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046: Valentina Solfrini: Olive Oil and Italian Countryside Living

June 8, 2015 by Gabriel Leave a Comment

Valentina Solfrini of Hortus Cuisine on The Dinner Special podcast talking about living in the Italian countryside and moving to New York City.
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Valentina Solfrini of Hortus Cuisine on The Dinner Special podcast talking about olive oil and Italian countryside living.

Hortus Cuisine

On her blog, Valentina writes as she explores a more natural form of cooking and food, which is always real and locally harvested. She focuses on unprocessed ingredients from her farm and makes simple traditional Italian meals with a creative, modern twist.

Hortus Cuisine was recognized in the 2014 Saveur Food Blog Awards for Best New Blog Editor’s Choice.

I am so thrilled to have Valentina Solfrini of Hortus Cuisine joining me here on the show today.

On Where She Currently Lives, Writes and Cooks:

Valentina Solfrini of Hortus Cuisine on The Dinner Special podcast talking about living in the Italian countryside and moving to New York City.

I am placed in between two regions in Italy, one is called Marche and the other one is called Romagna, and I’m right on the border.

So each region in Italy is very different but it’s really nice because I get the best of every world. I’m right at the seaside, and I have the woods next to me, and the hills, and the countryside. So I have a little bit of everything and it’s really a great place to live in, in my opinion.

On Moving to New York City:

I wanted to really explore the world and I felt like New York City had it all condensed in one place.

So especially back then, we don’t really have much internationality, so to speak. I really wanted to explore the Asian world and the Mexican world. I wanted to know what everything was all about. I had the chance to do this trip to New York and I fell in love with it.

It was amazing.

I knew that there was a lot that I couldn’t impossibly know about other cultures, about the world and everything, but it was so much and it felt so overwhelming but in a very good way. Every time I went out the door and I walked into the street, everything seemed just so huge and I loved it.

On What Drew Her Back to Countryside Living:

Life here is quieter. The pace is much slower especially compared to New York where everybody is super-fast. Everything here is quite laid back. Nothing is really a big deal for Italians.

So sometimes we help my grandparents tend the garden, the vegetable garden or when winter comes, we go to collect the wood for the fireplace.

I have a desk job but our life really revolves around this little moment when you have to plant a seed or collect some vegetables, or me to go forage for wild herbs and stuff like that. It’s all very, very close to nature.

On Her Interest in Food and Cooking:

Valentina Solfrini of Hortus Cuisine on The Dinner Special podcast talking about her interest in cooking and food.

Food was one of those things that fell into the realm of the things that I took for granted because it’s something that always happen in my house.

My mom and my grandmother, they were always cooking, always. I’m lucky because I was in one of those families where women can stay at home and take care of us and the kids, and they’d be cooking, making pasta or baking something or anything.

I pretty much always learned to appreciate good food. We never really had anything processed or we didn’t buy snacks or anything even as kids because we felt that we didn’t need them. We never liked candy or anything just because my mom made amazing sweets at home.

I love to look at my mom doing stuff. I wouldn’t always do something but I would always stay there and look or sometimes would maybe shape the cookies or shape the pasta.

I would help or sometimes I would eat when she was cooking or lick the bowls. I was always there watching and eventually it grew on me.

When I went to New York, I was surprised that nobody was cooking. It was, “Are you serious? What, you go and buy salad that’s already been cut?”

On What Natural Cooking Means to Her:

Valentina Solfrini of Hortus Cuisine on The Dinner Special podcast talking about what natural cooking means to her.

To me, natural cooking means cooking with ingredients that have not been processed too much. Sometimes, if you learn to read the labels, you’ll see that some foods have really unnecessary ingredients.

If you buy a jar of mayonnaise, you’ll find that it has preservatives and maybe food coloring or even sugar.

So to me, natural cooking is cooking with a list of ingredients that doesn’t have a list of ingredients.

On Her Blog:

Valentina Solfrini of Hortus Cuisine on The Dinner Special podcast talking about her blog.

So that was a very interesting process because when I got back from New York, I realized that I had absorbed so much of other cultures that I was starting to forget about my own.

I realized that Italian cooking is actually quite healthy by itself. It has always been full of legumes and vegetables and there were so many recipes that are Italian and perfectly vegetarian, so I thought it would be interesting to rediscover my own culture with natural food. And I thought of combining those two things and it worked wonders.

I started the blog as a way to explore my own country. I realized that I didn’t understand Italy because I was feeling so good in New York and I didn’t really feel Italian. And then in the process, I rediscovered cooking and I really started to learn about the foods that we used have as kids and to really, really fall in love with it.

On Olive Oil:

Valentina Solfrini of Hortus Cuisine on The Dinner Special podcast talking about olive oil.

Once the olives are at a good ripeness point in November, it’s usually November, you lay huge nets below the trees and you have little rakes and you rake through the branches and the olives fall out. Then you collect those huge nets of olives and these olives are cleaned.

