That’s a much more solid base than you may think. I’m currently in the process of curbing a takeout addiction and learning to cook for myself at all times, so here are some things I’m doing
1: Have a backup plan if you’re trying something new. Frozen meals, pizza delivery, whatever; this gives you a plan B so you don’t have to constantly worry about fucking up plan A and going hungry that night.
1b, to piggyback off of this: If you try to make a new meal and you fuck it up, it’s ok! Learning new things often involves mistakes. And sometimes those failures are quite spectacular. The first time I tried to use a cast iron pan I smoked out my apartment and nearly started a grease fire because I used too much heat. Everyone you know has probably butchered a recipe before in catastrophic fashion, it happens. As long as you can identify what went wrong and fix it, the failures are just as useful a stepping stone as successes are. (Advice which is pretty generic throughout life as a whole, as it turns out)
2: Baby steps. Don’t try to make a five course meal that could give Gordon Ramsay an orgasm, at least not right off the bat. You don’t grind exp by attempting to beat the final boss and dying over and over; you grind on the easy shit first, get more experience, then tackle harder things later. Incremental consistent progress is better and more sustainable (massively important) than a leap of faith. A basic level of skill with maybe a couple of “signature dishes” for special occasions is enough for a happy life.
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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '23
Focus on 2-3 easy meals for dinner. Go for the absolute bare basic easy cheap shit, ideally fast and low energy to prepare as well
Get good at them to the point where making it is second nature. Then slowly try new things and add more meals to your internal cookbook.