have you ever picked your nose after cutting chilies? Because that also no.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_03Like I just like a little I I often do this, which is kind of like nose picking, but it's really just like, I don't know, it's a weird habit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And I if I do that after cutting chilies, then like the tip of my nose starts to burn. Oh no. It's really uncomfortable. It's not as bad as the touching the eyes, but if your nose feels warm, it's really weird. It's like you drank too much. What?
SPEAKER_02Yesterday we were in a store and there was this guy selling his wine that he brewed himself, and he had like the typical cartoon red nose of you know having too much wine. Okay. I don't know if you have to.
SPEAKER_03I thought your nose burnt when you drank too much. And so that's weird. And I think you need to see a doctor.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, possibly. Um, I don't mind chopping onions that much, honestly. And I really like onions in a meal. So like life right now, I'm not chopping onions daily. Yeah. But I'm chopping onions regularly. Yeah. I think I'd go with that. It's really not that bad.
SPEAKER_03I mean, sometimes you get a really gnarly onion. Yeah. I feel like usually it's fine, and sometimes you get an onion, and you're like, what? Why are you doing this? Yeah, no, I'd go with the onion. You can't do it, you can't do the pepper. No, because also the onions are like different tricks, right? Like put a piece of apple in your mouth so you don't smell it as much. And like there are different things you can do. Yeah. With the pepper and with the pepper, it's just cry. Cry. And regret that you don't wash your hands often enough, I guess.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_04Well, we're both on the same page on that one.
SPEAKER_02So, guys, we both grew up in a cooking household. So I like it.
SPEAKER_03If we actually grew up in the same household, that's how some sister relationships work. Yeah. Sadly. Wow. Guns are coming lots a day. Okay. Let's go. Tell us about your childhood, Lydia.
SPEAKER_02On another episode, maybe. No, I was so because we always grew up like cooking or helping in the kitchen, I thought it was really hard to imagine where some people start out. Because I'm like also my friends, most of them know the basic skills of cooking. So I went on Reddit and I found somebody who posted and I shortened it a bit, but I'm gonna read you guys the Reddit post and we're gonna go and try to help this person out.
SPEAKER_03Just real quick, in my university, I did study home economics, which is also cooking. So one of the skills I did learn was to teach people how to cook. And I think the reason a lot of Swiss people know how to cook is because in school at one period of their life, they usually have a cooking class. It's a mandatory thing. It's a mandatory thing. So I have like I've also seen what people struggle with in the beginning.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah. So Amy's Amy's our expert of the day. Um, this person wrote in a long-winded question in the form of a frustrated rant, I suppose. Seriously, how does anyone teach themselves anything about making food? Or even just learn about food in general? I'm so sick of trying recipes that always seem to yield awful, barely edible food. The biggest problem is I literally cannot even tell what's wrong with it. It just displeases my mouth immensely.
SPEAKER_03I love the phrase. I'm gonna amazing rider. Yeah. Um displeases my mouth.
SPEAKER_02I don't know if the food is done or not because I don't know what gold what color golden brown is. I don't know what size bubbles indicates that a sauce is boiling or simmering. Like 95% of recipes I find couldn't even begin to guess what they're supposed to taste like. So this person adds on, I edit it out, but she says that she was always a picky eater as a kid, so she doesn't know what a lot of things taste like, and now she's like trying to broaden her horizon. So she's starting at bare minimum. She doesn't know how to cook anything. First of all, good job for trying. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And even if cooking is a little daunting in the beginning, I think you can get it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I agree.
SPEAKER_03Um, I think here in this specific case, I would say it probably helps to cook a meal that you already know. Like even if it's just basic pasta, so you know what it's supposed to taste like. Because if you start with a fancy meal, it's unclear, do I not like this dish or did I do something wrong? And I think there, like, like with any new skill that you're gonna learn, like just start with a very basic thing, like I don't know, scrambled eggs even.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I think what a lot of people think, like, oh, I just can't cook, but it's a skill that you learn and you can learn, and there's so many platforms. So we're gonna get into like we're gonna get into some very specific things, yeah, and then some general advice. General advice. General advice. Um, you wrote down some terminologies that could be helpful. Yes. So we're gonna go through them and see see if we can explain them. Yeah. Um, you wrote down simmer. Yes. What's the difference between okay, what's the difference between a simmer and a boil? Yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Do you know?