You separate leaves from the olives and this is quite important because if your leaves get into the olives, then the olive oil taste like grass, and that happens a lot. So you have to be careful with that process.

And then we take it to the mill. I call it a mill. It’s just basically this huge stone, you have two grinding stones, pretty much like flour, and that’s why it’s called cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. The very first layer of fat that you get out of this cold pressing, grinding between two stones, then the olive oil just filters out and you get this bright green beautiful thing but it’s actually murky. It’s not as clear.

Olive oil actually gets that golden and that clear when it’s about four or five months old. When it’s super fresh, it’s bright green and quite cloudy. And that’s it, that’s virgin olive oil.

Then you have other kinds of olive oil that are lesser quality. You can obtain by pressing what is left by pressing extra virgin olive oil.

And then you have another press which is regular olive oil.

What I’ve always seen in Italy was extra virgin olive oil. It might be very bad quality extra virgin olive oil, with olives they are not Italian that come from other countries, but we only cook with extra virgin olive oil essentially.

You have great quality extra virgin oil and you have so so quality extra virgin oil and you use the so so for cooking, for stir fries and for stuff like that, and the best quality for dressing.

That’s my experience at least.

I think that the best olive oil, it has to be quite a strong character. It’s really difficult to tell maybe by the color or the smell because it really depends on the kind of olive or on how old the olive oil is.

But usually the green sort of cloudy olive oil is really the best and it’s actually quite difficult to plant and sell because that’s going to be very expensive.

I saw that some supermarkets or some stores had a little sampler with bread that you could try, and at the end of the day, if it’s virgin olive oil, you should just taste it and see if you like it.

You can tell olive oil from extra virgin olive oil because regular olive oil is much clearer and it has a more pale color. So that’s how you tell.

The Pressure Cooker:

Which food shows or cooking shows do you watch?

I love to watch Jamie Oliver. Just whatever he does, he puts such passion in it that I just love watching his enthusiasm.

What are some food blogs or food websites we have to know about?

There are so many. I love Green Kitchen Stories. They got me inspired to actually start a blog. They were probably the first bloggers that I started to follow seriously.

And then there is another one that’s called In The Making By Belen, which is a healthy food blog. She is a yoga teacher who shares vegetarian recipes. They are really awesome.

And then there is Beth Kirby from Local Milk. She is like pure aesthetics. I love her blog so much.

And then Skye McAlpine’s blog From My Dining Table. She talks about Venice in such a beautiful way.

Who do you follow on Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook that make you happy?

I follow definitely Beth Kirby, again, on Pinterest. She has a well-organized Pinterest account. It’s so so beautiful.

And then I love to follow Japanese photographers on Instagram. I’m not sure about the names right now but just a bunch of Japanese people. I really love the bright style that they have.

My favorites to follow on Facebook are probably everybody who has something to do with healthy food and Mimi Thorisson from Manger, the French blog. She is amazing. She really has quite the sense for aesthetics as well.

What is the most unusual or treasured item in your kitchen?

My Vitamix. It’s unusual for Italy because actually when I bought it, it wasn’t available here and I had to buy it from Germany but I love it so much.

It’s probably the best spent money of my entire life. I use it every day, two times per day. I love it.

Some ingredients are really hard to find in Italy, so I have to make my own like almond milk.

Name one ingredient you used to dislike but now you love.

That has to be sesame oil or sesame in general.

I wasn’t into sesame probably because it’s not that known in Italian cooking. It’s not an ingredient that we use. But then I started to experiment with Asian cooking and Middle Eastern cooking and, of course, sesame is there.

What are a few cookbooks that make your life better?

Actually, the cookbooks I cook from are those old cookbooks made from the 50s or from the 70s that have those very nice recipes that I love to reinterpret in a healthier way.

And then I have my favorite cookbook to look at is probably Isa Does It. It’s a vegan cookbook that is so so full of fun ideas. I don’t think it’s always healthy but it’s amazing.

I also love to read the Julia Child’s cookbook because it’s amazing. Just so well done. It’s my kind of cookbook.

What song or album just makes you want to cook?

I don’t have a song in particular. I guess all French or Italian songs get me in the mood. There are a bunch of French songs that really getting me in the mood for cooking.

Old French songs, maybe like Edith Piaf. You know these people but maybe the happier kind of songs. Not the super romantic French songs.

On Keeping Posted on Valentina:

Valentina Solfrini of Hortus Cuisine on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to keep posted with her.

You can follow me on Facebook at Hortus Cuisine, Pinterest, then I’m on Instagram, and I love receiving comments of all kinds. I look forward to hearing from people who write in on my blog.

