discover your gluten-free cooking level
your cooking level influences your gluten-free satisfaction level
Before I became serious about really learning how to cook, my gluten-free food life was less than stellar. And, being dairy-free as well, it was downright frustrating. I felt as if I was living a “less-than” life in comparison to those not living gluten-free.
Once I learned cooking skills, techniques, ingredients, and flavors, my food life completely changed. Rich and I want the same for you and that is why our recipes are coded for each cooking level. We want you to be able to create new recipes without the frustration of cooking above your current skill level.
The first step in your new cooking journey is to determine what level you currently are at. Then, you can move as quickly, or slowly as you like. See the list below to determine your Cooking Explorer level.
Once you determine your gluten-free cooking level you can use our videos, recipes and how-tos to inspire, improve and expand you cooking skills.
Discover. Cook. Enjoy.
which cooking level are you?
rookie explorer
As a Rookie Explorer, you have some basic cooking skills and generally use 70% prepared foods to 30% fresh foods for each meal. We will provide Rookie Explorers with recipes that not only fit into your skillset but also help you to improve your skills as well.
as a rookie explorer, generally you can:
- Follow a simple recipe
- Chop vegetables
- Fry and scramble an egg
- Cook pasta
- Cook white rice (no, not minute rice either)
- Fry up some bacon (mm, bacon!!)
- Work with basic herbs and spices
skilled explorer
As a Skilled Explorer, you have many cooking skills and generally use 50% prepared foods to 50% fresh foods for each meal. We will provide Skilled Explorers with recipes that not only fit into your skillset but also help you to improve your skills as well.
as a skilled explorer, generally you can:
- Follow a recipe with 5 or more ingredients
- Demonstrate basic knife skills
- Chop vegetables to appropriate size for the recipe
- Dice an onion
- Make an omelet
- Make a vinaigrette or salad dressing from scratch or recipe
- Cook pasta al dente
- Make mashed potatoes
- Saute vegetables and aromatics
- Cook a medium hamburger and/or steak
- Cook a chicken breast and still keep it juicy
- Grill meats and vegetables
- Roast a chicken
- Make meatloaf
- Cook flaky moist fish
- Familiar with many common herbs and spices
- Put a meal together taking into consideration nutrition and visual appeal
master explorer
As a Master Explorer, you have mad cooking skills and generally use 10-20% prepared foods to 80-90% fresh foods for each meal. We will provide Master Explorers with recipes that are exciting, challenging, and, most importantly, fun to cook.
as a master explorer, generally you can:
- Execute all the skills in the Skilled Explorer section
- Recipe, what recipe? Cook dishes without a recipe if you so choose
- Use your knife in an advanced manner
- Make a frittata, omelet, or just about anything that involves an egg
- Make a risotto
- Make mayonnaise from scratch
- Make sauces and gravies from scratch
- Break down a whole chicken into its parts
- Cook all cuts of meat (pork, beef, lamb, veal, etc.) to desired temperatures using various methods (fry, roast, grill, etc.)
- Buy, clean, and prepare any fish
- Make your own stocks
- Identify just about any herb or spice by sight (and taste!)
- Cook vegetables to the desired doneness using various methods (braise, steam, roast, saute, etc.)
- Grill anything and everything
