The Wednesday Chef | The Dinner Special podcast

089: Naz Deravian: Persian Cuisine with a Global Twist

October 28, 2015 by Gabriel Leave a Comment

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Bottom of the Pot

Born in Tehran, Iran, Naz grew up in Rome, Italy and then Vancouver, Canada. She now lives in Los Angeles. And Bottom of the Pot is the result of cooking and eating a lot and the lively conversations around the kitchen table. Bottom of the Pot is Naz’s food journal where she shares her adventures in cooking Persian food and beyond. Her blog was the 2015 IACP Narrative Culinary Blog Winner and 2014 Saveur Awards Best Regional Cuisine Blog Finalist, and Best New Blog Finalist.

I am so happy to have Naz Deravian of Bottom of the Pot here with me today.

(*All photos below are Naz’s.)

On Food in Iran and Italy:

I was born in Iran. I left when I was quite young. I had just turned eight years old. And then we moved to Italy. It was right around the time of the revolution in Iran, but Italy was always our second home. It’s where we vacationed, where my parents met, so there was a close connection to Italy. I think Italians and Iranians are very, very similar in their love and appreciation of food. I always like to say food is just part of our culture, and I think, I could say it’s part of the Italian culture, too. It just is, it’s in our blood. It’s not something that we think about too much, we just do it. I grew up eating home-cooked meals, going out was for a special occasion, it was a treat, but it was always around the dinner table or the kitchen table, or in the kitchen. So I think both cultures share that love and appreciation for home-cooked meals. And putting the time, effort, and love into it.

We really don’t share that many similar ingredients. But I would say one similarity is the differences in regional cooking. Both Iran and Italy are very set in their regional cooking, if you’re from the north, from the south, from the east, from the west, and everyone’s very passionate about their way. And it breaks down even further, then it’s from city to city, town to town, neighborhood to neighborhood, the same dish will differ just because someone added a little bit of this spice or a little bit of that spice, and then home to home.

On the Food in Canada and the US:

As a proud Canadian, I feel the need to distinguish ourselves from our friendly neighbors to the south, our American friends. But yes, I would say it’s a North American style of eating, and approach to food. I moved to Canada as a child in the early 1980’s, and Vancouver in particular was not the cosmopolitan city that it is today. So, it was quite a culture shock to move from Iran, then Italy, and then to the Vancouver of the early ’80s for my family. For instance, finding plain yogurt was very difficult. It was either in health food stores, or in very small tubs. And Iranians, we consume a lot of yogurt, it’s not just a little container. So, I can’t speak for America, because I wasn’t here then, but I assume they’re rather similar.

On What She’s Learned from the Different Places She’s Lived:

These cultures and regions, countries, they define my cooking. I really couldn’t say I could cook without being influenced by them. I feel just as nostalgic for a Caprese salad as I do for an Iranian dish of rice and stew, and it brings back so many memories for me. A lot of these foods are linked to memories and stories for me.

Iran I would say is the soul of my cooking, and cooking in general. It’s the aromas that permeate the kitchen. Before moving into our current house, my husband now, then boyfriend, we lived in an apartment building, and there was a long hallway. And walking down that hallway, before we got to our door, as my mother was visiting, you would start smelling the aroma of the rice steaming. And right away you knew what was for dinner, and so that would take me back to Iran. And Italy, my brother and I always have this joke about put the hot water on for the pasta. You make the phone call, put the water on, it’s ready for the pasta. Vancouver, interestingly enough, is I think where I was introduced to salmon of course, and it fit in perfectly with our Persian cuisine because we love fish, fish and rice. We have many traditional fish dishes, and the salmon in Vancouver is legendary.

On What a Traditional Persian Meal Looks Like:

A typical traditional Persian meal on any given day, there will be rice, always rice. And Tahdig, which is the bottom of the pot. It’s the crispy rice under the bottom of the pot, which is why obviously my blog is called Bottom of the Pot. And there will be a stew of some kind, and then all the condiments that go with it. There will be pickles of some kind, which we call torshi, some sort of yogurt, either plain or it’s a dish called Maast-o khiar, which is a yogurt and cucumber dip. And there will be bread, and fresh herbs, fresh herbs are huge. And it’s all about creating balance in a meal. So if you have something warm, you temperate it with the yogurt, the fresh herbs aid in digestion, which we’re obsessed with. So it all works in harmony.