 

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Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: 2014 Saveur Food Blog Awards, Beth Kirby, Countryside Living, Edith Piaf, Farm, From My Dining Table, Green Kitchen Stories, Hortus Cuisine, Hortus Natural Cooking, In The Making By Belen, Isa Does It, Italy, Jamie Oliver, Julia Child, Local Food, Local Milk, Manger, Mimi Thorisson, New York City, Olive Oil, Skye McAlpine, Valentina Solfrini, Vitamix

025: Skye McAlpine: How Food is Just an Excuse for Connecting with People

April 13, 2015 by Gabriel Leave a Comment

Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on The Dinner Special podcast talking about keeping posted on her.
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Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on The Dinner Special podcast on How Food is Just an Excuse for Connecting with People

From My Dining Table

Skye is a writer, a cook, mom and scholar of Latin literature and she is from Venice, Italy. On From My Dining Table, Skye shares stories that come about over her home cooked meals, what she last made for her family and friends, and why it was good or not.

I am so excited to have Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on the show today.

On Her Journey to Starting Her Blog:

Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on The Dinner Special podcast talking about her journey to starting her food blog.

I am English, but my parents moved to Venice when I was five years old. They were just going to live there for a few months and we just stayed. So I grew up there.

I grew up kind of part English, part Italian, part kind of everything. Very much enjoying the local view. When I finished school, I thought that it would be fun to leave home. I think everyone wants to leave home very dramatically when they’re that age.

I had this dream that it would be fun to study at Oxford. So I went to Oxford, and I studied classics. That is where I met my husband. I think it was sort of, funnily enough, being away from home that I realized how much about the day-to-day life in Venice and the food that I really missed.

So I started cooking for myself and for my friends. And one thing led to another and I became more and more interested in cooking, and loved entertaining, and having people around, and long meals. And then when we left university, I just kept on cooking and I then thought, “Well, why do I not write about it?” My great passion is writing and cooking, and I put the two together in my blog.

On Being a Writer:

Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on The Dinner Special podcast talking about being a writer.

I think I probably would say I’m writer first and a cook second. Just because I have no training, no formal training in cooking, I’m completely self-taught, and taught almost entirely through cook books and reading them obsessively, and trying things out, and talking to people.

I never really feel confident putting myself out there as a chef. I am very much a home cook.

On Cooking:

Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on The Dinner Special podcast talking about cooking.

I think it comes naturally to everyone. I feel quite strongly that food and cooking is very second nature for humans. We have to feed ourselves. So we are built to cook and to eat well.

I do not know if maybe that’s something that becomes as part and parcel of growing up in Italy, where everyone cooks. I mean, that’s the thing that we have in the Anglo-Saxon world where cooking is like – it’s skill. In Italy, everyone is like, “Well, of course you can cook. Why would you not be able to cook?” So maybe that’s why I have a kind of can-do attitude about it.

I’m not sure if I’ve got a talent for it, but I know that I know what I like. I’m willing try stuff. So I’ll try it and if it tastes good, then I’ll make it again and again and again.

I’m sort of adventurous in that I like exploring new things, but also very classic as well. In Italy, it’s not so much about nouveau cuisine or crazy flavors. It’s more about good solid classic flavors that work well. And then I love cooking with herbs and things. So I will add a lot of herbs to sweet dishes or savory dishes. It’s not particularly revolutionary, but I find it makes things taste good.

On the Food Culture in Venice, Italy:

Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on The Dinner Special podcast talking about the food culture in Venice, Italy.

The food culture is… that’s almost, that is the culture. Food is such an important part of life there. I think that was something that certainly I took for granted when I lived there before I moved away.

It was living in England that I appreciated it. Of course it’s really special that you get to buy your tomatoes at the market, and that children grow up eating artichokes. And all these basic things that I’d really taken for granted but that actually don’t happen so much in the U.K.

The food there, it’s always been fresh. There are one or two supermarkets, but they’re very small and they’ve only opened in the past few years. Traditionally, people really do shop at the market everyday or every other day. They’ll buy small portions. And it is just very seasonal the way people eat. Not too much because that’s trendy and fashionable, but more because that’s how they do it. That’s how it’s always been done.

One of my favorite dishes is this dish that’s very, very Venetian, and very typical called sarde in saor. It’s tiny sardines which are pan-fried in a bit of flour and just lightly fried, and then you cook them in a sauce, just kind of vinegar, and onion, and pine nuts, and raisins, and bay leaves, and there are some other herbs in there. Traditionally, it’s little sardines but you can do it with prawns or pretty much any sea food.

I kind of think that’s one of those things that sounds really not terribly nice, but actually when you eat it, it’s delicious, it’s so good. I can imagine coming to Venice as a stranger and seeing it and saying, “Oh, no, I wouldn’t have any of that.” But it would be a real mistake. You should definitely try it.

I have a rule if I get into a restaurant and there’s something on the menu and I think, “Oh, my gosh, that sounds absolutely disgusting.” I have to order it, because I think they wouldn’t put it on the menu sounding like that unless it tasted really, really, really good.

On Venice, Italy for Food Lovers:

Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on The Dinner Special podcast talking about Venice, Italy for food lovers.

