Too late to learn to cook?

Question: My husband and I are both in our 30’s and vegetarians — eating no meat at all. Most of the food I buy is pre-packaged because I don’t know how to cook. The only thing I can make from “scratch” is spaghetti. Is there any hope for me?

Answer: Absolutely there is hope. When we were first married, Annette knew how to scramble eggs and boil water — that’s it. She set a goal to become excellent at managing our food budget. Now she can cook more than 100 meals. Annette’s mom coached her through her first few months and told her, “If you can read, you can cook.” The public libraries have shelves of cookbooks, including those dedicated to vegetarians. Our all-time favorite is the Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook because there is a picture of every single completed recipe, a real help for beginners. But you should also look for vegetarian cookbooks. You might also get together with friends who know how to cook and learn a couple of their best recipes. And, your husband should get involved, too — together you two can accomplish almost anything.

Cooking from scratch is incredibly rewarding, healthier and definitely cheaper. Take it slowly and learn a couple of recipes at time. You’ll have a few failures; go to our web site and read about “Tapioca Soup.” But overall your family will be better off as you sauté and simmer.