Hi there glad you are enjoying the game so far. The cooking UI could probably use a revamp at some point to make it more intelligible. In order to cook you have to add wood or coal using the buttons in the bottom right. Coal can be added one at a time, however for wood you need about 10 or 15 (sorry I can’t remember the exact number) in order to add. If you successfully add wood or coal you should see the heat count just above the buttons go up.
Different amounts of heat are needed to different recipes. You can use the buttons on the left to see the recipes that you have available. If you click any icon it will display the required ingredients on the right, and there should be a red x or a green check next to each ingredient to tell you if you have it in your inventory. Assuming you have everything you need to cook something the icon for it should show up a little brighter in the UI.
Once you’ve selected your recipe click the cook button. That will put the item in the oven (assuming it doesn’t get made instantly. You can look in the oven using the last tab on the left. In that UI you’ll be able to see what is cooking and how long it is until the item is done. Note, time doesn’t pass when you are staring at the cooking UI, so you’ll have to close it. When something finishes cooking you should see an exclamation bubble above the cooking station in the game world to inform you. Once the item is done you can just click on it in the oven to put it in your inventory.
Hopefully that helps, like I said I’d like to redo the cooking UI at some point to make it a little easier to read, but I’ve got a fair number of things to take care of first. If you still have questions you can reply to this thread and I’ll answer. Or there are lots of people to answer questions like this in the discord if that’s your jam. I’m usually around for part of the day as well, link below.