'The Kitchen Counter Cooking School' takes out the fear of cooking

Kathleen Flinn doesn't usually get involved in other people's lives to the point where she makes a nuisance of herself, but on one particular day in the grocery story, she couldn't hold back.

After watching a young mother fill her shopping cart with box after box of processed "anti-nourishment" food, she stepped in.

When Flinn asked the mother about her poor choices, why she would pay high prices for food that offered little in the way of taste or nutrition, the woman told her she couldn't cook well and she couldn't afford expensive food.

That set Flinn off on an ambitious mission that started with taking nine novice cooks — from a 20-something to a 61 year old — under her wing and helping them see how really simple actual cooking can be. It led to discoveries on the author and the novice's parts.

The results make up the "meat" of her cooking book "The Kitchen Counter Cooking School" (Viking, $26.95, 304 pages) wherein Flinn outlines her basic philosophy (How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb? One, but the lightbulb has to want to change, she points out).

She addresses the most common fears held by those who spend way too much money for food that basically robs the purse and the body.

She takes on cliches that drive new cooks nuts like "season to taste" and "cook until done," explaining and clarifying exactly what the phrases mean.

She highlights the waste that goes on with food and the money that can be saved by "cooking from scratch" and getting off the fast-food, convenience wagon.

Flinn shares her top lessons (learn to roast, steam, braise and saute) and lists the things she keeps in her pantry as basic starter items (garlic, onion, celery, carrots, basil and chicken or vegetable stock along with brown rice, whole wheat pasta, canned tomatoes, beans, tinned clams, dried mushrooms, and high-quality fresh spices).

She keeps no secrets and includes a number of humorous anecdotes including one about her husband discovering that a person can make a better, healthier cake without the box. "It's good, isn't it?" he said after finding out that it took less time to work with flour, sugar, eggs and baking soda, etc. that it did to read the back of a cardboard box.

She makes sure a few rules are made crystal clear:

Never put knives in the dishwasher.

Cloth diapers make the best side towels.