SPEAKER_02No. I mean, well, okay. What do you think? A simmer is less, a boil is more. A boil is like bubbles to the point where you think, okay, it this could come out of the pot, or maybe one or two drops of water comes out of the pot. Yeah. And a simmer is just like light bubbles. You can maybe hear it bubble a little already, but not much.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I mean, honestly, if you don't know, it's kind of fun to watch water. At one point, it'll start to make these little bubbles on the bottom of the pan where the heat is coming from, and they're very small. That is a simmer. Okay. And a boil is when those bubbles start to get bigger and come to the top in a more rapid way. And usually like when you boil something, you have to turn the heat down a little bit because you already have enough heat in the containers, and you can lower the heat while letting it boil. So, what a lot of people do with pasta is they add the pasta in at the same heat and then it overflows. So, actually, what you like what helps is to lower the heat a little bit and then add everything, even though you're adding cool ingredients, which will like cool down the water a bit, but it does help, I would say, in general, a lot of the times people cook on a very high and then you just turn it down a little bit.
SPEAKER_02So if you have like 12 and like a dial that goes up to 12, you turn it down to a 10. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_03Just from like waiting from high to medium high.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um, just to like reassure you, if you're starting at zero, I mean, some of these terminologies I don't know either, that Amy wrote down. And I've been cooking like all my life.
SPEAKER_03Some of them are not that important. It's just if you wanna if you get a complicated recipe, sometimes it is just a terminology where it's like, I don't even understand what this is. And it's just a certain way of cutting a vegetable. And honestly, I think that's kind of a preference thing if you preferred it chopped or like in thin slices. I think that's really a lot of cooking is also learning what your preference is and then doing that.
SPEAKER_02And the cool thing with cooking is you can almost always come back. It's not like baking. I feel like baking.
SPEAKER_03I don't agree with this.
SPEAKER_02I I feel like in cooking, you can have say you're making a soup, have some water on the side, have some extra veggies on the side. If you make it too salty, add some water. If there's not enough veggies, add some more of the veggies. I think when baking, if you mess something up, it's kind of hard to come back from that, or at least that's my view. With cooking, you can kind of fix a lot of the mistakes.
SPEAKER_03I don't agree with this. I think yes, but that's because you've been cooking for a while. Yeah. When you first start cooking, if you make a soup and you add too much salt, I've added so much salt to a soup because I was sick or something, or just like not in the right headspace, and you can't fix that. Yeah. And then it's just a saltiness, and you feel like shit eating it because you're like, wow, I can't even cook soup, which is water and vegetables. How did I fuck this up? So I do think there are also points of no return in cooking. Like when you burn something, well, yeah, even if you just eat the top, like it's everything tastes burnt at that point, and sometimes it is better to start from scratch. I agree that baking is more of like a science that you have to really follow each step very precisely. But I think in the beginning, honestly, cooking is like that too. And a lot of people say, cooking, just go with the flow, but you don't know how to go with the flow.
SPEAKER_02I don't think you should improvise in the beginning. And I wrote this down too. Like when you're learning to cook, don't improvise. Follow the recipe to a T, but also don't panic.
SPEAKER_03I agree with that, but also like don't panic. But if something isn't good, then it's okay to restart. Yeah. It's like, I don't know, like any new skill. If you're learning to knit, if the beginning looks like all wavy and shit, you can restart your project. You don't have to think I can save this because honestly, sometimes it's easier to just be like, okay, I failed at that. That's okay. Let's retry. Yeah. Rather than I'm going to save this disgusting dish and try to work my magic. And I think that's why people most of the time try to work my magic. I think it's fine if you like it's it's also a good skill. But I think when you're starting to learn how to cook, it's it can be a little frustrating to always eat bad things because you're trying to save everything because you've made a mistake.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Rather than kind of taking the L and saying, okay, this is not working. I'm going to restart and retry.