Venice is a really tiny town. You can walk from one end to the other, if you know where you are going, in 45 minutes. So it’s not so much like London or New York, where there are cooler neighborhoods or so forth. It’s all pretty kind of the same. But I would say that I would avoid the Rialto, St. Marks Square, kind of more touristy area, just because, I mean there are some good restaurants there, but it’s also it’s more geared towards tourists, it’s more expensive, it’s not quite so good.

I would definitely explore the kind of ghetto area up towards the station that’s very quiet and very residential, and there are some great restaurants there which are undiscovered. Explore the outskirts of the city. Maybe go to the Guidecca or those parts of the city where there are fewer tourists, and that’s where you can get really good food and a more local experience.

On Her Love of Cooking:

Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on The Dinner Special podcast talking about her love of cooking.

I think my parents always entertained a lot, my father in particular. Lunches and dinners at home would quite regularly be for ten, 12, 15, 20 people. Often kind of random people, friends would be in town and they’d say, “Oh, we met some people, can we bring them? Or friends of friends or family or just totally random people. I’ve always really kind of loved that. Maybe because I grew up that way, or maybe just because that is my character.

I love thinking of meals as more than just a way of eating and feeding yourself. I think it’s sort of special to make it something special, even if it is if you’re just having pizza. Or you are just having a plate of pasta. I think if you have a large group of people, good company and a decent bottle of wine, it really does make for a very special event. And I think that life is made out of those special moments. Those are the ones that you end up remembering. So yeah, I love cooking for people. The more people, the better.

I really care about the food but for an enjoyable meal it’s about so much more than that. And to be honest, if you burn dinner, I think if you have the right group people and an okay bottle of wine and you are relaxed about it and it’s a nice table, I don’t think anyone really cares. It’s just much more about connecting with people and food is just really an excuse for that.

The Pressure Cooker:

Which food shows or cooking shows do you watch?

I don’t watch food shows. I read cookbooks though. I will avidly read cookbooks.

I mean like classic English ones like Nigella Lawson or Jamie Oliver, are kind of cliches. But I also love just finding really obscure cookbooks in secondhand book stores and being a like, “Oh, I have not heard of this person, and there are no photos, but it looks like it’s full of cool stories or cool recipes.”

What are some food blogs or websites that we have to know about?

I love Local Milk. I love Two Red Bowls. And what else do I love? Oh, there’s another blog that I love called La Petite Americaine.

Who do you follow on Pinterest, Instagram or Twitter that make you happy?

I follow Ginny Branch on Pinterest. I recently toured a workshop with her and Beth Kirby of Local Milk in Venice. She has an amazing collection of pin-boards of just really inspiring stuff. Then, who do I follow on Instagram that I really like, so many people. I mean, that’s the one thing I would say about Instagram is that I’m constantly overwhelmed by the crazy amount of talent out there.

I love Condé Nast Traveler, even though it’s a magazine, they have a very cool feed that’s a fun blend of travel and food and other stuff going on.

What is something all home cooks should have in their pantry?

Well, herbs. I know they don’t go in your pantry but I would definitely have some kind of pots of fresh herbs. I use them for cooking in everything sweet, savory, what have you.

And then I like to keep my pantry stocked up with real basics like eggs, flour, sugar. Basically, I love baking, so I like to be able to bake a cake at any given moment, randomly in the middle of the night. So I need those basic essentials.

Name one ingredient you cannot live without?

Cheese. Everything tastes better with cheese.

Truffle oil. Everything tastes better with truffle oil too.

Well, I love all the Pecorinos and the slightly peppery hard cheeses. But then obviously Mozzarella, I mean oh, burrata. I can’t choose one type of cheese. That’s just too much pressure.

Cheese in general is good.

What are a few cookbooks that make your life better?

I love The Flavor Thesaurus. It’s this really great book. There are no actual recipes and no images in it. But it takes most of pretty much every flavor. So you can search “Peach”, and it will list the flavors that peaches conventionally go well with. So it might say like thyme and almonds and walnuts and what have you. I find it like a really helpful inspirational tool for creating recipes.

I have so many cookbooks. It is terrible. It’s a condition, I have too many of them.

What song or album just makes you want to cook?

That is a tricky one. I love old 70s or 60s music. That kind of gets me in the mood for cooking. Something like The Beatles, or something really classic like that.

Keep Posted on Skye:

Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on The Dinner Special podcast talking about keeping posted on her.

I am really active on Instagram. And obviously on my blog, I’ll put updates. Then I have got a Facebook page and I am on Pinterest. I am not really on Twitter. Or send me an email. I like receiving emails.

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    Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Condé Nast Traveler, Food Blog, Food Blogger, From My Dining Table, Ginny Branch, Guidecca, Italy, Jamie Oliver, La Petite Americaine, Local Milk, Nigella Lawson, Skye McAlpine, The Beatles, The Flavor Thesaurus, Two Red Bowls, Venice, Writer

    Has Cooking Become a Chore? 28 Food Heroes Share Ideas on How to Make Cooking Fun Again

    February 24, 2015 by Gabriel Leave a Comment

    The Dinner Special podcast 28 Food Heroes Share Ideas on How To Make Cooking Fun Again

    The Dinner Special podcast 28 Food Heroes Share Ideas on How To Make Cooking Fun Again

    I know exactly what I’m making for dinner, each and every night.

