I love cooking, but because my mom is too much of a bimbo and my dad too much of a “manly man” to ever step into the kitchen, I never had the chance to learn from them. I grew up on delivery, takeout, eating out, and the incredible food made by the amazing woman who cooks for our family. I became deeply interested in cooking at the start of my teenage years and taught myself through the internet, books, that same woman, and other relatives.
My mom was just an awful cook and my father didn’t cook. I learned by starting with recipes off the internet. The more I did it the better I got. I also started making bread with my sister as a way to bond with her when our family was falling apart.
Once you understand to season to taste and have some recipes it’s not hard. And you pick up more skills where you see them, and grow familiar with new ingredients as you use them. Simple recipes are simple, and while many of them have depths of complexity the fact is you can’t really fuck up american style tacos or baked ziti that bad if you follow the instructions and set timers. And if that’s still a problem start with something cheap like rice and beans and accept that it’ll be fine and you’ll screw up sometimes. The biggest thing is learning what works/doesn’t and why.
Oh also I grew up on good eats which taught a lot. I then graduated to seriouseats and use J Kenji Lopez Alt’s recipes and guides wherever I can, he explains the why wonderfully