SPEAKER_02But I feel like there are two sides of the coin to this. There's one person who will go gung-ho into cooking, and then there's the other person who's too shy to like do it, who's too shy to add seasoning, and then all the food is bland. Do it. And there I kind of think like if you're on the shy side and you're like, oh, I don't want to add the seasoning because maybe it's not good, most of the time, add some like you can add the seasoning, and then if it's too much, you add some more cream. Like if you're the person who's on the timid side, I think that's what I'm but yeah. I think follow the recipes to a T in the beginning, but just like I don't know. It's kind of like painting, in my opinion. You can paint over a few times, but then after a certain amount of time, you're like, if I paint over one more time, it's just gonna be a disaster.
SPEAKER_03I agree, but there are some paints that you can't paint over. Like if you paint something in black, that's pretty permanent. No, and I think with cooking it's the same. There are some mistakes that are just they're going to probably make that dish hard to I also think if you oversalt something. Like I will eat over salty food because I really like salt. Yeah. But salt is something it's easier to add slowly and then add more as you go.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Well, okay, back to the we were at boil simmer. Now we're at you wrote down chop, mince, dice.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. Julian is also in there, which is just like a French people love their fancy words, I think. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Um so okay, can I guess what it is?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So we have chop, dice, mince, and Julian. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Um dice is smaller than chop. Yes. Mince is even smaller, and usually for like herbs and stuff, you mince the herbs, so it's like really, really small pieces of garlic, yeah. And Julian is the main character of a romance novel, probably.
SPEAKER_03Julienne. Julienne. Um to Julian, like uh, you know the like thin strips of carrots.
SPEAKER_04Oh.
SPEAKER_03That's like a thinly sliced vegetable. Okay. Um, there's not a very big difference, in my opinion, between dice and mince and how to m dice something is a little bit easier. And there are honestly, I would watch a YouTube video of how to dice an onion or stuff. There are so many different techniques, and honestly, you just have to figure out your technique. It's okay. Um, but I also think if you come across a recipe and you don't understand the terminology, just look up a word. Like blanching something. Do you know what it means to blanch something? No. Because why would you? I mean, it's just like there are these certain cooking terminology words where blanching doesn't make a big difference. It's where you boil something and then automatically put it in cold water so that it keeps its color.
SPEAKER_00Oh.
SPEAKER_03And sometimes, like for me, I don't need to blanch my things because I don't care if my broccoli is a light green or a dark green.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I think on that it makes sense though to maybe watch recipes rather than read them in the beginning. Because especially like this person said, how am I supposed to know what's golden brown, or how am I supposed to know if it's boiling or simmering? And if you see that on a video a few times, like do a few recipes, or do the same recipe even better a few times with that video, then kind of master that and then move on to the next thing. I think if you see it, and that's so cool, there's like so many YouTube videos where they'll teach you how to cook pasta or I mean, yeah. Yeah. And I think it's easier if you see it there because it's so like I find it really exhausting to try out a new recipe.
SPEAKER_03I think so too. I also on that note, whether you're reading or watching, I do recommend first either reading the full recipe and playing it through in your head. Or, and this is also something like this is what we are taught to do. I teach you that. I know, or I don't always do it, but it really makes a difference because sometimes the recipe says two hours, and it means like actual work time is two hours, but you're gonna need 36 hours because this needs to cool and then that needs to cool, and then you want to make a pie for I don't know, Thanksgiving, and you can't because you started too late. Whereas if you read the recipe in advance, you know what steps are next.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And in the beginning, even like a mise en plus to prepare all the things that you're gonna need for your meal. Yeah, that can really help just kind of like take all the stress away. You know what steps are coming, you know all your ingredients are ready, and then you can start the actual challenge of cooking. And I don't think you have to do this all the time, but when you're starting out to cook, it kind of helps to just be like everything on this table is what I'm going to need for this recipe. That I totally I don't need a turn and oh, this is boiling, and now I need to find the salt to to set yourself up for success.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I agree. I I do think that like the reason I mentioned that trying a new recipe is exhausting. I think maybe give yourself grace if you're starting to learn. Don't think you're gonna try out a new recipe every single day. Because I I don't do that. And sometimes I'm depending on the recipe, sometimes I'm really tired after trying out recipes because it's just so many things happen at the same time. Yeah. But it does make sense what Amy says to read the recipe. Also, a lot of people who write recipes will like give you their life story.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah, just skip to the recipe.