    Why is this a bad thing?

    Well, it’s not necessarily, but I’ve found that, for me, cooking has become more of a chore than something that’s fun and enjoyable.

    Especially after a long day, the last thing I want to do is have to think about what to make for dinner.

    Sure, I could:

    • search online for new recipes to try
    • or find inspiration in new food blogs to follow

    but most of the time, I just stick with the tried and true.

    The funny thing is, I love food and I love to cook.

    And yet, every Sunday, when I go to the grocery store, I pick up the same ingredients because on Mondays, it’s pasta, Tuesdays, pork and potatoes, Wednesdays, stir-fry with rice… and the weeks just pass by.

    I totally get that the routine is boring, but it’s so easy. I know exactly how long it will take to make and how it will taste.

    But, I want to break out of this cooking rut.

    I want to have fun in the kitchen again. I want to get excited about making dinner. Maybe not every night, maybe not even once a week, but every now and then, I want to try new herbs, spices and ingredients, and be an inspired home cook!

    This is one of the reasons I started The Dinner Special podcast.

    Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I chat with my food hero guests about their fondest food memories, favorite things inside and out of the kitchen, and a dish that is special to them.

    I also ask them questions like, “For those of us where cooking has become a chore, how can we make it more fun.” Things that I truly want to get some answers and ideas on.

    From time to time, I’ll put together all their answers into a post like this. I hope this makes it easy for you to turn to.

    If you have any burning questions you’d like answered, please send them to me at: thedinnerspecial [at] gmail [dot] com.

    You’re a huge part of The Dinner Special and I’m sure lots of people have the same questions they want answered.

    (Sorry for getting sidetracked.)

    When I asked my food hero guests, “For those of us where cooking has become a chore, how can we make it more fun,”

    Here’s What 28 of Them Had to Say:

    Marisa McClellan of Food in Jars:

    Marisa McClellan of Food in Jars on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    For people who think it’s a chore, I simply say try something easy.

    Learn to scramble eggs really well.

    I don’t think everybody has to love cooking, but we all have to eat.

    I think the best advice I can say to someone is just to keep it simple. Your first meal doesn’t have to be a five-course extravaganza. Like I said, learn to make really good scrambled eggs, or pancakes, or French toast, and that will take you far.

    Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat:

    Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I think you have to start with some good music, pour yourself a glass of wine, make it like a whole experience.

    Then, start with something easy that is impossible to mess up and I think that will build your confidence and it’ll make it more fun for you.

    I’m not opposed to people who take things that are pre-made and tweaking them a little bit.

    If you bought some pre-made chicken to add to your matzo ball soup, instead of cooking your chicken, that’s fine.

    Whatever makes you happy and makes it work.

    Jordan Reid of Ramshackle Glam:

    Jordan Reid of Ramshackle Glam on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I think just finding your basic technique.

    Like, with a slow cooker, it’s just meat and some liquid and vegetables. And so it’s like, once you get that basic thing down, you can have fun and you can say like, “Oh, I have some sriracha in my fridge. Let me throw that in. Let me try it with soy sauce on the side, let me try it with red wine instead of…”

    I tried Dr. Pepper in a pot roast and it was really good.

    And so I think that’s how you can have fun. Stick to the basics that you know in terms of technique and then you can improvise from there.

    Chef Tony Singh of The Incredible Spice Men:

    Get somebody to help you, because lots of people are time pressured and it is a chore if you’ve got a million and one things to do.

    If you can get your children involved, it’s a great family experience and you’re teaching them life skills. Get somebody to peel the onions or peel the carrots or stand there and start to wash up for you.

    Get people involved and that makes it much, much better.

    The Incredible Spice Men on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Chef Cyrus Todiwala of The Incredible Spice Men:

    What I always tell people in my classes is, when they look at a recipe, let’s say they look at a recipe in our book and they find something which looks very daunting, I always tell them to read the recipe first as if they’re reading a novel.

    Then, shut the book and put it away and come back to it in a couple of hours. The recipe will automatically fall into place and will not look as dangerous.

    The most important thing is unclutter your mind. Just de-clutter it and become creative.

    Just become creative because all you will end up doing is creating something new.

    Elena Rosemond-Hoerr of Biscuits & Such:

    Elena Rosemond-Hoerr of Biscuits and Such on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I think, especially during the weekdays, we totally get into a rut.

    One of the things that I like to do is try and dabble with new ingredients or new cuisines.

    So dabbling in things outside of your comfort zone is a good way to sort of bring the fun back into the kitchen.

    And starting really small.

    Trying to make something that you love to eat out, but that you hadn’t even thought that you could make at home, like a burrito bowl and then go from there.

