#98: Improve Your Home Cooking with These Tips and Tricks!

Join Roni and Riley as we dive into the topic of home-cooked food and share our favorite cooking tips and tricks. In this episode, we explore our personal journeys to becoming home cooks, including the lessons we've learned along the way and the people and resources that have inspired us. 
Whether you're a newbie in the kitchen or looking for fresh ideas to elevate your cooking, this conversation is packed with insights to help you level up your home-cooked recipes and feel more confident in the kitchen! Enjoy!

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Plan to Eat podcast, where I have conversations about meal planning, food, and wellness. To help you save time in the kitchen, reduce your grocery bill stress less about food. And delight in dinner time.

Roni: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Plan to Eat Podcast. It's me and Riley here, hanging out. And today we are talking more about home cooking. We talked about home cooking in December as well, trying to convince you why we would really like you to be better home cooks in 2025, or maybe just do more home cooking in 2025 is really what we were talking about. 

Riley: Yeah. And ultimately why it should have been their number one resolution for the year. 

Roni: So today we're talking actually probably more about the idea of being a better home cook, getting into some of the basics. Riley and I have compiled some of our own tips and tricks of things that we think we know about cooking from our experience. Uh, we want [00:01:00] to talk a little bit about our experience, give you a little backstory so you know, maybe why you should trust us, why you should trust our tips and tricks.

And then I think we'll finish up with some of the things that we both maybe still struggle with as home cooks, because don't we all have areas that we could improve on?

Riley: Sounds great. I'm really excited to talk about this. I just feel like everyone, this is something that everyone does. So this is like one of those things that we all can improve in all the time and we all eat. Right. So, I mean, this is one of those things that affects our day to day life, at least. It affects my day to day life strongly, so,

Roni: Well, why don't you kick us off Riley and share a little bit of your backstory of your home cooking, your home cooking journey.

Riley: okay. You know, as I was kind of thinking through this, I realized that it sounds like I'm writing a resume more than it is like I'm sharing my, like, journey to be a [00:02:00] home cook. But, I mean, it is also part of my resume too, so. okay, so I, growing up I was always welcome in the kitchen. There are so many photographs that my mom took of me and my siblings. In the kitchen cooking, whether that was making chocolate chip cookies or dinner, it was just kind of everything in between. And so I feel like that was kind of where it all started.

So many little girls, you know, and boys to like to like to cook with pretend utensils and bowls. And even my youngest daughter, she's when she was like six months old. She liked to play with a whisk and a bowl. I feel like it's kind of if you have a parent who cooks. And you watch them do that. I feel like it's kind of natural for a kid to look at those things and be like, Oh, mom plays with that because they don't realize the difference, you know?

Um, and so, yeah, it was just kind of always a part of growing up. I was always welcome there. And so my parents also always watched [00:03:00] the Food Network and we watched so many cooking shows. And so my childhood dream of many was to have my own cooking show. And so I would play in the kitchen. Once I was older, I would pretend to have my own cooking show.

I would talk to a fake camera. I would actually cook something. And that was something that kind of came to mind when I was thinking through that because Obviously I didn't become like a cooking show host, but it did play a pivotal role, you know, like talking and cooking. And those are two things I really love to do now.

I just don't do them on camera. So, yeah, so I think fast forward, I was the first, my first summer after my, so after my freshman year of college, that first summer was the only summer I lived at home in college. And my dad said, you can live here for free, but you have to grocery shop. You have to do all the cooking.

Cleaning and that's kind of like how I paid rent is that I like [00:04:00] did that. And so that was fun. You know, at the time it certainly felt like a job. My dreams of having a cooking show and the joy that that brought me faded a bit by 18. But it came back, don't worry. Uh, and so I did that all summer and it's just, I think.

Why that's part of my story is just because it's about the reps, you know, it's about the recipe finding over and over. It's about the planning. It's about the grocery list making it's about the grocery shopping. And then actually putting the recipe together, because when I think about home cooking, it's so much more than just cooking the meal, you know, it's thinking through, okay, who's going to even be here to eat dinner.

Who's who am I cooking for? What did they like? What are their preferences, dietary needs, et cetera. So it really, it kind of built in all of those pieces for me, which I think was really pivotal. \ so it did feel a lot more like a job, kind of like it does now as an adult. It just definitely has that, like, [00:05:00] you know, systematized, we do these things.

But it was, it was all, it was a good thing. And then, uh, fast forward to the summer after my junior year of college, I worked at a camp and I was a part of the, like, What did we call ourselves? I cannot remember what team I was on. That is so sad. Basically, we did all the cooking and all the cleaning for the camp, all the guest beds, all, you know, we cooked for all the guests, guest services, I think was the name of our team.

And so that was fun, uh, because like the team environment of cooking is fun. Especially when you're cooking for large amounts of people, you know, you got seven people chopping tomatoes cause you're cooking for 70 or whatever. Not quite. That was a little dramatic, but. Anyway, so I did that for a whole summer.

And it was a good time. It was fun. And then, um, I was probably 23 and someone asked me to become their, I worked at a coffee shop and someone asked me if I would be their personal assistant. Because her life was super duper busy. She needed somebody to kind of handle all [00:06:00] the details of her life that she just didn't have time to manage.

She was overflowing. Her schedule was overflowing. So she asked me if I'd come be a personal assistant and ultimately that job became personal chef. And so it was never what the job set out to be, but that was the thing that she always could say. I always need you to cook for us. I always need you to have four meals prepped in the kitchen.

That were reheatable. Is that the word? Reheatable? They're reasonable for them or lunches that were packed. Casseroles for breakfast. Uh, when her daughter got married, I even prepped things for them to take to the weekend away for her wedding weekend. I made breakfast casseroles and all sorts of things for them to take with them.

And again, it was the same, it was the same, pattern of what do you need? Like, what meals do you need? Um, how many breakfasts, lunches, dinners? What is your diet? Like, because they were on a very specific diet type, so I had to follow that. [00:07:00] And then it was the list making the grocery shopping, then taking it, prepping it, getting everything done in a time frame, you know, because I was being paid to do this job and there were some requirements around that, you know, and so, and then cleaning up afterwards.

And so that was really fun. I ended up doing that for two different families for a little while. And then, then, then I got my job at Plan to Eat. And so, all of those things kind of led me to that job at plan to eat because of my cooking background. Um, while I, when I first started, I didn't do anything in the cooking world other than just work for a meal planning app, but because of my experience with the planning process, it really allowed me to like fall in love with the program and then be able to really, I don't know, when you love something.