SPEAKER_02There's always an arrow that says jump to recipe, jump to recipe. It's never important information.
SPEAKER_00It's like when I was in fifth grade, I saw a rose and it inspired me to make rose buttered pasta.
SPEAKER_03Um just real quick, having said that, do maybe check out the reviews. Oh yeah, because nowadays there are quite a lot of videos, like five-minute crafts, or even recipes, where they tell people to do something where if you've cooked before, you know it's not gonna work. But if you've never cooked, you're like, what a cool hack, I'm gonna do this, and then your food tastes like shit and you think it's on you. But sometimes it really is just the recipe or the person showing the video. And um, there's a good YouTuber called I think her channel is how to cook that. And she's a I think she's a food scientist or a chemist, and she goes through these videos and shows like certain things that are shown. In YouTube videos that have so many views and she's like, this is never gonna work, and then she shows how to actually do it. Oh and I think stuff like this to just know that sometimes people are just on YouTube and stuff for the views, they don't care if your food tastes good.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So sometimes it's not your fault too.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03No. But sometimes it is.
SPEAKER_02Sometimes it's the last terminology is a pinch of salt.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_02What is a pinch of salt?
SPEAKER_03What is a pinch of salt?
SPEAKER_02I always I learned that a pinch of salt is like you cup your hand. You cup your hand, thank you. I was trying to describe what I'm doing. You cub your hand and then you fill it with salt. And then that's a pinch of salt.
SPEAKER_03Yes. A pinch of salt is not a literal pinch. Yeah. Because that's like that would be too easy. That would be too easy. Honestly, I would say with salt though, often start with a little less.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But don't be afraid to add salt. Because salt. Get salty. Get salty. No, but like if you just boil water with salt and put the vegetables in it, that's all it is. It's just salt and water.
SPEAKER_02And I love that. Also, you can taste the water. What should the water taste like? Yeah. Put a spoon in and then taste it like the ocean. It should taste like the ocean. Yes. Oh my god. I'm doing so well. I'm gonna get a good grade on this one.
SPEAKER_03You will.
SPEAKER_02Um, okay. I wrote down some simple recipes that one could start with if you guys are looking for inspiration. If you're I think this is if you are starting out your cooking expedition.
SPEAKER_03Even if you're not starting out your cooking expedition, I think it could be fun to just like go back and retry simple recipes and then now that you are maybe no longer a beginner, try to see if you can pimp them out without a recipe. There we go.
SPEAKER_02Um, what I like to make is a pimped out salad. And I can give you some specifics, what I put in there. And the advantage with the salad is it's chopping things. Yeah. So it's not cooking or anything. And I know a salad, the first reaction is like lame, but you can make really nice pimped out salads. So I will put in carrots, cucumbers, and I will dice them.
SPEAKER_03Nice, good.
SPEAKER_02Because then it mixes together nicely. Um, carrots, cucumbers. I like onions in a salad. If you don't, then don't add that. Then feta and lettuce and tomatoes. The tomatoes I won't dice. The tomatoes I will cut in half and then cut in half again. So yes, cherry. Otherwise, I would dice them. Otherwise, I would dice them. Otherwise, it's a bit bit of a chunk. And then for the sauce, for the salad sauce, you can buy the pre-made one. I don't really like the pre-made one. The like rule of thumb is um 40% vinegar, 60% oil. Have you heard of this?
SPEAKER_03Nope.
SPEAKER_02I don't do that because I really like vinegar. I'll do about 50% vinegar, 50% oil, a little bit of salt, not a pinch, less than a pinch, and some pepper. And then that's your basic salad sauce to start out with.