On Putting a Twist on a Traditional Persian Meal:

That’s what I do, not every night, but at least twice a week. We get a farm box, it’s like a CSA box every week, and that really helps me get creative, because it’s introduced me to so many different vegetables in particular. A traditional Persian stew that would just be fresh herbs, which would just be maybe parsley, and cilantro and mint, when my CSA box arrives and there’s this beautiful bunch of Swiss chard, or even kale, then that’s all going to go into that stew as well, so I will incorporate it.

On Pantry Items to Have for Persian Cooking:

Certain spices are key. Turmeric, you can make a Persian dish by just using turmeric, of course, I have to mention saffron, it’s the crown jewel of all spices. It’s the most expensive spice in the world, but really a Persian stew would not come to life without saffron, and on my blog I have a post about saffron and how to make it last longer, because it is very expensive. So how do you use it to be, economical, and still make your dishes tasty? So turmeric, you use turmeric and saffron, and you have the makings of a Persian stew. Herbs, fresh herbs, like I mentioned, parsley, cilantro, basil, fresh mint. Again, we use them in abundance, as in bunches and bunches, so not like little Trader Joe’s packets of four sprigs of parsley. There’s a little effort involved, because you have to clean it and wash it, but I would say it’s well worth it.

On Resources for Learning More about Persian Cuisine:

I feel very fortunate, in the past year I was introduced to quite a few other Persian food bloggers that I didn’t even know where out there, and we formed this community, and we do joint posts, either for Persian New Year, or other celebrations. So, if you go on my blog, and search for…you know what I’m going to do actually, after this conversation? I’ll go on the blog and make a link to all of their sites. They’re all doing amazing stuff out there.

There was The New Persian Kitchen, the cookbook that came out a couple of years ago, by Louisa Shafia. It’s wonderful, it’s modernized, she has modernized the way we cook, and it’s accessible I would say. Of course, there is Mrs. Batmanglij, Najmieh Batmanglij’s lovely book, Food of Life, which is more in the traditional realm, but you can get an idea of it. I believe Margaret Shada’s book is wonderful as well, Greg and Lucy Malouf have a beautiful cookbook out there.

I think Persian food is really starting to come out, out of the shadows, and becoming much more popular as it should, because anyone you speak to who has ever tried Persian food loves it. I haven’t encountered one person who has not liked it, and they all want to know about tahdig, the crispy rice. So, I’m really happy that it’s really starting to become more popular.

The Pressure Cooker:

Which food shows or cooking shows do you watch?

Unfortunately, because I have two little girls now, and with my job, I don’t watch a lot of cooking shows anymore, except for when I’m working out at the gym.

I’m not a big fan of the cooking competition shows, but I still really enjoy Jamie Oliver, and online there is the Two Greedy Italians, I love their stuff, it’s Gennaro Contaldo with I forget the other gentleman’s name, but I love that. I love any cooking show that will take me to another place.

I know Ottolenghi did a couple of BBC series, I think it was called Ottolenghi’s Mediterranean Feast. I just love that, I love traveling, and watching what people eat around the world. So those would be it.

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

There are many, so I’m sure I’m going to miss some here, but Pamela Salzman, she is the one blogger that I would say we actually cook from in our household the most. Her recipes are family friendly, wholesome, whatever that means, and just fun to make, so Pamela Salzman.

My friend, Cheryl Sternman Rule, her Five-Second blog is just beautifully written, beautiful food, and also her new site called Team Yogurt, which I’m also a contributor to, but any site dedicated to yogurt, you’ll find me there. That to me is heaven, yogurt is life.

Dash and Bella, the writing is incredible, with really fun and interesting food as well, but her writing just stuns me.

