From a very young age, I’ve always preferred home cooked meals to eating out. Fortunately my parents are excellent cooks and willingly indulged me. (They are also awesome gardeners and I score quite a harvest on my visits.) But from them, I’ve developed a fairly simple approach to food… avoid fake food. Here’s an easy rule of thumb… if an ingredient is listed by chemical named rather than common name, it’s probably an additive and not inherent to any food in animal or vegetable form.
What this means, practically, is that I avoid processed foods and cook most of what I eat from single component ingredients. I have several simple cooking techniques which can be applied to a variety of ingredients and that gives me huge menu repertoire to draw on. I don’t generally bother with organic ingredients unless they make a difference in flavor (and cost is still an issue). I do prefer organic cooking fats (oils, butter, high fat dairy) because many agricultural chemicals are fat soluble but that’s often determined by budget.
Don’t expect an endless series of recipes because I don’t cook with recipes. I often have a variety of foods on hand and assemble meals depending on my mood. For example: boiled potatoes can easily become potato salad for lunch and hash browns for dinner two days later; crepes can be eaten with raspberry-chocolate sauce or lemon poppy seed sauce for breakfast or late night snack; cooked grain becomes a salad with any vegetable and/or cheese combination I have dressed with olive-oil/lemon juice or sesame-oil/lemon juice mix.
In terms of serving portions, this works for me:
-breakfast: anything goes, quick and small portion (often pastry-ish… homemade scones or basic unfrosted cakes)
-lunch and dinner: 1-2 portions of starch (no more than 1 cup of grain or 2 sandwich sized slices of bread); 2-4 tablespoons of animal protein (cheese, meat, eggs); no limits on whole fruits or vegetables; no limits on vegetable protein (beans, tofu). Fat is not a concern because I control how much I use when I cook. I also don’t like sweet drinks and desserts are for special occasions.
Oh! I forgot… eating mostly whole or minimally processed foods is also better for farmers and farm workers (they get a larger portion of these food dollars).
Friday, November 8, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Salt rubbed chicken (this also works for turkey)
An easy chicken preparation that can be incorporated into multiple dishes…
any combination of chicken parts
about 2 teaspoons salt per pound of chicken
Evenly sprinkle salt on all sides of the chicken (if whole chicken, rub some into interior cavity. (I usually use a salt shaker and apply salt until salt crystals are visible on chicken.) Cover and refrigerate for 1-3 days (1 day for smaller pieces like wings; 2-3 days for whole birds or larger parts). The chicken can be cooked by either steaming or baking (covered or uncovered). Baked chicken will be dryer; baking in a covered dish will retain more moisture and steaming will produce the juiciest chicken. The cooking times will be variable depending on cooking temperature and size of chicken parts. Look here, here and here for some guidelines. I usually steam single chicken legs for about 40 minutes or bake 2 legs in a covered dish for 1-1/2 to 2 hours at 350 degrees… until the juices run clear when cut with a knife. Rest for 10-20 minutes before slicing and serving. Also good served cold.
serving suggestions:
-slice and serve with any sauce, gravy or chutney
-great in sandwiches or wraps
-chicken salad
-top off green salad
-dice and add to any grain salad
-chicken soup (and don’t forget the chicken juice/jelly!)
Reminder: The chicken is already seasoned with salt. Do not add salt to any further preparation without accounting for it, or better, taste testing.
any combination of chicken parts
about 2 teaspoons salt per pound of chicken
Evenly sprinkle salt on all sides of the chicken (if whole chicken, rub some into interior cavity. (I usually use a salt shaker and apply salt until salt crystals are visible on chicken.) Cover and refrigerate for 1-3 days (1 day for smaller pieces like wings; 2-3 days for whole birds or larger parts). The chicken can be cooked by either steaming or baking (covered or uncovered). Baked chicken will be dryer; baking in a covered dish will retain more moisture and steaming will produce the juiciest chicken. The cooking times will be variable depending on cooking temperature and size of chicken parts. Look here, here and here for some guidelines. I usually steam single chicken legs for about 40 minutes or bake 2 legs in a covered dish for 1-1/2 to 2 hours at 350 degrees… until the juices run clear when cut with a knife. Rest for 10-20 minutes before slicing and serving. Also good served cold.
serving suggestions:
-slice and serve with any sauce, gravy or chutney
-great in sandwiches or wraps
-chicken salad
-top off green salad
-dice and add to any grain salad
-chicken soup (and don’t forget the chicken juice/jelly!)