    Jodi Moreno of What’s Cooking Good Looking:

    I think involving people always makes it more fun.

    If I don’t want to sit at home by myself, I’ll just invite a bunch of friends over, casually set the table, give them a job to do and this way we’re not going out to eat ’cause in New York that’s very easy to do.

    So, I think involving people, and if you have a spouse or children, that makes it even easier. My husband likes to cook too so the two of us will do it together and I think we kind of motivate each other to cook at home more often.

    Eva Kosmas Flores of Adventures in Cooking:

    Eva Kosmas Flores of Adventures in Cooking on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Try to think of ways to make it more attuned to your personal taste. So, if you’re trying to just make something from a cookbook, know that you don’t always have to follow it to a T.

    You can always change it up and add something else that you really like.

    If you’re okay about onions but you love leeks, you can totally swap those two out. The same goes with most vegetables. If you hate cooked carrots, but you love brussel sprouts, switch those up, because roasted brussel sprouts get all caramelized and delicious.

    My main thing would be, don’t be afraid to change it up and make it more in tune with what you actually like to eat.

    It’ll be a lot more interesting to you if it’s something that you enjoy, rather than if you’re just almost following guidelines. That’s a lot more boring.

    Courtney Chun of Fork to Belly:

    Courtney Chun of Fork to Belly on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    It’s just about doing recipes that really inspire you, and that you really enjoy.

    Before I started the blog, I would try to make healthy dishes. It would get repetitive. I’m making the same chicken breast, the same salmon with broccoli, and brown rice in it. It’s not like I didn’t enjoy what I was making but the process gets repetitive. It’s just not really fun.

    I started doing cakes or making Japanese dishes because I really enjoy Japanese food. That just really helped to push me along and make me really enjoy what I was doing.

    I think just with anything, you need to find what you love to do.

    Megan Voigt of Hint of Vanilla:

    Megan Voigt of Hint of Vanilla on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    One of the things that I do whenever I bake or cook, or just when I’m in the kitchen ever, is I put on some music, and I kinda dance a little bit. I’m a terrible dancer, and I’m a terrible singer, but I will actually dance and sing as I’m cooking.

    It’s something that you see in movies and you’re like, “Oh, that’s so cheesy.” But you know what? I do it, and I really enjoy it.

    It’s just injecting a little bit of fun.

    Have a recipe that you’re comfortable with, that you know is pretty good for a weekday dinner, so you’re not stressed. Then, on the weekends, you can kind of do a bit more research and try something that you’ve never tried before and maybe do something that has a little bit more time and effort put into it.

    Jonathan Melendez of The Candid Appetite:

    Jonathan Melendez of The Candid Appetite on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I would say turn on music while you’re cooking. That’s like the one thing I always do as I cook, always.

    Right before I start cooking, I will turn on music, I’ll have it on shuffle, and I’ll just listen to music the whole way. And then it feels like you don’t even think about it anymore, because you’re listening to these songs that you really enjoy, and you are in the kitchen.

    And it doesn’t become a chore anymore, because there is something there to distract you.

    Cristina Sciarra of The Roaming Kitchen:

    Cristina Sciarra of The Roaming Kitchen on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I think the best thing is just to make it to the market, pick something that looks good to you and go home and search (for example) broccoli recipes. The websites I really rely on, if you type things into Food52, you will have great results with a recipe that will work for you.

    Karen Chan of HonestlyYUM:

    Karen Chan of HonestlyYUM on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I would always say start by making sure you have just the basic correct tools, and I think at the very minimum you just need a really good knife. A really good or really sharp knife, because if you’ve got to sit and cut an onion with a crappy knife, I wouldn’t even want to do that.

    You just need the basics and you need really good basics.

    For example, a really good pot. Like a very good cast iron pot, for example, or for me I use a mortar and pestle all the time. Especially if you’re going to be doing a lot of ethnic cooking, those are just so handy to have.

    But aside from that, music. I almost always listen to music when I cook. It lets you settle into it more and kind of focus on the chopping. It’s a little meditative because you just kind of zone out there listening to music.

    A glass of wine doesn’t hurt. I always have a glass of wine and some music playing and just have fun with it.

    Start with manageable things, have equipment and tools that are good and that will help you. I always say, seriously, a good knife goes a really long way and alcohol…

    Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table:

    Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    In my mind, what makes cooking a chore is the mess.

    I love cooking. If there are times when I don’t feel like cooking, it’s pretty much always because I cannot face cleaning up the kitchen.

    So, I would say, maybe try and choose dishes where you use fewer saucepans, just to get you started.

    Maybe dishes that don’t require a whole load of equipment. And clean up as you go along, because it’s really easy to wash up as you go along. But if you leave it all until the end, that sort of sets the trap.

    The other thing about cooking is it’s all kind of confidence and practice. The more you do it, the more you are going to enjoy doing it. Go out and buy a really inspiring cookbook full of easy dishes that don’t require lots of washing up and just jump in the deep-end.