And you actually use it and do it, um, it's a lot easier to talk to people about it. It's a lot easier to help people do it in their own lives. And so, yeah, so that's, that's kind of, that's my backstory on being a home chef.

Roni: I love it. And I love that I can just [00:08:00] picture little Riley talking to nobody, you know, thinking that she's like in front of a camera making something. I'm actually like envisioning your older daughter in that role because I feel like that's something I could see her doing. And so I'm picturing kind of like you as her.

Also, that could still be a possibility for your future. We're young. You could still be a cooking talk show host or cooking show host, if that's really what was in the cards for you.

Riley: Yeah, we'll see. We'll see what the future holds. Uh, right now, I work as a personal chef to my family, so yeah, I mean, we just keep on riding this thing out, so.

Roni: I think maybe that's what a lot of people should just start labeling themselves, you know? Like, I'm a stay at home parent, but actually I'm a personal chef to my family.

Riley: I mean, it certainly gives the job title some pizzazz.

Roni: I think so. A Good resume builder.

Riley: Absolutely.

Roni: Um, well, do you want to go into some of your tips, uh, that you maybe learned [00:09:00] from this cooking journey?

Riley: Yes. I have quite a few, so if we don't get to all of them, that's totally fine. Um, I think that the first thing I want to say For people who are getting started is, I mean, ultimately is don't be afraid to fail is kind of the like general advice. And I know that's kind of like normal advice. Like, don't be afraid to fail.

We hear it in every, everywhere you do anything, you hear that don't be afraid to fail, but it really in cooking. I'm just thinking about cooking for my family. And just like the judgment level 

fairly low, you know, like. Of people to be afraid of cooking in front of they were not people to be afraid of I was not cooking for Michelin star chefs, you know, and so, because of that, I think it was a good opportunity.

I mean my two year olds probably more judgmental than my parents were you know like about what she will or will not eat or what she does or does not like all the toddler moms out there raising the roof [00:10:00] right like yeah. Anyway, sorry, I digress. But I just feel like if I'm looking at my audience and thinking like it's fine if it's not amazing.

It's fine You know, like I'm just saying when I first got married I was really anxious like at this point I have tons of cooking experience under my belt and I was so anxious to cook all the time for him and Which is pretty silly, you know, because I feel like that I shouldn't have been nervous about it.

And over time that went away. Uh, so I just look at your audience and think like, am I afraid of these people? Oh, okay. Then just go for it. And you're learning a new skill. When you're learning something new, you don't do everything perfectly the same, you know, the first time. And then I think that kind of rolls into some of my other tips, which are taste everything as you're going.

I mean, if you, obviously when it's cooked, right, like if you're cooking ground, if you're cooking pork and it's not done, don't taste it yet. Um, but there's so much allowance of there's so much time. Once something is cooked, it's just still add something to make it taste a little [00:11:00] better, particularly in a sauce that's still simmering.

If you need to add more seasonings because you can't taste them, or if you need to add salt, so it's such a low hanging fruit, simple thing. Like even if it's too salty, I know there's been podcasts where you and I've talked about what to do if you've made something too salty. But just thinking about building flavor.

And I'm thinking if you're a really new home chef building flavor sounds scary, but when you taste something, you know, if it tastes good or not. And so, okay, look back at your recipe. This isn't about adding something totally different to the recipe. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying, look at the recipe and say, okay, it called for cumin and lime juice and taco seasoning.

Uh, it called for paprika and garlic. Okay. I'm just going to go out a little bit more of all of those. Just start there. And then if it's still not enough, add a little more. If it doesn't taste salty enough, add a little salt. You know, I'm saying, I'm saying start with the recipe ingredients and add more of those because your taste preferences are going to be different than the person who wrote the recipe.

And so [00:12:00] if they added a teaspoon of something, you might like a tablespoon. And You should see me add garlic to recipes. I never, ever follow the amount of garlic that a recipe calls for. It is always double, almost always double. So, um, so I guess that's where I go with don't be afraid to fail. But what do you do when you are failing?

Like, what do you do when you taste something and you're like, this is not great. What do I do? Okay. We're going to just start adding the seasonings that the recipe called for. And we'll cross the bridge later if we have to add something different.

Roni: Yeah, I really like that. I have, one of my tips I have as well is, like, what tastes good to you is most important.

Riley: Yeah. 

Roni: And this is similar to the rant that I went on previous episode about recipes not including salt. Because I do, there is an aspect of it where I probably add a lot more salt to recipes, I definitely add a lot more salt to recipes than a recipe calls for and I probably add a lot more salt to recipes than what [00:13:00] maybe the average person would add.

But I think that's because it's just how what's appealing to my palate, right? Is like food that's maybe a little bit saltier, like, like a little bit more bold, I guess, in the flavor. And so I think that's, that's, that's really important. And I liked that you brought it up of like, start with what the recipe calls for, give it a taste.

If it doesn't taste good to you, Then start playing around a little bit and figure out like, what is it that it feels like this missing? Oftentimes if I'm cooking a new recipe and I taste it, I adjust things a little bit or whatever. I'll call my husband in the room and be like, what is this missing? I can't figure out what this needs to make it taste better.

You know, he doesn't always have the right answer either, but since he is sharing in the meal, you know, ask for his input.

Riley: Yeah, totally. That's a great idea. It's having other people taste things. I do that same thing with my spouse. I'm like, taste this because I think sometimes you get so tunnel vision on the recipe. and what you think it's supposed to taste like. And when you [00:14:00] invite someone in who is not a part of the recipe cooking, they can kind of have a little bit more of a unbiased opinion.

I'm like, oh, I don't know. It tastes weird. Maybe add some cumin. You know, I'm just picking something random. Or what is that flavor? And you're like, Oh, well, I had this recipe calls for cinnamon. And it's like a savory recipe. You're like, Oh, interesting. Okay. Well, what would help balance out cinnamon? You know, like, okay, well, maybe then you Google it, you know, like, Oh, the cinnamon is kind of strong.

What do I add to balance the flavor of cinnamon? Just things along those lines, having someone else's opinion is helpful and Google, that's Google. My recipe doesn't taste good. What do I do?

Roni: Totally. 

Totally. 

Riley: Order pizza. I'm kidding. Okay. Um, okay. Moving into another, uh, kind of adjacent tip. is don't be afraid to veer off the recipe.

And this is just me giving you permission in a tip to go off the recipe. So, you've tasted it. You've added more seasonings, you've added a little bit of salt and something's just still not right. This is [00:15:00] when you can veer off the recipe completely and think, okay, I think it needs some acid. Something about, you know, like an acid doesn't mean I'm adding apple cider vinegar.

