I love cooking, but because my mom is too much of a bimbo and my dad too much of a “manly man” to ever step into the kitchen, I never had the chance to learn from them. I grew up on delivery, takeout, eating out, and the incredible food made by the amazing woman who cooks for our family. I became deeply interested in cooking at the start of my teenage years and taught myself through the internet, books, that same woman, and other relatives.
Trial and error. Lot’s of meals that I just… forced down. Learned what I did wrong and changed it. But well, I don’t really cook specific recipes, mostly I just boil things and know when to add stuff and what spices might go good with it, if any.
I’m happy other people had their parents to teach them but my parents mostly made stuff from boxes like hamburger helper and kraft dinner. Then they had all that free time to themselves to watch tv and get drunk.
Very much this. Watch a few chefs on TV / the internet and just trial and error. Cooking is a skill like anything else and you simply need to put in the time to get experienced.
I do highly recommend you own a wooden chopping board, a Mercer Culinary Chef’s Knife (or better), and a 1000 grit whet stone for sharpening. A sharp knife makes cooking easier and more enjoyable. And a wood board is kinder to a blade and is surprisingly more hygienic than alternatives.
I have a cheap, but really good bamboo cutting board from the dollar store and a tiny one from ikea that I use more often (because my kitchen is tinnnyyy). I also bought my knife from ikea a decade ago and I hone it before every use with an old steel I found in a thrift shop that was made in Sheffield. I say this because it seems to be better then any of the steels I bought new from any other store.