SPEAKER_03Anything to add? I like corn in my salad. I'm not a huge like I like feta, but I also really like cottage cheese because then it makes it really creamy.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that's good.
SPEAKER_03Um avocado is great. Yeah. Some chopped walnuts or avocado.
SPEAKER_02Cutting an avocado, don't do the thing. Don't have the avocado.
SPEAKER_03My funny story will be.
SPEAKER_02Don't have the avocado. A lot of people have the avocado, and then they'll like kamikaze the knife into the pit. But the problem is that people will cut their hand because they slip out. You can just cut the avocado in half. And if go and watch the video if you want to help yourself out because I'm trying to explain it, cut the avocado in half and then hold the half that has the pit in your hand, turn it over so that the pit's looking down, and then just kind of like massage the avocado until the pit falls out.
SPEAKER_03I feel a little bit personally attacked, so I definitely just whack.
SPEAKER_02I mean, I just feel like if you're starting out cooking, you might not want a kamikaze knife. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Oh, also counterintuitive, since we're talking about knives, dull knives lead to more accidents than sharp knives. Because a dull knife you have to apply more pressure to.
SPEAKER_02That's like with men.
SPEAKER_03And you're sorry. I mean dull knives are worse, just believe me.
SPEAKER_02Sorry. She's right. She is right. Like a lot of parents give their kids like the the knives that don't have the pointy tip.
SPEAKER_03I think that's fine for kids, like those plastic ones. Yeah, yeah. Because they can't cut themselves. But if you're cutting like an onion or even a tomato, if you can't cut through it, then you have to like really cut through it. And if you slip, then there's so much pressure behind it that you're more likely to cut yourself quite intensely. Yeah. So actually having sharp tools is better.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and rather have like two sharp knives than ten half-ass ones, and then you have to wash those by hand every now and again. Yeah, and dry them.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Okay. Anyway. Um, pimped out salad. Yes. I also think a salad dressing with mayonnaise or yogurt can be very delicious.
SPEAKER_02I agree. And then you whisk. Whisk that bye-bye. I just brought the oil and vinegar one because that's very simple.
SPEAKER_03Not as intimidating, I think. Yeah, but I think the the mayonnaise you get more bang for your buck. Because it's like I I really love vinegar. We grew up with just like olive oil and apple cider vinegar on our salads, so I'm good with that. Yes, but I think if you want like a little more of a pimped out salad than like an avocado dressing or something where you put it in a blender or mayonnaise and you just whisk it all together. Um, I also I think I add more than a pinch of salt usually. Because I like salt.
SPEAKER_02And salad dressing is one of those things. You taste it, mm-hmm, too much vinegar, add some mayonnaise. You taste it too much of this. Worst case, you end up having too much of a good, not worst case, but like what likely will happen is you end up having too much because you kept on adding the things, but then you can just set some aside and keep it for a lighter salad.
SPEAKER_03Also, I don't know. I feel like salad dressing is one of those easy, difficult things because you try it, but then it tastes different when it's on the salad too. So maybe just take out a small portion of salad and eat a little bit and then see if your dressing needs to be that's a really good point.
SPEAKER_02Because I think salad dressing needs to ta taste a little too much.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, too strong. Yeah, it's a little too strong.
SPEAKER_02If it's bland, you're gonna want to add some salt or something because then on the salad you won't really taste it at all.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Also try out different lettuces. I love iceberg. Um, I like spinach. I do not like kale. I don't know how people like kale.
SPEAKER_02Chicory, I don't like either. Is that the English word for it?
SPEAKER_03Well, like, I don't know what it's called. Purple salad. Um, anyway, try out different lettuces too, because those can change the game.
SPEAKER_02Another thing. Oh, do you want to mention your cheesy pasta?