You know, acid means lemon juice, acid means lime juice. Other things besides vinegar. And so just thinking, okay, I think you need something to brighten up the flavor. If you think, Oh, it needs something to like, brighten it up. That's an acid conversation. That's a, add a little bit of acid. And so I think just this tip is hard for people who are new.

But I think it's just, sometimes you just need the permission. Okay. I do not have to follow this recipe to a T, um, because so far it's not very good. So what am I going to do to fix it? This is when you get to be creative. This is when you get to feel like this is when your confidence starts to build, is when you start to do things that the recipe did not say to do.

I don't know. This is just when you get to like kind of start to play and like exercise those, the reps of cooking and those exercises, the muscles of trying something new.

Roni: I like it. Think potentially people are ready for this idea sooner than they think. [00:16:00] You know, like, you're not ready for this idea if this is your first recipe that you've ever cooked by yourself, ever. However, honestly, if you've made like five recipes, you probably know enough about what you like to eat and how your palate works that you can start veering off a little bit.

And also, so what? You add a little bit too much onion powder to something, it tastes a little onion y, maybe your breath tastes a little onion y afterwards. It's whatever. Like you said in the beginning, don't be afraid to fail. You know, then you realize, ooh, we use onion powder sparingly so that my house doesn't taste like a Funyun for the rest of the week.

Riley: Yes, yes. I remember one time, uh, one of my fails was that I heated up oil on the stove. And then I think I added garlic and crushed red pepper to just a hot pan. I literally made poison gas.

Roni: Oh, yeah. 

Riley: whatever, I was chopping something else, like I didn't, the stove was too hot and I wasn't ready to add anything else to it.

Like what was I doing adding crushed red pepper at that point anyway? I don't [00:17:00] know. , and it was literally like toxic. Everyone's eyes were burning, everyone's noses were running. And we had to like open up all the windows. Um, oops. So you just, these are things you just learn.

Roni: Absolutely. Yeah. 

Riley: Uh, 

Ronnie, before we move on to more tips, um, cause I think we've talked about quite a few, what if you just go ahead and share your cooking 

backstory, the 

Roni: Okay, I would love to. So I was also welcome in the kitchen when I was a kid, I don't, I feel like I don't really remember cooking or helping cook very much when I was a kid, at least specifically not when I was like sub 10 years old. We every, pretty much every Friday night, we did like a homemade pizza, make your own pizza kind of a night.

So my mom would make the dough and then, you know, we would get to put our toppings on the pizza. And those, that's like the biggest memory that I have of actually assisting in any sort of cooking from a young age. I'm sure there were plenty of other times and I just [00:18:00] don't have very like distinct memories of it.

But we ate at home pretty much every night. We couldn't afford to go out to eat when I was growing up. And so I saw either my mom or my dad cooking all the time. And so that was just a very, that's a very normal thing in my household, which I think is kind of why it feels very normal now that we eat at home a lot.

My husband had the opposite experience where they ate out a lot. And so he is constantly like, maybe we should go out to eat. And I'm like, we have dinner planned already. We're staying at home. And so it's like an interesting balance that we have just from like our different, our, our different backstories.

And then I guess, my grandma who, I mean, she lived in a different state, but every time we went and saw her, it was like, grandma is the best cook in the entire world. She's so amazing. But she was pretty reluctant to let other people in the kitchen with her. She just. Kind of like to have all the control.

So a lot of the things that I've actually ended up learning a lot of the cooking skills that I learned [00:19:00] from my mom were learned from my great aunt, who was much more willing to like incorporate other people into the kitchen and was basically who my mom learned from when she was like in her early 20s and learning how to be a home cook. I just like, I just like talking about kind of like the generational aspect of it because I think it's fun to be like, Oh, I know this thing because aunt Jean did this thing when she cooked in the kitchen, you know, so I cooked quite a bit when I got to college. So similar to your experience, Riley, like I don't, I feel like really the cooking started to like ramp up once I got into college, and particularly once I was in my own apartment and not in the dorm rooms.

But it was like pretty basic things. Like I remember making spaghetti and eating salads. And I do remember making, I had this like sweet potato and black bean enchilada recipe that I would make. That one of my friends actually taught me how to make when I was in college. My enchiladas are way better now though. [00:20:00] I'll just, I'll just say that they, you know, while that felt like a really fancy recipe at the time, the enchiladas that I make now are probably 10 X better. And then towards the end of college, uh, we've talked about this in a really, a much earlier episode where we kind of just talked about our food journeys in general, but I got really fitness motivated, really fitness focused at the end of college and in my early 20s.

And so I did a lot of meal prepping. So it was like basic ingredients, meat, rice, vegetables, and would just assemble those things for my meals. But it was a lot of prepping things all on one day so that I didn't have to be wondering what I was eating the rest of the week. I didn't consider myself a meal planner at that point.

I didn't realize that that was meal planning at that point. So, that was the early stages of meal planning for me. I made a lot of things like overnight oats that I could just put in my lunchbox and take with me to [00:21:00] school, eat between classes or whatever. And I remember being obsessed with food blogs at that point in time.

And I mean, that was early 2010s, you know, I, I started college in 2008. And so it was like, that was food blogger central right there. And it didn't.

Riley: rise 

of the food blog,

Roni: It was the rise of the food blog and you could have a really crappy website and a really, you could, you could not even be saying anything important at all.

But because it was the rise of the food blog. Uh, they were just all over the place and I, and I, I even of course started my own food blog at a certain point and made 

Riley: I did not know 

that. 

Roni: yeah, yeah, I had some I mostly made like copycat recipes of other things like I would find something that I liked and I would quote unquote healthify it and share those recipes online.

It didn't really take off. Yeah, so Because I was very fitness focused, I cooked like that for a number of years into my 20s. And, [00:22:00] my husband, you know, that was kind of the way that we cooked when we first got together. Um, but in my early 20s, in my early to mid 20s, I started working at a restaurant.

And I worked in the front of the house, but I think just being kind of inspired by working in a restaurant, I started to cook more elaborate meals. My just like general life focus was still focused on fitness, but not in the same like super macro. We need to meal prep only. So I think it gave me a little, like I gave myself more permission to try different things.

And that was actually where I learned a lot of general cooking skills. Even though I, like I said, I was not cooking. I was in the front of the house. I feel like that's where I learned to like properly chop an onion or like how, what's like something should look like when it's simmered in a pan. And, we had a really tight knit crew between the front and the back of the house.

So I just like kind of learned a lot of things through osmosis of like hanging out and chatting with people while they were prepping stuff [00:23:00] and, just maybe being an observant person. I, I learned a lot through that experience. Similar to you, like my husband is not. A picky, he's not picky. He's very grateful that I enjoy cooking and that I do the majority of the cooking in our house.

