Try This The Washington Post

Learn how to enjoy cooking by identifying parts of your personality outside the kitchen that will set you up for success in the kitchen.

In the second class of our course about ways to enjoy the daily task of preparing meals, we make the case for revisiting what you know. Washington Post food and dining editor Joe Yonan, along with recipes editor Becky Krystal and food writer Aaron Hutcherson, explain how building a repertoire can be a useful way to take the drudgery out of cooking, put it on a bit of autopilot and build up your kitchen confidence. Host Cristina Quinn helps listeners identify recipes that resonate, master them through practice and level up by making small tweaks and enhancements that can be unique to the chef.

Find more than 10,000 recipes – sortable by cuisine, course and the time it takes to cook – in The Washington Post’s recipe finder. Try one of Cristina’s favorite recipes, Mushroom and Black Bean Burgers With Balsamic-Glazed Onions.

In the third class in our course on how to enjoy cooking more, we focus on reframing the way we think about the task. Food writer and finalist on “Food Network Star,” Mary Beth Albright, offers advice on how to understand cooking as less of an item on your to-do list and more of an act for you that can nourish your well-being in ways that are worth recognizing. Mary Beth lays out ways that the process of cooking has benefits for our mental and emotional health through meditative tasks, appreciating rituals, and having a little fun by naming the things you cook.

For more on the relationship between food, cooking and mental health, read Mary Beth’s book, “Eat and Flourish.”

In the last class in our course on how to enjoy cooking more, we bring you everything and the kitchen sink. From reliable shortcuts and suggestions for the most essential pantry staples, this class has all the scraps and tasty morsels that could have been left on the cutting-room floor but are too good to miss.

For more on the relationship between food, cooking and mental health, read Mary Beth Albright’s book “Eat and Flourish.”

Find more than 10,000 recipes – sortable by cuisine, course and time it takes to cook – in The Washington Post’s recipe finder. Try one of Cristina’s favorite recipes, Quinoa and Roasted Vegetable Bake With Gruyere.

In the first class of our course on making the most of your friendships, host Cristina Quinn learns what it means to be socially fit — and why it’s never too late to start getting those reps in.

In class two of our course on friendship, you’ll learn how to get out of your comfort zone when it comes to fostering new friendships or resuscitating old ones.