Reminder: The chicken is already seasoned with salt. Do not add salt to any further preparation without accounting for it, or better, taste testing.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
A simple method to roast whole beets…
Rinse beets thoroughly to remove loose debris; there is no need to peel them. Place into oven safe cooking vessel with lid. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1-2 hours. Beets are cooked when a fork will easily penetrate. Allow beets to cool until they can be readily handled. Rub skin off beets and slice as desired.
Suggestions:
-delicious just sliced or cut into bite size chunks
-arrange slices on a plate and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and sprinkle some cheese (goat or feta) on top
-dice and use for any chopped salad
-dice and use in grain salad: quinoa, barley or lentil
-or try something sweet (untested*)
*I've since tried the beet cake. Either the recipe was poorly written or poorly organized, it was more work to assemble than it should have been. I did like the flavor but unless I rewrite/re-organize the steps to improve the work flow, it's not worth repeating.
Suggestions:
-delicious just sliced or cut into bite size chunks
-arrange slices on a plate and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and sprinkle some cheese (goat or feta) on top
-dice and use for any chopped salad
-dice and use in grain salad: quinoa, barley or lentil
-or try something sweet (untested*)
*I've since tried the beet cake. Either the recipe was poorly written or poorly organized, it was more work to assemble than it should have been. I did like the flavor but unless I rewrite/re-organize the steps to improve the work flow, it's not worth repeating.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
If you like whole grains…
…you might consider getting a rice cooker. I haven’t tried a huge variety of whole grains in my rice cooker but the combinations I’ve tried have worked out very well. I’ve successfully cooked several whole grains and combinations of whole grains or small beans with white rice in a rice cooker. The two variables to keep in mind are (1) the amount of water needed to get a good cooked grain texture and (2) need for pre-soaking.
In my experience, much depends on the size and age (or dryness) of the grain (and lentils). These are the exact combinations which work for me:
quinoa: 1 cup grain + 1 cup water (no more than 1-1/4 cup water) results in a nice chewy texture; more water will produce gummy results
lentils (whole and split): 1 cup beans + 1 cup water (no pre-soak needed if beans are fresh, else soak for 30 minute before cooking and maybe add a spoon of water) results in a nice fluffy texture
pearl barley: 1 cup barley + 1-1/4 cup water; pre-soak 1-2 hours) produces lightly chewy, almost al dente texture
white rice: 1 cup white rice + 1 to 1-1/8 cup water produces intact grains with nice give
I particularly like to mix white rice with either lentils or barley (1/4 cup lentils + 3/4 cup rice; 1/2 cup barley + 1/2 cup rice)
Method with grains listed above:
-wash grain with 2-4 changes of water
-to pre-soak, add enough water to fully submerge grain by ~1 inch
-when ready to cook, drain all water and add amount of water needed to cook amount of grain
-put everything into rice cooker and start cooking
-grain is ready to eat about 15 minutes after rice cooker indicator light turns off
Suggestions for other (larger) grains or dried beans…
-soak overnight in refrigerator (try adding ~1/2 teaspoon baking soda to beans)
-add 1-1/2 cup water for each cup of dried beans or whole grain
-Adjust conditions according to the results you want: use less water (1/4 cup at a time) for firmer product, add water for more pliant grain
-note: I’ve never needed to do this but if the grain is too tough, there is always the option of adding water and running it through another rice cooker cycle.
