Katie Sullivan Morford - Prep the essential college cookbook

Im a mom. Lets just get that out of the way. Ive got three teenagers, all of whom have told me not to try to be funny or cool in writing this book. Ill do my best.

When my oldest daughter was about to graduate high school, I started thinking about all the skills that shed need to function in the world. I went into a panic, realizing everything Id left out or overlooked.

I knew for a fact that she couldnt change a car tire. And I was pretty sure that shed never hemmed a pair of pants or unclogged a drain.

What I did know was that she was a decent cook but that she had more to learn. As a culinary professional who cares a lot about food and nutrition, I know that if youre going to eat well you need to be able to cook well. So I wrote Prep. Its for herand for my two other kidsand now its for you, too.

With fast-food places pretty much everywhere and supermarkets packed with thousands of convenience foods, you could completely get through life without ever having to use a mixing bowl or chop an onion. But a whole lifetime of frozen dinners and drive-through burgers? Depressingespecially once you see how gratifying it can be to cook from scratch.

Have you ever made something from start to finish, with your own hands? Maybe it was a Halloween costume when you were ten or a radio you built in middle school, but the end product made you feel the same: proud, excited to show it off. Cooking is like that, only your supplies are things such as butter and flour and your tools are pots and pans.

Best of all? You get to eat what you make.

Here are some of the best reasons to cook:

Homemade food tastes good. If youve ever roasted a hot dog over a campfire or eaten a pile of pancakes right out of a buttered skillet on the stove, you know what Im talking about. Yes, eating food out of take-out containers can be tasty, but with a bit of practice, nothing will be better than the food you cook in your own kitchen.

It saves money. By and large, cooking at home costs less than eating out. Period. You wont always be under your parents roof with them paying your food bills, so itll be handy to know how to shop and cook on a budget when you have to think about things such as covering rent or the electric bill.

Its better for you. Meals cooked at home are almost always better for youlower in calories, unhealthy fats, sugar, and sodiumthan food from restaurants. As a result, the people who eat home-cooked food are less likely to be overweight and more likely to be healthier.

Its better for the environment. All the boxes and bags, paper cups and plastic spoons that come with takeout and convenience foods take a real toll on the environment. Cooking at home leaves a lighter carbon footprint, especially if you bring your own bags when you grocery shop.

Its an instant mood elevator. It may sound dramatic, but its true. If ever Im a little down, nothing picks me up faster than getting in front of the stove and making something good to eat for myself or someone else.

You can feed your friends. Whether its a batch of cupcakes or a pan of mac and cheese, making food for friends is one of the best ways I know to care for the people you like or even love. Yes, you can feed friends with pizza delivery, but consider how much more fun it might be to make your own pizza and maybe a salad to go with it. Invite your pals to pitch in and see for yourself why homemade food is so much better than anything that arrives in a box.

Prep includes ten different recipe chapters that collectively cover a broad range of culinary know-how:

Maybe youve spent every day of your childhood at your parents side learning the ropes in the kitchen. Or maybe youve never picked up a spatula before today. Either way, this part of the book will arm you with the fundamentals to ease your way into the kitchen. If I had to guess, many of you will skip over this section entirely, preferring to dive right into the recipes. Totally understandable, but at the very least, check out the list of 8 tips below. They will serve you well.