SPEAKER_03Yes. Um, because I wanted to mention cooking pasta because it's one of those things that like it's so easy to do. Just put it in boiling water. Yeah. Boil the water first, and then add salt, and then add your pasta. While the pasta is cooking, try it. Try it at like every minute in the beginning. Because you'll you'll know the difference between too crunchy, yeah. Too soft. And if you're more of a very al dente, which is more on the crunchy side, or more on the soft side, because that's really a personal preference. And if you don't know, just set the timer that's written on the box, and it'll it that's usually fine. That's usually fine. Um and careful because pasta will boil over, but if you just blow on it and turn it down, like if it's starting to bubble, bubble, bubble, just blow on the bubbles and it'll calm down and turn the heat down. Um, and then just add butter and cheese and pepper, and that is already a delicious meal.
SPEAKER_02Or pre-made pesto.
SPEAKER_03Or pesto. Oh, I love pesto.
SPEAKER_02And also there's a hack with the pasta, is you can put a wooden spoon over the cooking pasta.
SPEAKER_03Does it work for you? It works. That works for me like 60% of the time.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Well, you can try it and let us know if it works. But it works for me. I think the spoon can't be too old because there's something about what's in the spoon somehow. I don't know. I don't know the signs behind it, but basically, you have your pot and then you put just a wooden cooking spoon over the boiling water. It doesn't have to be centered just somewhere over the boiling water, so you like balance it from one edge to the other. And that stops the water from boiling over. Not if you have it on full blast. I wrote down, I think this is the most efficient way to learn how to cook something is to do it with somebody who already knows how to cook. Like I realized this when I started baking sourdough bread. Um, my boyfriend's mom, she's been baking sourdough bread for like 20 years, and she showed me how to do it. It took about two hours, and the first bread I made was a success. And great success. And a friend of mine, she's been baking sourdough bread for longer, and she did it with a recipe, and she's like, Sometimes they turn out and sometimes they don't. I don't know what what's wrong. And I think if you have somebody showing me, because she said, Here the recipe says to do this, but I changed it a bit because I realized that this is better. And like cooking is so nuanced that it also can some things like can depend a bit on where you live and the temperature and everything. So if you have somebody who you go over and they make delicious roast, and you're like, I really want to learn how to make a roast. I think a lot of people are really flattered if you're like, your roast is so good, would you mind teaching me how to make it at some point?
SPEAKER_03I was gonna say, I've only ever been flattered when someone's like, Can we cook together? Because there's something about the way you cook. Like, like, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I'm like, it's such a nice compliment. Because it's like I I would never be mad. I don't know. I can imagine that maybe the person's day is too full that they can show you, but even if they just send you their recipe and then add their notes. I've had a friend send me the recipe and be like, This is what I do differently than what the recipe says. Yeah. I wrote down also while you're cooking, taste your food often. Yeah. Like keep on tasting it just so that you don't get to the point because like this person on Reddit was like, I end up having this awful meal and I don't know where it went wrong. And I think if you taste it often and you add something, and after adding that, it tastes awful. At least for the next time, you're like, okay, I don't like this herb. Or the last time I let it sit too long, so now I have to change this. That's why I would also recommend, as I said before, trying the same recipe a few times until you get it to how you like it. Yeah. And then I think there are some seasonings that you should have or you could have at home that are just I put in every meal.
SPEAKER_03I think it depends on the cuisine, but yes.
SPEAKER_02For sure. Yeah, that's that's a fair point, actually. But if you're starting out and you're like, oh, I don't know what herbs to get, and these are the ones that I think you could go to the store, get, and you'll use them for a lot of recipes if you're cooking in like a western.
SPEAKER_03I want to hear your list and then say which ones I use or don't use.
SPEAKER_02Okay. So I wrote down salt, I think is obvious, like I think you will have at home anyway. Um, I wrote down herbal salt, which is like basically salt but with some other herbs, and it gives it a nice little taste. Then I wrote down bouillon, I can which it's like chicken stock or vegetable stock.
SPEAKER_01It's vegetable stock. I get the vegetable stock because right? Yeah, I get the powder.
SPEAKER_03Okay. But yeah, but like in the US, you can use like the liquid, and I think the cubes are more space efficient.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And then I have garlic powder, pepper, and Italian herbs. Those are like my core herbs that I'll have in my kitchen.
