I am a one cup a day coffee drinker.  No more, no less – so for many years I didn’t have a coffee maker in the house.  I just grabbed a cup of coffee at work or picked up a cup from the convenience store.

Senseo

Several years ago I was given a free Senseo coffee maker to review.  The whole idea of a single serve pod coffee maker new to me and became a natural fit for my kitchen.  I liked the coffee it brewed and appreciated that I could choose between a small cup and a large mug.

Keurig

Last year I learned about the new Kuerig pod coffee makers.  Instead of little paper pods, Kuerigs use K-cups, little plastic cups with a foil seal on them.  I was intrigued by all of the different flavors and hot beverages you could make with the Kuerig so I put it on my wish list and eventually brought one home this past winter.  I bought the ‘personal’ version which cost $89.

I expected to like the Kuerig as much as the Senseo – but from the first cup – I wasn’t impressed.  My K-cup brewed coffee didn’t taste very good.  It tasted kind of ‘chemical-y’ – for lack of a better description.

Thinking it might just be the K-cup flavor, I ordered a big variety pack of K-cups from the company.  Cup after cup, flavor after flavor, my opinion of the Kuerig didn’t change much.  It just wasn’t making yummy coffee for me – so I packed it up and sold it on Craigslist.

Hamilton Beach

I figured that I’d buy another Senseo but one night I was walking through Walmart and noticed this little Hamilton Beach pod coffee maker on sale for just $9.  I thought the chances of such a cheap little coffee maker making good coffee would be slim but for $9, it was worth giving it a shot.

This brews Senseo style pods and the box even had a bag of Senso pods inside. (What a deal, right?)

I brewed up a cup of coffee the next morning and took my first sip.  Ahhh… it was good.  I was so pleased to find that my cheap little deal turned out to be a great buy.  I’ve been using it steady for a couple of months now.

My kitchen is small, so one thing I really appreciate is that it doesn’t take up much counter space.

I love eggs and especially love boiled eggs.  I don’t love peeling boiled eggs though so when I heard about Eggies, I got pretty excited.  After watching this product review video, I’m not so sure anymore…

I’m sure we can trust that Jack used the product right – but I still want to give Eggies a try myself, how about you?

Angel Hair A La Natural

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 12 minutes

Total time: 22 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 box of angel hair pasta
• ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup dried basil leaves in flakes
• teaspoon of salt
• teaspoon of black pepper
• pinch of oregano
• grated parmesan cheese

Preparation:

In a small bowl mix with a whisk the olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano and basil flakes. Then get a large pot put 5 quarts of water bring to a boil, add a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of olive oil in the water. Once water has begun to boil, add the angel hair pasta and let it boil for approximately 9 minutes. This is if you like your pasta al dente, a couple of minutes longer if you prefer tender pasta.

Once pasta is done, strain well and place pasta in large bowl or plate. Pour olive oil mix over the angel hair and toss well. Add grated parmesan cheese on top of the pasta and serve. Pasta typically tastes best when served immediately after being cooked. You can pair pasta with a good bottle of white wine such as Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay wine.

This recipe was contributed by Cris Hawk, owner of eFoodProcessorReviews, an excellent resource for food processor reviews, helping you to find the best food processor according to
your needs.

Thank you to Cris for sharing these basics as often some moms and dads have no prior experience and find themselves scrabbling once they get married and have children – I know I did!

Start by getting a basic cookbook on the recipes that you like and make your first meals the simpler ones. You’d be surprised how many people don’t even know how to boil an egg, so begin with the simple recipes. It’s also a good idea to watch the cooking channel on TV and learn by watching the techniques utilized by chefs.

Cooking is somewhat of an art form and with practice we all become better at it. At the beginning it is highly recommended that you stick to recipes. Do not get discouraged if at first the recipes don’t turn out well. You can’t expect to become a gourmet cook overnight.

The Basics

You should begin by learning the cooking basics first. As you are looking through your recipe book or going online for recipes, get familiarized with the cooking terminologies. Look at pictures of the finished meals. When deciding on a recipe it is best to cook something that you like to eat.

Once you have learned the basic cooking techniques you will be able to enhance your skills with additional training. The basics being, learning how to boil, fry, bake and grill. Advanced techniques in cooking are learning how to sauté, glaze, poach, and creating sauces on your own.

When you first start out cooking you’ll need to become familiar with some cooking terminology. You will also need to familiarize yourself with kitchen utensils, gadgets and appliances. This will help you organize and prepare the kitchen for cooking.

Here are some cooking techniques and terminologies that you should get familiar with:

• Al dente, flambé, sauté, poach, ice bath, deglaze, smoke, sauté, cream, temper, brown, stir fry, and zest.
• Bake, grill, boil, steam, fry, broil, braise, open fire, stone bake, blanch

Here are some kitchen utensils, gadgets and appliances that you should get familiarized with:

• Whisk, grater, steamer, colander, pastry brush, zester, wok, slotted spoon, strainer, mortar pestle, paella pan, Dutch oven
• Food processor, blender, electric hand mixer, meat slicer, toaster oven, rice cooker, microwave, juicer

Improving Your Skills

If you want to begin improving your cooking skills start with a weekly menu. Go to the grocery store and purchase all of the ingredients that you need for your recipes. Print out the recipes or have your cookbook handy. I have always found pasta recipes very easy to prepare and they are also tasty. You can learn the techniques for cooking pasta, and the simple sauces are easy to make on your own.

Here is a simple pasta recipe for beginners that serves 4.

Once you have mastered one recipe, you can begin to get creative with different and more complex techniques. Breakfast recipes are also very easy to prepare and are recommended for beginning cooks. Think of all of the different methods that you can cook an egg, and master each of these methods. Learn to fry, poach, scramble, & sunny side up an egg. This is how chefs start out their professional training.

The Art of Cooking

Cooking is like everything else in life, if you like it you tend to become good at it. If you don’t like cooking, then you will probably never be a very good cook. For those of us who love cooking it is a pleasant and stress relieving chore.

Student chefs first learn the basics and then get trained on the finer techniques to enhance flavor and create a beautiful presentation. They initially learn how to prepare the food for cooking with knives and utensils. Then they learn how to season and marinate to maximize flavor. These are all techniques and methods that you can learn with time and practice in your kitchen.

It certainly is impressive to watch a chef handling a knife, like when you see him or her slicing an onion quickly and expertly without missing a beat. This is mastered with plenty of practice. Also, the art of cooking is picked up quickly by some people, however this is not so for others. There are home cooks that have an extensive knowledge of cooking, and it’s become like second nature to them. While others might only learn to do a handful of recipes that they are good at.

Cooking can be a social activity and in many families it is a binding tie that unifies generations
and the extended family members. Think of the dinner parties that you have attended and how everyone loves to socialize around the kitchen especially if someone is cooking. Stick to what you and your family like to eat. Get everyone involved. Have someone prep the food, get someone else to season the meat, another one to cook it, and finally decorate the cooked meal on the plate. What better way to spend family time!

This article was contributed by Cris Hawk, owner of eFoodProcessorReviews, an excellent resource for food processor reviews, helping you to find the best food processor according to your needs.