So he has never, I have never felt unappreciated when I have had like a flop of a recipe. You know, he's always very kind. He will tell me if it's not his favorite, but like, I think there's been one time ever that we just threw a meal out and decided like, we should go out to eat instead. It was.

Unfortunately, it was like a really nice cut of steak. It was like a tenderloin or something, and I had chopped it up into pieces, and then chopped up a sweet potato, and tried to roast them on the same sheet pan at the same time. I don't know why. I was like trying to, it was some, you know, like steak bites and sweet potatoes kind of a thing.

That's not the right way to make steak bites, just so everybody knows. I don't, [00:24:00] it turned out really poorly. The steak got way overcooked because you know, a sweet potato needs to take a really long time to cook to be done. It was anyways, it was great. It wasn't that great. So yeah, as I've gotten more comfortable in the kitchen, um, I've definitely expanded my skills and just trying lots of different recipes I think has been one of the things that has really helped me get more comfortable, uh, because lots of recipes, you know, have lots of different skills that you might need.

And like you said, I think just that repetition of, now that I know how to, how to chop an onion, it translates into lots of other things. And the repetition of doing those. Those basic skills, you just, you get faster, you get better at them. And, you know, sometimes I cook recipes that I'm unfamiliar with and require a little bit more effort.

And I'm totally okay with it because I have confidence in myself that I'll figure it out. And since I actually like cooking, I [00:25:00] like the challenge of it. 

Riley: There even just, I think that the confidence of one skill. It, I mean, the, you know, the actual action doesn't always translate, but the confidence to do something different once you know how to do one thing is pretty substantial.

Roni: yeah, a hundred percent.

Riley: Can I ask you, do you have a favorite cooking memory? Like do you have a story where you were like, Oh, I, I made this amazing meal or my grandmother taught me how to do this or my great aunt, or, um, it could be happy. It could be sentimental. Like, do you have something like that that came to mind?

Roni: I might have to think for a second.

Riley: Or if that one, you know, if you can't come up with something there, like what's your, what's the recipe that someone made that is just like so nostalgic in your mind? Like if you could eat that right now, it would just make you so much. So it was bringing you so much joy.

Roni: Yeah, I was thinking a lot about do I have lots of food memories as I was thinking about this journey because, you know, [00:26:00] talking to so many people on the podcast, there's a lot of people who have very, very specific memories of this was an amazing food experience. This is why I decided to pursue food as my passion, as my career.

Yeah. And. Something that comes to mind, so a, a very nostalgic thing that comes to mind is my mom's homemade fried chicken. She hasn't made, it's been, we were talking about it actually at Christmas time this past sea, holiday season. And, she was like, I don't think I've made. Fried chicken in years. And we're like, yeah, mom, we know because it's so good.

And so that is very, that is very nostalgic for me. I remember being in high school and asking my mom, like, teach me how you make your fried chicken because you make it so good. She makes it with bacon grease. That's the secret ingredient, everybody. But we used to do a lot of, particularly when I was a little bit older.

So [00:27:00] high school age, you know, making. Making fried chicken is no small feat. It takes quite a bit of time. And so my mom would make tons of it, and then We would eat it for dinner that night and then maybe that was a Friday or something and we would have some leftover that we would take for a picnic like a cold picnic the next day.

And that was one of my all time favorite things so growing up in northern Colorado we often would go up to Estes Park on the weekends and just go hang out up there. And so I have very distinct memories of like going up and being in Estes Park and having cold fried chicken like up in Rocky Mountain National Park as our picnic. And I do love that a lot.

Riley: That's a sweet memory. I 

love that. 

Roni: It's very nice memory. A more recent memory than that was actually, I think maybe it was 2021. Me and my little sister went to go visit my grandma. She lived in Arizona. And once again, my grandma was [00:28:00] not very interested in letting other people in the kitchen with her.

But she was in her early 80s at this point. And I, maybe it was just because it was the two of us only there visiting and not like the whole big family meal situation she was like first generation Swedish in the United States. And so she, we always had Swedish pancakes, which like a very thin crepe style of pancake.

I don't know what the specific thing is that makes them Swedish versus German versus the crepe. I don't know. But that was like always our thing. Like when family got together, grandma always made like the biggest batch of Swedish pancakes with lingonberry jam. That's how the Swedes eat it. And so it was like, me and my little sister got to make Swedish pancakes with my grandma, which was really special because she had never really let anybody. Previously because making Swedish pancakes for like 20 people takes forever because you can only make one pancake at a time. So that was really special that that's a special memory that I have that we were able to like that she let us [00:29:00] help in the kitchen and she taught us like her method for, you know, it's like swirling the batter in the, in the skillet to get it nice and even and flat.

So, Yeah, I would say those are, those are two things that I can think of. Ha,

Riley: I'm just sitting over here grinning. I'm like, these aren't even my memories, but I just keep thinking that, like, you just made the most compelling argument for, it's, the food is great, but it's so much more about the connection, you know, like, uh, her spending that time with you, teaching you how to do that, The, the picnic, you know, with your family and Estes, like sure, it was centered around a meal, but it, it is, it transcends the fact that you're just eating.

Yeah, so one of my favorite memories is I can, I probably have shared this on the podcast before, but I remember my great grandmother, she passed away when I was 18, which feels significant because I just feel like most people don't get to have their great grandparents in their [00:30:00] lives.

Till that old of an age, and maybe there's tons of people out there who are like, Oh, I did and, and that's great. I, I just felt, it felt really significant. Um, but she, I remember being a very little kid. And in my memory, her home is, was this teeny little cabin esque kind of home. Little tiny farmhouse.

And her kitchen wasn't very big, but she would make. Well, she'd make a lot of things, but the memory I'm thinking is her kitchen wasn't very big. So because she didn't have very much counter space, she would go out and roll out her chicken and dumplings dumplings because she rolled them out really thin.

And on her, on her like chest freezer, she would go and she would flour it and then roll out her dough and then cut it. And I, you know, in my mind, she cut it with a pizza cutter. I have no idea if that's how she cut it. Knowing her, it was the one knife she had and she cut everything with that one knife, you know?

But she cut it out there. And I just remember standing there, like watching her do that. [00:31:00] I can just, I have such a vivid memory of her doing that. And I mean, her chicken dumplings were the greatest of all time. So,

Roni: I love hearing that story too. I have no idea what your great grandmother looked like, what her house looked like, but I still am able to get this really nice visual that just feels like a really lovely, warm memory. And, yeah, I like that.

Riley: you know, she, she was like, she never aged. 