SPEAKER_03I do not use herbal salt because if I want to use herbs, then I will put herbs in. Um I do use Italian herbs. Okay. Um, definitely stock, like uh vegetable stock. I have the cubes and like the paste. Garlic powder, eh. I have like I think we have garlic powder. A big one for me is dried chili. Because I like something with like a little bit of a kick.
SPEAKER_02I have that too, actually, but yeah.
SPEAKER_03And there I also think there are dried chilies that I really like, and dried chilies that I'm not a huge fan of. That's also kind of a trial. Um, I think pepper is one of those things, it's kind of um, if you can buy full pepper and crush it, you get more flavor out of it rather than the urdy ground pepper.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I have the same, I think.
SPEAKER_03And try not to keep your seasoning in direct sunlight because that can make them lose their flavors.
SPEAKER_02Did not know that. I learned something every day. Okay. We're getting towards the end. We are. Do you have another bit of advice?
SPEAKER_03Um a lot of people know how to cook, and I think that makes it kind of intimidating to start when you don't know how to cook and you feel like you're behind.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And then it's like this overwhelming thing. Um, it is cool to start with someone if you have a friend who knows how to cook.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03It's also fine to just kind of start on your own. It's fine to burn scrambled eggs, to not know how to peel an onion, to to overcook pasta. I have overcooked so much pasta. Um, it's okay to start small. Rome wasn't built in a day. If you want to learn how to cook, just realize it is a time investment because it's a skill that some people learn when they were small and they have that advantage. And it's not something that people just even if they think they're like, oh, I'm just a natural cook. No, you you learnt it at some point. You learn how to cook, you learn how to chop things. So give yourself some grace if you're learning and don't give up because it is something that you can learn. And let us know if you want to do a cooking evening together. Yeah, or like if you want a video on Instagram of our favorite recipe.
SPEAKER_02Um, we thought we'd do something new. Yes. So if you guys want to give us feedback on how you you like this new segment, we're gonna give you guys some homework for this week because this is um a digital classroom, after all. So the homework for this week is to try out a new recipe. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, but just something you haven't cooked. So if you're at the beginning of learning to cook, make scrambled eggs, or chop up some veggies and make to make a pimped up salad, just something that you feel like this maybe could work, or I'm scared to do this, but I'm gonna give it a try. And if um, you know, you're further, maybe try to make a roast or I don't know, something that you haven't made before. And then if you want to be a real nerd, and it's cool nowadays to be a nerd, by the way. It's a cool thing. Um, send us a picture of your meal on Instagram and um tell us how it turned out because we'd be really, we'd be really interested to see. You can find us on Instagram, by the way, on it's at onthetest.pod, and we always link it in the show notes, and there you can follow us and send us your meal.
SPEAKER_03Yes, please do if you try out a recipe. I really like the I I don't know if we say this enough, but when I get feedback on the podcast or when someone talks about like positive or negatively about this podcast, it brings me so much joy. So nice. Not that you have to do this to like, but it's really, it's really sweet to have this community. Yeah. And um, I can honestly say, even if you fuck up a meal, I would love to see it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Send us your Bart's crumbled eggs.
SPEAKER_03Like I think I might try something with lentils, because lentils is always something that I'm not sure I really like. I don't like lentils. But then I eat a curry, like a doll, and I'm like, mmm, this is delicious. And Tarek's like, it's lentils. I'm like, wait, really? So I think I might like lentils, but I need to figure out lentils.
SPEAKER_02I might try a ooh, I could do two things. Either I'll try a roast, because I'm I really like like a roast chicken or something. I think it's really nice. It's such a wholesome meal. But then now I'm thinking I'm going camping soon. So I could try a new camping meal.
SPEAKER_03Have you made Chakshuka before? No. Chakshuka. Camping. Camping. It's I was surprised. We made it when we were camping.
SPEAKER_02Okay, maybe I try that.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. Okay. Nice. I'm excited. I'm excited for the homework. I I will try to remember to take a picture if I cook something, when I cook something with lentils. Not if it's homework, I gotta do it.