Nik Sharma’s A Brown Table, Nik’s photography is pure poetry to me, every time he blows my mind with his photography, food photography.

The Wednesday Chef, she and Pamela Salzman were the very first bloggers that I reached out to when I started my blog. And they were so kind and generous, and they actually wrote back, which I did not expect, and were very encouraging. And I read Luisa’s book that she wrote, My Berlin Kitchen, and that was right before I started my blog too, and it just really resonated with me. She has this term she uses about being perpetually homesick, and that really resonated with me, because it captured, it put to words my emotions, perpetually homesick. And that’s exactly, I think why I started the blog, and how it’s been developing with the story telling, and the memories connected to the food.

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

I am so new to social media. I was a hold out for the longest time, and then I started my blog. And very slowly, I do things very slowly, I like to take my time, I got on Instagram which I think I enjoy the most.

I enjoy telling stories through pictures, and seeing and traveling with people to all these different places that I haven’t been to, or have been to and seeing what they’re eating, and what they’re cooking.

So on Instagram, there is Cucina Digitale, it’s this woman who lives in Rome, I think she’s an American who lives in Rome, I love her stuff. Sami Tamimi who is Mr. Ottolenghi’s partner, they wrote Jerusalem together, I love seeing all of his stuff. It makes my mouth water, and it makes me want to get into the kitchen, which is what you really want.

There is another feed called Palestine On A Plate, I love taking a look at her stuff. Elizabeth Minchilli, she’s in Rome, she’s based in Rome. So I think I connect to the places that I’ve been to, and the type of food that I enjoy eating. And as long as it inspires me, that’s what matters most.

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

It’s this little wooden spoon that I call my saffron spoon, and my saffron jar. My saffron jar and my saffron spoon that no one else is allowed to touch because it’s very precious. And the saffron jar is this little jam jar that my mom always packs for me. It has again, a lot of memory attached to it. I would say all my spice jars. I don’t have the most cohesive looking spice cabinet, they’re all random jars from probably 30 years ago, that have just been passed down from family members. So spice jars and my saffron spoon.

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

Eggplant and zucchini, couldn’t stand it as a child. I don’t think it was until my late teens that I started enjoying eggplant, and zucchini even came later than that, and now I love them. I could eat them all the time. So, I give my kids a break on those two vegetables, but that’s it. They have to eat everything else.

I think it’s general with eggplant. I have yet to meet a child that actually enjoys eggplant. Yes, they like zucchini, sometimes raw, they like the crunch as most children do. I made a zucchini dish the other day that I sautéed, and it really melted into the spaghetti sauce, and my older daughter who’s a little more adventurous, she enjoyed that. I have to mention another blog, Rachel Eats, British girl, Rome-based, I love her writing and all her food too.

What are a few cookbooks that make your life better?

Marcella Hazan’s, The Classic Italian Cookbook. No pictures, straight forward. When I need to cook, that’s what I need. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to be all set up, it just needs to be a great recipe, and these are authentic Italian recipes. So that’s what I’m going to go to.

The Ottolenghi books, they’re all lovely, inspirational, I cook from them. What I also love about them is that we share many of the same ingredients, and I just love how it’s catapulted Middle Eastern ingredients to the masses, and I thank them for that.

We like to cook from Gwyneth Paltrow’s books. They’re convenient, they’re accessible, I like them, they work.

And then all my Persian cookbooks, another great thing has been I’ve been reading through some very old, older Persian cookbooks written in Farsi actually, and my Farsi’s, my reading and writing is not great, but this has been a great exercise, so it’s improving.

What song or album just makes you want to cook?

This is a great question, because music and cooking goes hand-in-hand in this house. One would not happen without the other. So Manu Chao. If I’m working on a new recipe, if I need something for a pick-me-up to get me excited to get into the kitchen, it’s going to be Manu Chao. Other than that, we have NPR 24/7 in the background, it’s just on. And there’s a great music program on our local NPR station KCRW called Morning Becomes Eclectic. The D.J. is Jason Bentley, and he just rocks it, and I like to chop all my vegetables to whatever he’s playing. That would be it, I think.