Roni: Yeah. 

Riley: it was the same age from my first memory of her to my last memory of her. She looked the exact same and, you know, the 18 years of her life that I got to witness, but she never aged and. Yeah, she, uh, I don't know. Yeah, it's a sweet memory. She also would make biscuits, which I cannot remember how they tasted whatsoever.

I do remember eating them with my dad at her house with Cairo syrup.

Roni: Oh,

Riley: yeah, 

Roni: that's some Southern for you right

Riley: very Southern. Yes. She lived in Georgia, like deep South Georgia, middle of [00:32:00] nowhere. It took so long to get to her house and you passed nothing on the way. It was awesome. Except for boiled peanuts. But anyway, this is, we're getting really off track.

I'm so sorry. Like roadside stands for anybody who like caught that and wondered what I meant, like roadside stands of people selling boiled peanuts. And if you've ever had one, you know, they're also amazing. Anyway, sorry,

Roni: I've never had one, but I've also never traveled to the South of the United States. So

Riley: you're missing out. 

Roni: oops. Okay. Well, one of the more basic tips that I wanted to share is number one, read your recipe before you start cooking. If you don't already do that, I highly suggest it. Sometimes when I try a new recipe, I don't take my own advice.

And then I get surprised halfway through a recipe, so make sure you read the recipe before you start cooking. , one of the things that I think is most important about that is just so that you, it helps everything happen a little faster. So that way you're not like, once again, like I said, surprised by a [00:33:00] step that comes in the middle that you were like, oopsies, I didn't realize I had to sauté this for 45 minutes.

Riley: Yes. The biggest issue I have with not like when I don't read recipes in advance, because I still do that. My biggest issue is time. I didn't realize that something had to braise for four hours.

Roni: Right. 

Riley: Yeah, that's my biggest, that's my biggest hurdle. I, so that is why I really, really try and tell everyone, read the recipe in advance.

Because I don't want to be making dinner and thinking I've got a 30 minute meal on my hands and it'd be a three hour dinner. That's a no go.

Roni: I think I told you about my stroganoff issue. I used to have two stroganoff recipes in my plan to eat account and one of them was a, like a Dutch oven stroganoff recipe where you were supposed to put it in the, you're supposed to put the sauce or whatever in the Dutch oven and then, and then braise it or whatever in the oven for a couple hours.

And then I had another one that was like a quick 30 minute [00:34:00] recipe. And the images are very similar. I mean, it's stroganoff. It can't be really that unique. And I would always plan the wrong one and then I would get started on the recipe and be like, this is the wrong one. So I just deleted, I smart enough finally to delete the recipe that was the three hour long recipe instead of the 30 minute recipe.

But this is the reason why it's like, oh, make sure you also planned the right recipe, which you could know by reading it.

Riley: Yeah, that's 

awesome.

Roni: Related to this, I just want to add is I would recommend allotting just a little more time than you think you need for a recipe, even if it's just like 5 to 10 minutes extra. If you guys eat dinner 5 to 10 minutes early, not that big of a deal. But if you're like, cool, I want to eat, like maybe you're having friends over or something.

You're like, we want to eat at 630. This is a 30 minute recipe. I'll get started at six. I'd say maybe start at 545, maybe 530 even. I just always feel like something comes up. My [00:35:00] husband needs to ask me 10 questions and I get distracted from the meal or whatever. It just feels like consistently I'm like, wow, I wish I would have allotted 10 extra minutes for this.

Riley: Totally. I mean, this, there's so many reasons why that's helpful, but, uh, I mean, like what if something, what if you needed to thaw something out and you realized it last second. I mean, it is potentially possible to get something thawed out. You're most likely going to eat that meal late, but if you have started a touch early and you figured out that you missed something or whatever. Most things can sit there and be warm for a little while, you know, having it already ready is great.

Roni: A little related to both of these ideas too is, get your ingredients out for your recipe before you start cooking. So you don't have to do the whole like mise en place idea of portioning things out. But I think just getting your recipes out, having them out on the counter can also really speed things [00:36:00] up.

So if you are trying to make your 15 minute recipe and you only want it to take 15 minutes. We'll get all your junk out of the refrigerator, out of the cabinets. That's the most successful way to make it actually take 15 minutes. I'm always very dubious of a recipe that says it only takes 15 minutes because, once again, I need to do a lot in an extra 10 minutes.

That has never been an experience.

Riley: Yeah, I, I'm in my mind, I'm thinking about a time I tried to make like air fryer buffalo wings for people and my air fryer is just only so big, you know, and you put 15 chicken wings in one in my air fryer basket. I cannot, you know, and so just even thinking, okay, I've got to have. Like three batches of these going in and out, even if it's not in an air fryer.

I'm thinking like my pan, like, I don't want to have three pans going at the same thing at one time. But if I need to have batches of something going, like whatever it is you're cooking in a pan, chicken breasts, you know, a Salisbury steak, like anything that just takes up a [00:37:00] pan and you have to do more than one pan.

Just noting, okay, I'm going to have to do two batches, which means that's going to double my cook time. Yeah, it's just anything like that is helpful. So another one that I listed, one of the most helpful cooking utensils that I use is a meat thermometer. And I, we, you know, we didn't have one for a long time. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I did not think, Oh, this is a cool tool. I'm desperately missing from my kitchen until we got one.

And now I meat thermometer everything from salmon to steaks, chicken, pork tenderloin. Like if it can be thermometered, if it can be food, I temp it. And what I have found is My steaks are that like rare, medium, rare, whatever, however you like your steak, they're cooked that way because temp them to the temperature.

And that's a very easy thing to [00:38:00] Google. Like if I want my steak to be medium rare, what is the temperature? , uh, in, if you like, I mean, obviously chicken is one that needs to be done to like what, one 65. But if you cook it to 165, you will have very tender, moist chicken. If you're cooking it to like 197 because you weren't temping it, your chicken is going to be so dry.

And so what I found is like, people ask me like, what do you do to this to make it so juicy or like chicken or whatever? And I say I literally just use a meat thermometer and that has changed the game on those kinds of things because things aren't getting overcooked. Or the worst when you undercook something and then you turn the grill off and then you have to go put it back on the grill, but then your grill got cool.

Like that's such a conundrum. So. Like using a meat thermometer, these are not very expensive. You don't have to get like the best of the best digital one that tells your phone, you know, what temperature or something is. You can and they're cool, but you don't have to have one like that. And I have found it to be such a, like, I don't [00:39:00] know, like probably one of my most favorite tools in my kitchen.