SPEAKER_02When you got to.
SPEAKER_03Shh. Okay. Okay. Oh, I have so many funny stories.
SPEAKER_02I I just have one that came to mind. I'm sure there's more. But uh we have like so my roommate and I, we don't have a coffee machine, but we have these Italian violette.
SPEAKER_03So if you don't know what that is, it's like you add water in the bottom and then coffee grounds, and it boils up through the coffee grounds and makes the coffee on the top.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And I was meeting with a friend, um, a friend of mine and I, we sometimes will like sing together or make music just for fun. And I started the coffee, and then we went to make music, and we were singing Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran. And it's at one point he says, Pour the day out, pour the day old tea down the drain, or something like that. And I was like, Coffee! Oh no, ran to the kitchen. It had been boiling for so long that the water had evaporated, it had melted through the like rubber around the piolette, and it was awful. It was just a whole mess. Everything was burnt, and I got there in time before it like I don't know, it started to burn.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. This can actually cause like house fires.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So, but the positive thing is I mean, yes, it was a fail, but you can replace all the parts of a Bialetti. That is cool. Yeah. So I just had to replace that thing. Obviously, it took me like four months to do it because I kept on avoiding the task.
SPEAKER_03But yeah. This is actually I didn't say it in the advice, but this is a really good uh piece of advice, I think, is check out what kind of equipment you have. Because some pans need to be cooked in a certain way. And I just learned about that like three months ago. Steel pan.
SPEAKER_02The steel pans don't start with the steel pan, maybe if you're starting at the time.
SPEAKER_03The like nonstick ones are probably the easiest of the equipment. Anyway, um, but now you nail your Bioletis. Every time I come over, the coffee is nice. So thanks. Appreciate it. Um I have so many bad cooking stories, but I when we were talking about the avocado, I looked at my hand and I have a scar on my left hand um from in Mexico, and it was so unfortunate because I was talking to Tarek about how I had never needed to get stitches in my life. Whoops. And then a week later, uh yeah, I had to go to the hospital because Tarek is a very good baker. He made me bagels because I love bagels. Um, and he made bagels like a month, a few months before and froze them. But then he didn't pre-cut them. And what I do is I cut my bagel and then I put it in the toaster because I'm not gonna wait for them to defrost, and I don't know the day before that I'm gonna want a bagel.
SPEAKER_02For sure.
SPEAKER_03And then he made a new batch, and so I took it out of the freezer and I went with the knife to like stab through because that's what I had to do. Um, and he had pre-cut these because I complained that they weren't pre-cut the last ones. And so the knife went through very quickly, and I stabbed myself quite aggressively in the hand.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like show the camera for the people watching. Maybe you can see it.
SPEAKER_03But it's it's brutal. It's maybe I can take a picture. Uh, it's not that bad anymore. I think it's fine. Um, but yeah, I stabbed myself. Tarek was still asleep. I was like, this is fine, this is fine, this is fine. I went up to him and I was like, just so you know, I stabbed myself a little bit, but it's fine. A little bit. He was like, let me see. And I showed him my hand and he was like, Oh my god, Amy, we have to go to the hospital. And I was like, it's fine. Don't freak out, this is okay. And I was like, let's just text our doctor. We sent him a picture and it looked fine, and he was like, uh, it might be okay. It's really hard to tell. And then I was sitting on the couch for a few hours with my hand up, bleeding for a few hours, because I'm an idiot, just going like, and after like two hours, Tarek was like, Amy, we have to go to the hospital. Yeah, it should have stopped bleeding. And I was like, I know, but I don't want to get stitches. And I was so embarrassed. And that's that's when I got stitches in my hand because I really wanted a bagel. That's crazy. That's the downside of having really sharp knives. And it would have been a man that makes you and a man that makes them a delicious bagel. It would have it would have happened with a dull knife too, honestly. It wouldn't just uh Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, to close up, good luck with your homework. Good luck with your homework. Let us know how it went. And as always, just you know, don't be nuts.