Learning to cook saves money. A home cooked meal is often a lot healthier than what one might order to go when in a rush or stopping in for a quick meal. It is also almost guaranteed to be healthier than a frozen meal. There are a variety of ways to learn to cook and they don’t have to be complex or intimidating.

START SIMPLE

Simple meals are often my favorites. While I do enjoy spices and foods from all over the world, a simple meal of roasted vegetables sprinkled with sea salt, paired with a good bread and olive oil, some slices of cheese and a salad can be lovely. A whole chicken placed on a bed of potatoes and carrots, sprinkled with sea salt and drizzled with just about any type of sauce and covered before popping in to the oven at 350 degrees for an hour as you shower and change out of your work clothes (this is how I roll) is not only easy but it can be super delicious.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

If you have favorites that you like to order out, challenge yourself to learn how to make them so you aren’t spending as much money on them. Pizza is a great example of this. If you can learn to make a pizza dough you like, or buy one if you can’t, you can make your own pizza and easily save money. I sometimes make a few pizza dough balls for our family and place them in plastic bags (reused of course) in the fridge. Then I can roll them out, top them with sauce, cheese and any variety of toppings before putting it in the oven. Pizza dough is basically flour, yeast, water, olive oil  and salt. It is pretty basic.

Here is a recipe for a basic pizza dough. Comment below to tell me how you like it and what your favorite toppings are.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups bread flour

1 rapid rise envelope yeast or 2 ¼ tsp

2 tsp salt

1 ½ c warm water (not hot, just warm)

2 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tsp.

Combine all of the dry ingredients. Make a dip in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the water while mixing. Mix in 2 tbsp of oil and knead until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add flour, little by little, until the dough forms a soft ball. If the ball is too dry, add a little water and knead a bit more. The dough should feel smooth and soft while holding its form.

Grease a large bowl with the remaining olive oil and place the dough inside. Cover the bowl with a plate and allow to rest until it doubles in size. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 balls. Cover each with a tea towel and let rest for 10 minutes. 

Now your dough is ready to roll out and make into pizza complete with your favorite toppings.

If you like your veggies etc. crispy out of the oven, put the sauce on first, then cheese if you use it, then your toppings.  If you put the cheese on top, the cheese will get crispy but may seal in the other ingredients and they may end up soft or soggy which can be good too..  It’s a matter of preference.

If you make extra dough to use later, simply store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. When you are ready to use it, take it out for 10 minutes before rolling it out and continue making pizza. Enjoy! 

Please do tell me how you liked this recipe and what your favorite toppings are, in the comments below. Especially if you have a combination that others might find interesting or different. For me, I like green olives. 🙂

If you enjoyed this article and want to explore cooking with wild-harvested plants, start here.

To learn more about Marilene, Songcroft, and permaculture ethics, visit www.songcroft.com. Oh, and if you like this article, you will love our courses.