Roni: I would totally agree. And we didn't get a thermometer until we got a smoker and then we got one because when things are on the smoker, sometimes they're on there for like 12 hours and you need to know what the temperature of it is and yeah, but then I started using it for most of my recipes and it really does change the game.

I totally agree.

Riley: Like, I just feel like we should be like, I don't feel like people are singing the praises of meat thermometers like they should be. Like, I'm just sitting here saying, like, I cannot emphasize to you enough how amazing this tool is, and I don't know why other people aren't saying this.

Roni: Yeah. And I think that this is a maybe. Maybe the assumption is that a meat thermometer is more of an advanced tool, but I actually think it would be incredibly helpful if you're a newbie and you don't have a very good visual on what something looks like when it's cooked, right? Like if I have [00:40:00] diced chicken and I'm going to saute it in a pan.

I've got a pretty good idea of like, I can like squish it. I can also look at it and have a good idea at this point when it is done cooking and not overcooked because of that repetition. But if you've never made chicken before or maybe never made chicken in that particular way before, you're gonna be kind of like shooting in the dark because.

You, you just don't have quite the same skillset yet of recognizing, Oh, this looks done to me. So I actually think that it could be a better beginner utensil than like an advanced one for that reason.

Riley: Yeah, I think success out of the gate is going to be higher. like, and just, again, that success breeds confidence. , so yeah, I just think, like, if you're a new chef, like, run, don't walk, go get your meat thermometer. Everything you make from here on out, you'll be able to temp and know that it is cooked exactly how you want it to be cooked.

And then. I mean, just think, I just [00:41:00] think like when you cook something and it is perfectly cooked and it's, or it's like tender and juicy or whatever, like, or if you're like, I don't know if you're frying chicken in the, in your pan on the stove, like even that you don't want to serve raw chicken that just feels so like disheartening.

You don't even want to cook overcooked chicken, you know, I'm just saying, I'm just, I keep talking about chicken because it's a big one, but, yeah, I just feel like it's going to make you feel more successful out of the gate.

Roni: I love it. Related to temperatures, but not necessarily related to temping is taking meat in particular out of the refrigerator early. So you want before you start cooking, you really want your meat as close to room temperature as possible. It helps with a more even cooking temperature throughout your meat.

And it actually results in more tender meat because, when your meat, you can kind of think of it as like same thing as like water, like when water is frozen, the molecules are like very tight and [00:42:00] restricted because they're ice. And then when they're at room temperature, they're loose and flowy because it's a liquid.

And so the same thing happens to the muscle fibers inside of your meat. When they're cold, they're very restricted and tight. And then if you immediately apply heat to them, they still are in that tight, restricted zone. Whatever you want to call that. I'm losing the words what I'm thinking. Um, and then but they're when they're room temperature, they've had time to relax.

And it just leads to a more tender meat. So this is, I think it's important for all types of meat, but particularly like you spend a lot of money on a ribeye steak at the grocery store, you definitely want it to be a room temperature, temperature before you start cooking. Because otherwise, it might not be as good as it could be.

Riley: I'm sure there's also some sort of technical reason for why this happens. And this is me showing my, like, my cards of like, I am not a trained chef. It, but my comment on meat being room temp is, that it also cooks faster, right? Because it's not, it's [00:43:00] going from, like, if it's cold and it goes right on a grill, it has to then get not cold before it can even start cooking.

You start at room temperature, the cook time is going to be way, way less. And I like that, like anything to make things faster, 

Roni: So we, you mentioned, we mentioned seasoning, kind of general seasoning stuff earlier. One thing that I want to add on to that is salting at every stage of the cooking process. A lot of recipes, if you're reading the recipe, maybe it only calls for salt at the very end and it says salt to taste. Or sometimes like a soup or something will say, you know, like after you add, You know, after you've already sauteed this thing and added this thing and whatever, like, then add some salt and then simmer for a certain amount of time.

One of the things that I learned when I read the Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat book is this idea of salting at every stage, just adding a little sprinkle of salt. You know, when you first start sauteing something in a pan, just add a little sprinkle of salt. When you add the next thing. It's a little sprinkle of salt, [00:44:00] like they're the idea behind it is adding salt for each ingredient, essentially each.

So if you have five different vegetables and you're adding them in at different times, each vegetable is going to need its own round of salt because those veggies aren't salted to begin with. So this is just one of those things that it really helps unlock the flavors as you're cooking, like rope makes the flavors a little more robust.

Related to this and the previous tip is that when you bring your meat out of the refrigerator to bring it up to room temperature, you can also salt it at that point in time because the longer meat in particular has salt on it, the more it brings out the flavor of the meat.

Riley: I love talking about salt. Um, just like two things on this. And this is these, these notes are coming from someone. who is a salty food person. 

Roni: We're salty girls over 

here. 

Riley: We're salty. Um, ask my niece, like sometimes I cook for her and she's like, [00:45:00] Ooh, Riley made this cause it's just her salt preferences are such lower than mine. Okay. But I just want to, so it's funny. It's ironic about what I'm about to say, because there are ways that you can over salt your food accidentally. Some of the ways that are coming to mind are, if you use a seasoning blend,

Roni: Oh yeah. 

Riley: realize it has salt in it. Like many of the seasoning blends I have in my pantry have salt.

And so if you add salt and then you add a seasoning blend with salt, you can kind of overdo it. If you use a bouillon, like chicken or beef or, other bouillon, powdered bouillon, it's going to be substantially saltier than if you made your own bone broth. Cause like when I make my own bone broth, I don't add any salt and then I don't add salt until I'm cooking.

But if you're using a powdered bouillon, it's going to certainly have salt, or, well, most likely it will have salt, so just make a note of that. If you are using broth that you bought at the store, it also probably has salt, so just, [00:46:00] this is kind of an ingredient label conversation, just like, Looking at ingredient labels, realizing what's in something that you're using, because I don't want you to get into a bad spot because you used, Oh, cause we told you to salt at every stage.

And then you're salting at every stage and adding, adding seasonings. And then you are beyond you're eating the salt block because, you know, didn't realize those things. So getting to know the ingredients you have getting to know the ingredients you purchase. That's helpful. And because I know like the, I'm thinking of the bullion powder I buy, I know it's very salty, you know?

So like, I know that if I add that there is no other salt going into this particular step or, or if I'm using my own bone broth, it is not salty at all. I'm going to need a lot of salt. And so just getting to know the ingredients you work with, and then this is that going back to the taste, everything, um, taste it, taste the bone broth or taste the broth you buy at the store, like it's cooked.

You can taste it. Stick your pinky in your seasonings or pour some into a bowl and try them and get an [00:47:00] idea of what the flavor is, what the salt level is. So just kind of getting to know your ingredients can be really 

helpful too. 