    And also, I genuinely believe that cooking for people rather than just cooking for yourself or yourself plus one is so much more fun.

    Nicole Dula of Dula Notes:

    Nicole Dula of Dula Notes on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    My best advice for that is like what we were talking about before, to kind of put a piece of yourself in it because it becomes more personal and it’s more rewarding in the end.

    So if you like, say quinoa, just try to experiment with different things you can put on like a quick sauté of vegetables or vegetables and meat, put it over your favorite grain and just experiment with flavors until you find a dish that’s super easy to make, super adaptable, no matter what’s in your fridge.

    Just have a stand out dish that you can make at the drop of a hat whenever you’re hungry, and then it will just make you feel better about yourself.

    Cindy Ensley of Hungry Girl Por Vida:

    Cindy Ensley of Hungry Girl Por Vida on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Some days you just have to get dinner on the table, so it’s more about what recipes you have in your arsenal. But if you can throw something new in there every week, maybe, or even every couple of weeks, I think that makes it fun.

    Or use a new ingredient. A couple of years ago, my husband and I weren’t really big fans of fennel, so we started implementing it into our meals and now we love it.

    So I think that trying a new ingredient or trying a new recipe, but not going overboard and trying to do it every night of the week. I think that gets daunting.

    There are lots of different ways you can use ingredients and just trying them out a couple of different ways, I think, is also key.

    Phi Tran of Princess Tofu:

    I think you should do it with someone who loves to cook.

    I like cooking with other people. I think if you cook with somebody who likes to share their food and also their skills, it’ll make it more fun.

    It’s nice to do it with someone else every once in a while. And if it gets charred then you have someone else to share pizza with.

    Alanna Taylor-Tobin of The Bojon Gourmet:

    Alanna Taylor-Tobin of The Bojon Gourmet on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Wine or maybe a cocktail or something. Put on some fun music, pour yourself a drink, and just try to relax and make it a treat for yourself.

    Also having someone to cook for, I think, is really important. So invite someone over who super loves food and is really fun and encouraging.

    Ileana Morales of A Little Saffron:

    Ileana Morales of A Little Saffron on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Try not to overthink it. It doesn’t have to be fancy.

    Our weeknight meals tend to be pretty simple. I use canned chick peas all the time and I just do that with some sautéed kale and some bacon. That’s it, that’s dinner. So I would say, don’t overthink it and don’t be so hard on yourself.

    I like to think of a recipe like a guideline, because if you’re out of something, it’s fine, it’s usually not essential. Just work with what you have.

    Katy Atlas of Sugarlaws:

    To make it more fun, two things.

    Don’t do it by yourself if you can avoid it.

    Lots of people think they always have to go out for dinner with friends but actually staying in and cooking is a fun activity to do with friends too. My husband will always keep me company. He’s not a great cook but he’ll help out and hand me cans and do little things to keep me company while I go.

    Put on some music.

    Cooking is sort of a wonderful activity because it’s a great way to just kind of be really active and engaged with it. Your mind isn’t wandering as much as our thoughts tend to wander. You can just focus on it and sort of enjoy the experience of it even if it’s not your favorite thing and can be a tough thing to find time to do everyday.

    We just focus on being present and try to have company for it.

    Renee Byrd of Will Frolic for Food:

    Renee Byrd of Will Frolic for Food on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Trying new things is always fun.

    For me personally, I like trying new spices, new herbs or trying something that’s a little bit weird or that’s a little bit strange.

    I like to play with herbs in sweet things, like muffins, “I don’t really like muffins, muffins are boring,” put something in it that’s different, that has a new texture, that has a new flavor. Like cocoa nibs have the crunchy bitter thing going on and then you have sweet orange zest that is really aromatic.

    These things are very fun for me. I don’t know if it’s fun for everybody. That’s sort of how I have fun in the kitchen.

    Half of my time, I feel, is spent in the process of the mediation of chopping and looking out of my window and experiencing what I’m doing.

    I really am very tactile so I love to touch things and have it in my hands. That’s really pleasurable for me and being able to create something that in my mind is artful out of that is so much fun.

    Meike Peters of Eat in My Kitchen:

    Meike Peters of Eat in My Kitchen on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    It’s like with everything else, you have to go through this time where you fail, where it’s not always fun, and where the results can be quite frustrating.

    You just have to stick to it and cook and cook and cook.

    What I like to do is because we always cook in the evenings, just open a bottle of red wine, have some cheese, some nibbles, and put on some nice music.

    Because for me, what I love about food is, it doesn’t start when it’s on the table and when I eat, it starts already in the kitchen. I create a nice atmosphere in the kitchen and that definitely helps.

    One shouldn’t take everything so seriously. If it doesn’t work out it doesn’t work out, and you try it again.

    Phoebe Lapine of Feed Me Phoebe:

    Phoebe Lapine of Feed Me Phoebe on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I really think that this strategy, cook on Sunday or Saturday, whichever afternoon you have free, and eat all week long, is a nice way to do it.

