Cooking Ruts: How to Get Out of Them and Stay Out

Here are a few ideas on getting out of a cooking rut and creating some fascinating new dishes in the process. It's not hard to get into a cooking rut, and sometimes difficult to get out of it, particularly when you're under stress. Try these techniques and give your day-to-day menus a jump-start!

Try ethnic (or international) cooking. There is no better way to blast your taste buds than to cook ethnic foods. In addition to introducing some new spices into your cooking, you will most likely learn a lot of cool cooking techniques as well. Don't worry about tracking down the ingredients. If you can't get those where you live, there are online retailers who will gladly hook you up with whatever you need. I have attached a resource at the end of this article to give you a jump start, but don't stop there. There are many more ...

Try a weird new ingredient. Have you used whole grains in your cooking yet? Okay, maybe that's not so weird, but I'll bet there are a few you haven't tried yet. How about quinoa, for instance? I have attached a website for whole grain cooking that is guaranteed to introduce you to a new world of healthy possibilities.

Try an unusual food combination. Ready, set -- you're about to make one of your usual "boring" dishes. Take a quick look through your food pantry and fridge and pretend you're on "Top Chef." What else could you do with those ingredients? How else might they be combined? If you take enough detours with your everyday recipes, you'll be on your way to non-boring cooking forever!

Try a difficult cooking project. Of course, the word "difficult" varies from person to person. Try something that you think you could probably pull off without demolishing your kitchen. Have you ever made bread? How about pasta from scratch? With the right instruction, these projects are definitely "doable." Food Network even has online videos and past television episodes to help you through the tough spots in your project. I find that when I'm not challenging myself in the kitchen, I become bored very quickly. On the other hand, when I try to make some sauce or bread that I initially was wary of approaching and I pull it off, I seem to gain a whole new enthusiasm for cooking. Even if the final result isn't perfect, no big deal. The next time, it will be.

Here's my last suggestion: watch your friends and family cook. I have learned so much about cooking from my friends and family. If one of my friends can master a complicated cooking technique, then I can, too -- the project seems that much more "friendly" to me. And I can always count on one of my friends to spend time explaining the technique to me. Sometimes in cooking classes, the teacher is pressed to get through the teaching agenda first, and spend time with the students second. That's just the reality of teaching a class. Your friends will help you make lists of ingredients, instruct you on which cooking equipment and utensils to buy, and direct you towards suitable recipes.

I think being in a cooking rut has more to do with one's general attitude toward cooking than anything else. Most of us these days lead fast-paced lives, and that leads to many frustrating cooking experiences. If you're like me, you tend to burn out on having exactly 20.5 minutes to shop, 25 minutes to cook, and 20.5 minutes to clean up the kitchen. (And you have to do all of this on a budget, of course.) Try a few cooking projects over the weekend as a "de-stressor." Once you get good at them, you'll have a few more recipes in your repertoire.

So, the next time you're interested in getting out of a cooking rut and tracking down some fascinating new recipes, try these! Happy Cooking!

http://www.ethnicgrocer.com/

http://wholegrainscouncil.org

http://www.foodnetwork.com/video-library/index.html