Roni: I'm really glad that you brought that up because it is super easy to forget about those things. You know, recipes call for anchovy paste has a lot of salt in it. Obviously, soy sauce has a lot of salt in it. Worcestershire sauce has a lot of salt in it. There's a lot of things that recipes can call for that are very salty.

And yeah, can definitely lead you to being like, wow, we don't want to eat this. All

Riley: And some things you can't come back from, you know, like some things, yeah. Um, because I have two tips that don't fit anywhere in kind of what we've talked about so far. So I'm going to add those now. 

That's okay with you. 

Roni: I have one more salt thing to say, of course, because we love salt, which is to salt your water when you make pasta, potatoes, rice, quinoa, any of those kinds of things. Make sure you salt your water because the grains or starches help absorb. They absorb some of that [00:48:00] salt, give things a little bit better flavor.

You can also use broth instead of water when you're cooking any of those things, even potatoes, you can use broth instead and it will absorb some of that flavor, give your food a little bit richer flavor. And in the case of broth can add a little bit extra protein to the grain, you know, rice and quinoa and stuff that really soak it up.

Just an extra little, a little thing in there. So

Riley: sorry, I've looked at my list and I have more than I thought. Now it's time for random tips with Riley and Roni. Okay, mom. Nap time meal prep. Okay, I know not everyone listening has children. Okay, this doesn't just apply. To children or nap time, even though that's what I started with.

when my kids are napping or when I have a lull in my day, I often will go into the kitchen and prep something for dinner. I will peel a potato and chop it. I will chop vegetables, chop onions, [00:49:00] maybe I'm like using, like I'm grating my garlic, grating my ginger, things like, if it is a step of prep and I have a little bit of time, if I'm making an aioli, if I am, I mean, honestly, sometimes my prep only consists of get ingredients out of pantry, you know, and that is yeah.

It's kind of like the mise en place thing we talked about earlier. Like, it's kind of like prepping all your things, but just getting them out, like they don't need to be open. They don't have to be, nothing else has to be done, but I've got the ingredients out of my pantry and they're on the counter so that my stop, my, you know, like my zero to starting, my starting line is a little bit closer to me.

I really love this with kids because like dinnertime is when my kids start to melt down or only want to be held. And there's some tasks that you cannot do one handed while you're holding a child. Chopping an onion, certainly one of them. I have tried. It is not great. I do not recommend. And so just just getting any of those steps out of the way.

I think if I [00:50:00] was a new chef, if I was a new cook. And I was cooking for a family or if I was cooking for other people, it just kind of takes some of that mental load away because I know, even if all I've done is peel sweet potatoes and chop them, I know I've gotten five minutes of my job done. And that's great.

And I'll take that as a win. So that's one of my random ones.

Roni: I like it. One of my random ones is to heat up your pans before you add anything to the pan. Well, number one, this is a really easy thing. You know, mostly when I cook, most of the recipes that I cook involve an onion or garlic or something. And so I will put my pan on the stove, turn on the stove, and then go chop my onion.

And then by the time I'm done chopping my onion, my pan is pretty much warmed up. This is another one of those things from salt, fat, acid, heat that, is a very simple tip, but can be really important. I feel like I grew up with the idea of like, [00:51:00] don't turn your pan on, you're going to burn the pan. And maybe that was like cheap nonstick pans or something, but It's not the case, at least not with the cookware that I use.

You're not going to burn your pan. You can burn your oil or butter that you put into the pan. So usually I just heat up the pan and then I put my oil or butter in and then immediately start putting, you know, the onion or whatever it is that I'm cooking into the pan. So that way it's only like the oil or butter is like slightly warm, but not, you don't want it to be smoking.

That's too hot. So that's my tip is heat up your pants.

Riley: If you want to know if your pan is hot enough, you can just dip your fingers into water in your sink. And then like, I know no one can see me cause this is a podcast, but you can kind of splash your hand. With the droplets of water on it, onto the pan. And if they bead up and move, then your pan is hot enough and step and move is not technical terminology.

But when you see it happen, you'll say, Oh, it beaded it and moved. You got it's hot enough. On [00:52:00] that note, and one that I can't believe we haven't mentioned, but, having a sharp knife, you said, and then it crossed my mind. A sharp knife is. Like the thermometer, like the top tool that I could encourage someone to have.

Obviously, be aware if your knife is super sharp, your risk of cutting yourself is higher. Certainly. Okay. Kids need to stay away from sharp knives. But it will take a lot of the aggravation out of cooking. Like when you cut an onion with a sharp knife versus a dull one, you want to quit cooking altogether when you chop with a dull knife.

Miserable experience. And so just, just, just noting a sharp knife or getting a knife sharpener and sharpening the knives you have, they will dull as you use them. So knowing how to sharpen a knife, that's a bit of a extra step of cooking. But, you know, my husband does that at our house, so if you've got somebody handy or a dad or a neighbor who can sharpen them for you, you don't have to know how to do that. Just ask somebody to do it for you. So, but sharp is [00:53:00] key. 

Roni: absolutely. Yeah, or I mean, what I, I sharpen knives at my home, my house as well, like on a regular basis, but then also like once a year, I take my knives to be professionally sharpened. As well, we have a cooking store in town that'll do that for us. So you could also do a little research if you're like, my knives have never been professionally sharpened. It really also makes a huge difference. 

Riley: Okay, so I have, I guess, one more, um, maybe two more. Okay, one, this is a bit off the beaten path, but go with me. you are feeling, as a home chef, home cook, that, It just feels like it's not clicking. Cooking's not working. You haven't even found one or five, one to five basic recipes that you know how to cook and like to cook, and you're feeling lost.

I do not believe that food delivery like meal kits are sustainable long term. I personally find them expensive, and they're only covering my dinners, and I'm not going to also, I mean, I'm also going to eat breakfast and lunch, like what about those meals? [00:54:00] So just disclaimer. However, you can learn a lot from a meal delivery kit as a new person who's cooking.

Roni: Yeah. 

Riley: All the ingredients usually come prepped, pre portioned, and there are hand holding kind of instructions. So if, you know, if cooking school is out of your budget, but food delivery is, even if you just got one box, you get to keep all the recipes that it comes with. I think it's a stepping stone to meal planning.

It's that, it's the. It's kind of like me and having my mom having bought all the ingredients for me and just talked me through a recipe. It kind of has that feel to it. And if no one ever taught you how to cook, I think it's helpful. And I know that this tip is probably surprising coming from us and from me, but I really do think that it, it's a really helpful way to start to learn.

