7: What to buy???

I'm not very familiar with ingredients because before all I really care about was having a great food to eat. I never have a problem with food because our personal cook really cooks fine. But you know the leisure of having someone to cook for our family isn't really good at all because this had been the problem why I couldn't cook well. Actually, why we (with the exemption of my father) couldn't cook well.

Since lately I am really interested in cooking, I have been studying how to cook. But the effect of barely knowing anything about cooking is becoming a problem. You see I was learning how to cook with different ingredients without the help of cook books or recipes in the net. In doing this, I have to experiment but while I was in the grocery with my mom I was having a hard time thinking of what to buy.

While I was in vegetable section scanning the piles of different veggies to buy I was thinking how this particular vegetable tastes like. I did not want to rely to my mom. I wanted to rely to my senses and what I know of in picking what I wanted to pick but I got confused with what's the differences. I also got confused when I think about how this particular ingredient taste like and how it would taste like. While I got confuse of what to pick, there's something I am sure of: Cooking by the book, by the instructions was much easier than coming up with my own.

While I was there thinking, I don't understand the difference between red pepper and green pepper. Our local version of lemon (Calamansi) and lemon. If I should use a butter or oil and if I use oil should I use a canola, coconut, olive ... Chinese cabbage, red cabbage or cabbage. I mean it should have a little difference right? Also, I wondered if I should go for pork, chicken, fish, or meat. I also have to think about what's the best part to buy.

I stood over the fresh vegetable section sniffing lemon, when I realize that I have to know what's the differences or how ingredients tastes like before coming up with my own original recipe. I also need to be familiar with the ingredients because some of what I saw was completely foreign to me.

I guess it's too early for me to cook by my own. So for now I am going to concentrate in knowing how ingredient tastes, skip experimenting (for now), and learn more.

Oh well, happy eating!