On Keeping Posted with Naz:

Instagram, Facebook, now that I’m finally on it, and Twitter.

032: Luisa Weiss: How Travel Has Shaped Her Food Journey

April 29, 2015 by Gabriel Leave a Comment

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The Wednesday Chef, Food Blog

Luisa is an author, a food columnist for Harper’s Bazaar Germany, teacher of both writing and cooking and leads food tours in Berlin where she lives with her husband and son Hugo.

I am so thrilled to have Luisa Weiss of The Wednesday Chef here on the show today.

On How Her Travels Have Shaped Her Food Journey:

I grew up in an international home. My dad’s American, my mom is Italian and I was born and partially raised in Berlin.

My parents split up so I moved to Boston with my dad but kept coming back to Germany and Italy to see my mother. I’ve had lots of different food cultures in my life from the very beginning and moving to Boston for college was interesting in a way because I came from high school in Berlin and then college food, the dorm room, the freshman 15, all that was totally new to me. And then Paris…

Paris, the food education. Paris was obviously really wonderful. I don’t think I’ve had as much of an epiphany as a normal American would have just because Italy’s culture is similar in that they really revere ingredients.

Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve definitely picked up something and taken it with me.

Italian food is what I’m really comfortable with and familiar with. I know exactly what it’s supposed to taste like and I have a lot of confidence in that.

But over the past 10 years of blogging, I’ve become so much better at cooking all kinds of different things. Now I feel like I say Italian but then I also want to say that I am really good at cooking Indian food at home now, and American food, and baking, and all kinds of other things.

So it’s still Italian but definitely there’s lots more going on now.

On How Her Blog Started:

I was working in book publishing and I had discovered food blogs a couple years before. I loved them. And it just dawned on me one day like, “I love reading food blogs. I love to cook and I love to write. Why aren’t I writing a food blog?”

At the time there were many food blogs already and I assumed if I threw my hat in the ring, that nobody would care or pay attention because I’d be the last one to the party. So I just did it on a whim and I thought it was going to be writing practice more than anything else.

I majored in English in college and I wanted to go to graduate school for writing. A professor of mine was like, “Don’t do it. If you’re going to write, you’ll do it out of your own accord.” But I didn’t and so finally the blog was meant to be a practice and then it turned into so much more.

I’ve been a passionate cook and baker my whole life really, but I got into this rut when I was living in New York, my early years in New York but also in Paris. I made the same things over and over again.

It’s not that I didn’t want to make anything else, it’s just that nothing occurred to me. What else would I cook other than these three things? But I was really obsessive about clipping recipes and so I have binders and binders full of recipes from the newspaper food sections. So when the time came to come up with a concept for the blog, like some kind of a focus, right away I was like, “Okay, well I guess I’ll just cook my way through the newspaper recipes.” Then I could never cook a recipe twice because I always had the blog to think about. So in the past 10 years the blog has been my culinary education.

On Cooking for Hugo:

When Hugo was born or when he started eating solid foods, I was coming up with silly little ideas that I thought other people might be interested in. It was also meant to be a journal of what I was feeding him, too. Like, “This was a good idea. Let me write it down so that I remember it next time,” there’s nothing in it that’s earth shattering. There’s nothing totally new in it, but I thought I would have appreciated or I do appreciate when other mothers say, “Oh, this really worked for my kid,” because even though I’m such an omnivore and my husband too, we did not give birth to an omnivore. Everybody says, “Oh just feed the kid whatever you’re eating.” When we tried that, he just wouldn’t eat. He’s a little picky.

It’s getting better and he’s weirdly adventurous in certain moments. So we have a Sichuan restaurant that we’re obsessed with. Every once in a blue moon we go. He’ll end up eating half the things that we do. His mouth’s on fire. He’s got tears streaming down his face and he’s asking for more. But then other days, he refuses to eat a meat sauce with his pasta. The pasta has to be unadorned and plain, nothing.