    You’re not rushed, and once you have those building blocks in your fridge, then ten to 15 minutes of cooking becomes less burdensome on a weeknight.

    I feel like dedicating your afternoon that way is a nice time to grab a buddy or your loved one to tag team and divide and conquer.

    Emily Hilliard of Nothing in the House:

    One of the things that has been nice for me is getting a CSA or farm share.

    That’s really nice because I’m not necessarily someone who can go to the store and have an idea. But, when I have a set framework of like onions, broccoli and potatoes, I think that adds a limiting factor, so you don’t have to start from scratch.

    Another thing I like, I really like cooking with other people. That’s always been present in my life with family and just having friends over and cooking together.

    I also like having music or the radio on while I cook.

    Kristan Raines of The Broken Bread:

    Kristan Raines of The Broken Bread on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I would say just to not worry about a thing and to enjoy the process. I think whether you’re baking or you’re cooking, the process can be the most reviving thing in the world.

    My favorite thing is to just make it communal, grabbing whatever’s in the fridge and not worry if it’s going to come out great.

    For me it’s turning on the music, and if it’s dinner time having a little glass of wine, and taking it slow and making it more of an adventure than a chore.

    That shift in your perspective can aid you in like – “Okay, work day’s over, we can make food and enjoy the food because it’s nourishing and fun to do together”.

    Becky Rosenthal of Vintage Mixer:

    Becky Rosenthal of Vintage Mixer on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Turn on some music, keep it relaxed. Don’t try anything too difficult at first, and cook things you know you’ll enjoy.

    If you’re trying something new, maybe just have a back up in the fridge just in case it doesn’t turn out.

    But, don’t be too hard on yourself and just stick to the things you know you’ll enjoy.

    Chef Adrian Richardson:

    Chef Adrian Richardson on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I suppose if you can teach people some simple dishes they can do, and how to make the dishes they’re already cooking even more enjoyable with things like seasoning and herbs and switching things around, I think this can be monumental.

    Luisa Weiss of The Wednesday Chef:

    Luisa Weiss of The Wednesday Chef on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I think a lot of people think cooking is no fun because they secretly don’t think they’re good at it.

    I’m as lazy as the next person, I will take a short cut if it’s offered to me, I never make my own pasta.

    There are many many really simple recipes out there that if you make them three times, you’ve memorized them by heart, but if you make them, you’re eating really good food.

    That’s what I try to instil in my blog and that’s what I would tell someone who says “I hate to cook”, I’d say, “you know what, I bet you don’t, you just think you’re not good at it, and that’s why you don’t like it.” But actually, if you had some successes in the kitchen, you’d start to like it.

    Awesome tips and advice.

    Thanks food heroes!

    I hope you enjoyed this post. I was actually thinking of only including ten or so responses to keep it short and sweet, but I honestly feel like we can get something from each food heroes’ thoughts.

    Whether it’s a tip, some advice, or simply knowing that they get stuck in cooking ruts too, I find it encouraging and inspiring to hear their thoughts. I hope you do too!

    Let’s get excited about cooking again!

    Check out The Dinner Special podcast here and subscribe to get food and cooking inspiration every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

    How do you keep it fun in the kitchen with a busy schedule?

    I’d love to hear your thoughts!

    Let me know in the comments below.

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    Let’s do this together!

    Gabriel

    Filed Under: Cooking Tagged With: A Little Saffron, Adventures in Cooking, Alanna Taylor-Tobin, Amy Kritzer, Becky Rosenthal, Biscuits and Such, Chef Adrian Richardson, Chef Cyrus Todiwala, Chef Tony Singh, chore, Cindy Ensley, cooking, cooking rut, Courtney Chun, Cristina Sciarra, Dula Notes, Eat in My Kitchen, Elena Rosemond-Hoerr, Emily Hilliard, Eva Kosmas Flores, Feed Me Phoebe, Food in Jars, Food52, Fork to Belly, From My Dining Table, fun, Hint of Vanilla, HonestlyYUM, Hungry Girl Por Vida, ideas, Ileana Morales, inspiration, Jodi Moreno, Jonathan Melendez, Jordan Reid, Karen Chan, Katy Atlas, Kristan Raines, Luisa Weiss, Marisa McClellan, Megan Voigt, Meike Peters, Nicole Dula, Nothing in the Houe, Phi Tran, Phoebe Lapine, Princess Tofu, Ramshackle Glam, Renee Byrd, routine, Skye McAlpine, Sugarlaws, The Bojon Gourmet, The Broken Bread, The Candid Appetite, The Incredible Spice Men, The Roaming Kitchen, The Wednesday Chef, Vintage Mixer, What Jew Wanna Eat, What's Cooking Good Looking, Will Frolic for Food

    Hello! I'm Gabriel Soh, home cook, food enthusiast and your host of The Dinner Special podcast.
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