The School of Living · everyday skills for a whole life
Cooking & the Home Kitchen
Knife, heat, salt, and timing — the small set of techniques behind nearly every dinner worth eating.
Choose, hold, and sharpen a chef's knife, then practice the cuts and setup that make cooking calm.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~8 hours
Unit I — The Knife Itself
Choosing one good knife instead of a block of bad ones · The pinch grip and the guiding claw · Honing versus sharpening, and doing both
Unit II — The Cuts
Slice, dice, and mince on an onion · Julienne and batons on carrots and celery · Chiffonade for herbs and greens
Unit III — Mise en Place
Reading the recipe once, all the way through · Prepping and staging before heat · The clean board: raw meat, cross-contamination, and towels
What heat does to protein and starch, and how sauté, roast, braise, and steam put it to work.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~14 hours
Unit I — What Heat Does
Proteins denature, starches gelatinize, sugars brown · The Maillard reaction and why dry surfaces sear · Carryover cooking and resting meat
Unit II — Dry Heat
Sauté: hot pan, thin food, constant motion · Searing and the fond it leaves behind · Roasting vegetables and whole birds
Unit III — Wet Heat
Boiling, simmering, and poaching told apart · Steaming: gentle heat for delicate food · Braising: tough cuts, low heat, long time
Unit IV — Method Into Meals
Pan sauces from the fond · Recovering from undercooked, overcooked, and oversalted · One protein, one starch, one vegetable: composing a plate
Stock a working pantry and plan seven dinners at a time — less waste, fewer errands, better food.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~8 hours
Unit I — Stocking the Pantry
The staples that make ten different dinners · Oils, acids, and spices worth the shelf space · Freezer and refrigerator as pantry extensions
Unit II — Planning the Week
Planning around sales, seasons, and your actual schedule · One shopping list, one trip · Anchor meals and flexible fillers
Unit III — Cooking Ahead
Batch cooking without eating the same thing five times · Leftovers remade: soups, fried rice, and frittatas · The weekly rhythm: prep day, cook nights, clean-out night
Flour, water, salt, and yeast, measured by weight — your first honest loaf and the quick breads after it.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~16 hours
Unit I — The Four Ingredients
What flour, water, salt, and yeast each do · Gluten: structure from kneading and time · Measuring by weight and why cups lie
Unit II — The First Loaf
Mixing, folding, and the first rise · Shaping and proofing: reading the dough, not the clock · Baking with steam and knowing when it is done
Unit III — Quick Breads and Cookies
Baking soda versus baking powder · The muffin method and the creaming method · Cookies: fat, sugar, and spread
Unit IV — Reading Failures
Dense loaves, gummy crumbs, and pale crusts diagnosed · Overproofed and underproofed side by side · A baking log that improves the next bake
Temperatures, storage, and leftovers — keeping food safe, and keeping it longer by freezing, pickling, and canning.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~6 hours
Unit I — The Danger Zone
Bacteria, time, and temperature: the 40–140 rule · Safe internal temperatures by food · Thawing without inviting trouble
Unit II — Storage
Refrigerator zones and what goes where · Date labels: sell-by, best-by, and what they actually mean · Leftovers: cooling fast, reheating fully, and the four-day rule
Unit III — Keeping Food Longer
Freezing well: packaging, labeling, and what survives it · Quick pickles and refrigerator jams · Water-bath canning: acid, seals, and safety rules that are not optional