So whenever somebody says, “This really worked for my nine month old, or a 10 month old, or two and a half year old,” I think, “I want to pass that information on,” and the same for me. I had a couple inspiration moments and I just found recipes that he ended up liking. I thought, “Might as well share them.”

I hated hearing this when I was pregnant, the mother of a newborn and all this but now that I’m a little older I understand why people say, “Enjoy it,” because actually the stages are all so short that while you’re in them, especially for the first time, you have no idea. You’re like, “Oh my God. My kid’s going to be eating pureed carrots for the next 10 years,” but subconsciously you think that they’re not even going to be eating pureed carrots for a month. So just live in the moment and then move on. Be flexible.

On Her Book, “My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story With Recipes”:

The book is a collection of stories in chronological order that tell the rough outline, and in some cases not that rough, of sort of the strange path from Germany to the States, back to Germany, back to the States, to France and then ultimately back to Germany again.

Each chapter has a recipe at the end so it’s a lot about food but also about family, about what it’s like to grow up in several different cultures. All the alienation and difficulty that that can present even though it’s in a sense a nice problem to have, but it does have a lot of its own emotional baggage.

Then the love story with the city of Berlin that I’ve had my whole life.

The Pressure Cooker:

Which food shows or cooking shows do you watch?

I used to watch, like literally 13 years ago, Nigella and Jamie and Two Fat Ladies, but now I don’t watch any.

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

Dinner: A Love Story which is about cooking for your family, specifically older children once they’re three years and up, how you get family dinner on the table.

Orangette which is a beautiful food blog with lovely recipes and writing and photos and just wonderful.

Bon Appetempt, which is a humorous take on cooking recipes from magazines but it’s also about life and things.

Lottie and Doof. Tim’s writing is so amazing and his food is too but now that I think about it, I haven’t actually cooked that many things from it but I just love his take on the world and I just feel his site is a little blast of joy.

There are so many others. Those are the ones off the top of my head.

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

Okay, Abbey Nova from Design Scouting which is the other blog I was going to say that I love, but it’s not a food blog. Follow her on Pinterest. Love her.

And on Facebook, Humans of New York. Best account ever. Literally every post is a gut punch in good and bad ways. It’s just wonderful.

Instagram. My friend, Rachel Roddy, in Rome. She always posts pictures of her sink with all of the beautiful things that she’s bought at the market that day and it’s just her sink. My mother’s from Rome and my mother lived in Rome when I was in college, and there’s just something about the light. When I look at those pictures, there’s something very deep going on inside of me. They make me happy.

Her blog is Rachel Eats and that’s the other blog I was thinking of. Beautiful, provocative, gorgeous writing about living in Italy but being English. It’s incredible and her Instagram.

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

Canned tomatoes, salt, olive oil.

I feel like I can’t live without canned tomatoes. That’s breakfast, lunch and dinner right there.

Name one ingredient you cannot live without.

Yeah, canned tomatoes without a doubt.

What are a few cookbooks that make your life better?

Fuchsia Dunlop’s Every Grain of Rice, which is Chinese home cooking demystified.

The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater. I love it. It’s more of a journal of food but it’s very inspiring for when you’re feeling like, “I don’t feel like cooking anymore. What should I do?” I go to him and he always gets me going again.

Diana Henry’s A Change of Appetite, so Diana Henry is an Irish food writer in London and she’s incredibly prolific. She publishes a book a year or something and they’re all incredible. I don’t understand how she does it. I mean really they’re all incredible and they’re all so different. Her most recent book that’s available now is called A Change of Appetite and it’s ostensively of being like a lighter eating book but it’s just great. It’s full of incredibly delicious, lush, interesting recipes.

What song or album just makes you want to cook?

I actually am not really into music when I’m cooking although I guess something cheerful like Ella Fitzgerald.

Keep Posted on Luisa:

Well I’m pretty good whenever I have a blog post up, I ping the three big ones: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter so any of those is fine. I love Instagram most. It’s definitely the most fun I have while doing social media. It doesn’t feel like work.

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

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:

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:

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:

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.

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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!

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

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Let’s do this together!

Gabriel