Fresh ingredients and cooking skills can transform your relationship with food

Author Kathleen Flinn admits to being an occasional supermarket voyeur.

It's a natural impulse to sneak a glance at a fellow shopper's cart and do some amateur psychology. Nineteen cans of cat food can tell you something about a lifestyle, the same way a package of tofu hot dogs can indicate a range of appetites.

A few years ago, Flinn noticed a shopper at her grocery had a cart full of boxes and jars and almost no fresh ingredients. At the meat counter, the woman gasped at the price of chicken.

Flinn, who wrote about attending Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in her first book, "The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry," mentioned that a whole chicken is less expensive. She could section the bird herself and save half the cost.

The woman made a confession: She only knew how to cook the breasts.

"I don't know what to do with the other parts," she said.

While doing publicity for a book, Flinn told this story on a radio show. E-mails poured in from women with a similar lack of cooking experience. And although she isn't a trained instructor, she picked nine women from the group to help build their basic kitchen skills and reconnect them with fresh food.

Flinn tells their story in her new book, "The Kitchen Counter Cooking School; How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks" (Viking, $26.95).

As they learn to chop, simmer and serve, the women transform their relationships with food and understand how the foods they choose affect everything about their lives.

The ability to cook even the most basic dishes is a passport to a different life, Flinn says. If you can walk into the produce section and pick out food that isn't in a box, you are buying freedom.

"If you can't cook, you're putting yourself at the mercy of companies to feed you," she says. "Their interests are primarily financial and not about your health.

"If you can't cook and you're having toaster pastries for breakfast and fast food for lunch and you eat food you microwave for dinner, that's all about companies feeding you," she says. "It's not you feeding you."

Or, as one woman quoted in the book says, "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've eaten Tuna Helper while watching Gordon Ramsay." We've become a nation of food spectators, Flinn says.

The first step to take is to learn what vegetables and fruits are available in season at your local grocery and farmer's markets.

Flinn learned this firsthand while growing up on a farm, but realizes many consumers have lost connection to the land and are nervous about what to do with unprocessed food that doesn't have directions printed on the side of the package.

Supermarkets traditionally have positioned produce sections near the entrance to send the message of freshness and to encourage a buying atmosphere.

But things are changing, Flinn says. Now the emphasis is on speed, with ready-to-eat and takeout portions available for customers to grab-and-go.

"Stores realize that people today are cooking less," she said. "They're doing what they can to adapt to the reality of the marketplace."

The next step is to take time to learn basic skills, like how to use a knife properly. Feeling comfortable using tools in the kitchen opens possibilities when it comes time to cook.

The intimidation factor lessens when you don't have to worry about what pan to use to make a recipe come out well.

Choosing fresh ingredients will keep you away from the pretzel bites and bagel-wrapped hot dogs in the frozen food aisle.

"I'm a big supporter of the local, sustainable movement, but I think food writers need to start spending time in the center aisles of supermarkets and stop fawning over farmer's markets," she says.

"That's where the real story is. People need to choose food, not brands."

Carrot and Rosemary Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1½ cups)

2 leeks (white and light-green parts), chopped

1 pound carrots, diced

Several fresh rosemary sprigs

1 bay leaf

2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of cayenne (optional)

⅓ cup quality plain yogurt (optional)

Croutons (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a four-quart or larger saucepan. Add the onion and leeks and sauté until softened. Add the carrots, rosemary sprigs, bay leaf, stock, a couple of pinches of coarse salt, a few grinds of coarse pepper, and a pinch of cayenne if using. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to simmer until the carrots soften, about 1 hour,

Remove from the heat. Discard the rosemary and the bay leaf. Puree until smooth. Add in additional water if necessary. Return to the pot. Check the seasonings, adding salt, black pepper, and cayenne to taste. Serve warm or cooled. Garnish with a scoop of greek yogurt or croutons if desired.

Cabbage and Chicken Stir Fry

This is an easy weeknight dish. It's also versatile. Try it with pork, beef or shrimp. You can add in a few extra veggies, perhaps those leftover green beans or a bit of broccoli? Just don't omit the trio of the garlic, onions and cabbage as they're key to the flavor.

1½ tablespoon oil such as coconut, olive or canola

8 ounces of skinless chicken, thighs or breasts, cut into 1-inch hunks

1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin

A handful (about eight) cremini, baby bella or white mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

½ head of green or savoy cabbage, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1/3 cup white wine, chicken stock or water

8 cherry tomatoes

Coarse salt, fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Optional garnishes: Fresh lime, Sriracha (hot chili sauce), chopped basil

Heat the oil in a three-quart or larger saucepan over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with a bit of salt and pepper. When hot, add the chicken and cook until browned and slightly cooked through, about three to five minutes.

Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until starting to soften, about three minutes. Add the chili flakes and the garlic and continue to cook, stirring regularly until the onions start to brown, about three minutes. Add the cabbage, tomatoes and a pinch of salt and a few cranks of pepper, and cook for about three minutes until it softens. Add the wine, stock or water, and then cover and let it cook for about eight minutes.

Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve with the additional garnishes of fresh basil, lime slices and hot chili sauce, and with a side of rice, if desired.

Basic Alfredo Sauce

This is a great way to use up leftovers such as shredded chicken, cooked shrimp, grilled vegetables, and so on. Just toss them in near the end of cooking. Use cream, not milk. Start cooking the pasta before you begin the sauce. As an easy shortcut, toss chopped vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, peas, artichokes, and the like into the pasta water to cook them briefly; frozen vegetables work well. Add whatever you have on hand to the pasta, and heat through.

Makes 3 to 4 servings

2 cups heavy cream (reserve 2 tablespoons)

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup grated Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 garlic clove, minced (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces cooked pasta

Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Carefully reserve one cup of the pasta water to use in the sauce. Over medium-high heat, add all but 2 tablespoons of the cream to a sauté pan or skillet. When it bubbles, add the salt. Small bubbles will erupt into larger bubbles. Stir.

When the sauce thickens enough to cover the back of a spoon, or leaves a clean line in the bottom of the pan when you pull a spatula across it, add the pasta water. Cook over medium-high heat for about three minutes, until it bubbles again and the sauce thickens. Add in the reserved two tablespoons of cream, heat through, and then add the cheese, garlic (if using), and a few cranks of pepper.

Taste, and add more salt if needed. Add in the cooked pasta, any additional ingredients and stir well to coat.

Rustic Italian Farmhouse Zucchini 'Sauce' with Penne

Serves 2 to 3 as a hearty main dish, 4 as a side

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds zucchini, chopped into ½ inch dice

6 ounces dried, whole-wheat pasta, such as penne

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup caramelized onions (optional)

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini and toss to coat evenly. Stir frequently over medium heat. Depending on your pan, the heat level, and the size of the dice, it should take 12 to 25 minutes until the zucchini browns and starts to fall apart.

Meanwhile, add the pasta to boiling salted water. Cook 2 minutes less than the package instructs. Before draining, carefully scoop out 3 cups of the hot pasta water. Add 1 cup to the browned zucchini. Bring to a soft boil, adjusting the heat if necessary, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Add another half cup of water and repeat the process until the zucchini takes on a thick, almost creamy consistency.

Add the cooked pasta, at least a couple of pinches of coarse salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper to the zucchini. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the pasta softens. If using caramelized onions, stir them in along with the pasta. After removing the skillet from the heat, taste again to see if the dish needs salt or pepper before serving.