It gives pre portioned seasonings, uh, all these kinds of things. And all you do, you just look at it as a learning experience. Like, okay, I'm learning how to cook because it [00:55:00] gave me the ingredients. They're pre prepped, they're pre chopped, everything's done for me. Or some things aren't chopped, but you know, it's all there.

I think it's a helpful tool for learning. I actually

Roni: Yeah, 100%. I like that tip a lot. I have a rando one. If you are making a roux or a gravy or a white sauce, so there's usually three basic ingredients with those. You have butter, flour, and then some type of liquid. Usually it's like milk or broth or the drippings from your turkey or something like that. When you do the process of melting your butter and putting your flour in it, Cook your flour.

Cook your flour for a couple minutes. You don't want to just immediately incorporate the flour in with the butter and then just start putting your liquid on top of it. The, the gravy or the sauce that you're making will have a really flowery taste to it if you don't actually cook the flour a little bit.

This is one that I learned from my mom and, she would make green chili. And the [00:56:00] like roux that she would make for the green chili, she was always like, make sure you're cooking your flour. She was like, I used to not cook the flour and I was always wondering why my green chili tasted like flour. So that's a tip from mom.

Riley: also find that my flour is way more lumpy when I don't sit there and cook it and stir it and like really work with it in that, in that, in that phase of it. So if you're struggling and you're just like, it just won't even dissolve or whatever's going on. That could also be the case too, that you just haven't worked it. 

Roni: And maybe you're not at the point of making your own sauces, but I'm just assuming we've got people in all ranges of cooking skills here. And if you're just always wondering why your sauces don't turn out good. This is my tip. Also, whisking a lot and quickly. Once you start adding the liquid in, you gotta whisk like crazy.

Otherwise, you will get clumpies. Alright, let's wrap up really quick with some of the things that were Going to work on as our own home chef journeys continue this [00:57:00] year, Riley.

Riley: You go first. 

Roni: Okay.

Riley: lot. 

Roni: Um, okay. So it was one of the tips that I mentioned, which is cooking timing. You know, I said a lot yourself an extra five to 10 minutes.

Sometimes I think I need to be better. Maybe just, maybe I don't, maybe that's not, shouldn't be a tip that I should give people. And I just need to learn how they'd be a little more efficient when I'm cooking. So I wrote down cooking timing. Part of that is like, you know, sometimes. I make a 30 minute meal take me 45 minutes and it really shouldn't, but this is also just as a personal, a personal desire to want to like move dinner a little earlier.

I tend to like do a whole bunch of things in the evening and then 630 comes around and I'm like, Oh my gosh, I haven't started dinner yet. And then we end up eating at like 730 or eight, and I just feel better when we eat a little bit further away from going to bed. Related to this. is that, and I think this is maybe one of the reasons why I always allot myself a little more time, is because I forget to start my [00:58:00] side dishes a lot.

Particular things like rice, or like boiling the potatoes for mashed potatoes. Those have been my two recently where I'm like, Oh whoopsies, this main entree only has five minutes left and I didn't ever start the rice. So, I'm gonna work on that. And, related to that is just even planning for side dishes.

We, I feel like I've mentioned this on the podcast before that I am really good about meal planning, but so many of the recipes that I make are just like, everything's in the one recipe, right? Like it's a one pot tortellini dish or it's a casserole or something. And so I don't need to plan a side for it until I plan something like we're going to have steaks tonight, and I never planned a vegetable. I never planned rice or mashed potatoes or whatever. And so I get ready to cook and I'm like, the only thing we have a steak

Riley: Yummy. 

Roni: and I, which is great, except it doesn't really make for like a full meal necessarily.

So [00:59:00] those are the, I need to work on side, I think side dishes overall is kind of my 2025 thing. What about you?

Riley: I actually have a long list. Um, I think I tend to stick to the basics of things. Like, tried and true kind of things. Which I think has got me a little bored. Kind of in a rut. Like, I feel like my meal plans are pretty varied. But then, like, you know, let's just, let's talk about eggs. Because there's about 3, 000 ways to cook eggs.

You know, I, you know, just frying them or scrambling them or boiling them is great fine, but I kind of want to learn how to do other things like poach them make a hollandaise, you know, like, I kind of want to expand. My skill set and, and feel confident in those other skill sets and not, you know, cause I feel like I stumble through, okay, I'm going to make something totally new and it's going to be kind of weird.

And, or is it going to be weird? Maybe it can be great. Uh, anyway, so I feel like I just kind of, I want to lean into like alternate cooking methods. For the [01:00:00] tried and true things I cook all the time. Kind of weird time out steaks earlier. And I was just thinking, man, there's a lot of cuts of meat that you can cook differently or very specialty.

Really enhances the cut or, it can make something that's not normally tender, way more tender. And so kind of exploring some alternate, cooking methods for kind of the same things I cook that we like. and then the other one, uh, I have like one great knife that I love and I use it for everything kind of funny because I just said that about my grandmother earlier.

But I would kind of like to have a better like knife knowledge. So like what knife is used for what and why? And like why does the size matter? Why does the blade matter? Kind of have a little bit more like expert, like can I use this knife for this instead of just using my one awesome, I love it, this one knife for everything.

And then it gets really dull really fast because I use it for everything instead of kind of having some variety with my knives. And then last but not least, I'm the world's worst cake [01:01:00] decorator. And I think, I think I want to be better at that. And so we'll see what's on my list.

Roni: I like that, that desire because that means there's more cakes to be baked this year because you have to bake the cake in order to get better at decorating it. So I'm all for that, that one.

Riley: It's so like think Pinterest fails, you know, like those things you see online, like this looks like a duck when I made it and it looks like a pancake. Like, you know, like, I just feel like I am the definition of a cake decorating Pinterest fail. And just don't, I went to art school and I just cannot muster.

The ability to decorate a cake. Well, I got to find a class and go learn.

Roni: All right, well, this was really fun. I hope that Everybody found at least a few tips in here that were helpful for them and enjoyed hearing about our stories and some fun memories. I really liked that we shared those memories. That was nice.

Riley: Yeah, I [01:02:00] loved this podcast. I hope, uh, I hope it helps somebody and let us know if you learned something that you didn't know, or if you have a tip, we would, we'd love to hear from you guys. What you're like, if you're new, what's the one thing that helped you the most. 

Roni: That would be great to hear. Well, I think that wraps it up. So if you enjoyed this episode, the best way to support the Plan to Eat podcast is to share an episode with a friend or family member. So please do that. If you have somebody in your life who is maybe wanting to learn how to be a better cook this year, this would be a great episode for them to learn from.

And other than that, we'll talk to you again in two weeks.