Update: I forgot about millet! It’s not my favorite grain but it cooked up well in the rice cooker. Use 1 to 1-1/4 cup water for each cup of millet. And wild rice! I love wild rice... use 1 to 1-1/4 cup water for each cup of wild rice.
In my experience, much depends on the size and age (or dryness) of the grain (and lentils). These are the exact combinations which work for me:
quinoa: 1 cup grain + 1 cup water (no more than 1-1/4 cup water) results in a nice chewy texture; more water will produce gummy results
lentils (whole and split): 1 cup beans + 1 cup water (no pre-soak needed if beans are fresh, else soak for 30 minute before cooking and maybe add a spoon of water) results in a nice fluffy texture
pearl barley: 1 cup barley + 1-1/4 cup water; pre-soak 1-2 hours) produces lightly chewy, almost al dente texture
white rice: 1 cup white rice + 1 to 1-1/8 cup water produces intact grains with nice give
I particularly like to mix white rice with either lentils or barley (1/4 cup lentils + 3/4 cup rice; 1/2 cup barley + 1/2 cup rice)
Method with grains listed above:
-wash grain with 2-4 changes of water
-to pre-soak, add enough water to fully submerge grain by ~1 inch
-when ready to cook, drain all water and add amount of water needed to cook amount of grain
-put everything into rice cooker and start cooking
-grain is ready to eat about 15 minutes after rice cooker indicator light turns off
Suggestions for other (larger) grains or dried beans…
-soak overnight in refrigerator (try adding ~1/2 teaspoon baking soda to beans)
-add 1-1/2 cup water for each cup of dried beans or whole grain
-Adjust conditions according to the results you want: use less water (1/4 cup at a time) for firmer product, add water for more pliant grain
-note: I’ve never needed to do this but if the grain is too tough, there is always the option of adding water and running it through another rice cooker cycle.
Update: I forgot about millet! It’s not my favorite grain but it cooked up well in the rice cooker. Use 1 to 1-1/4 cup water for each cup of millet. And wild rice! I love wild rice... use 1 to 1-1/4 cup water for each cup of wild rice.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Everyday biscuits or scones
I stole this from another blog but I’ve made these quite a few times with some variations of my own and they’ve worked well…
From the source: A favorite with many whom I've fed over the past decade. The basic recipe is from Julia Child's cookbook, Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom. I've since made it hundreds of times with many variations inspired by notes and recipes by Elizabeth David, Laurie Colwin and Kim Boyce. This is a very forgiving recipe… I've varied the ratio of flour, liquid and fat by as much as 25% and have gotten very good results. The original recipe is below with variations following the instructions.
2 cups flour: 1 1/2 c all purpose + 1/2 c cake or 2c pastry
1 2/3 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar: granulated
3/4 cup: shortening
1 liquid: milk
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
In a large bowl, work shortening into flour until rough meal (do this by cutting with knives or rubbing with fingers). Add liquid and with a spatula fold into the flour mix until well combined but take care to not overwork the resulting dough. Turn mixture out onto a floured surface and pat out (or roll with a rolling pin) dough to about 1/2 inch thick (sprinkle top with flour if too sticky). Fold into thirds like a letter and repeat (better yet, cut into thirds and stack up - the cut edges rise better). Pat/roll out to about 3/4 inch thick. Cut 2 1/2 inch biscuits out with a cookie cutter. Press together dough remnants, pat out, fold once and cut as above. Space 1 inch apart on a greased and floured baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.
variations…
flour: use up to 1 1/2 cups barley or oat flour; try white whole wheat flour (available from King Arthur Flour); add 2 heaping tablespoons of raw wheat germ.
baking powder: the amount Julia Child recommends is a bit on the high side; I usually use a heaping tablespoon for a double recipe.
sugar: for a sweeter biscuit, add up to 1/3 cup sugar; can use brown sugar and other less refined sugars and although I have not tried more fluid sugars such as honey or maple syrup, there's no reason they should not work (see below for more information). I prefer to eat my biscuits with honey so I don't bake it into the product.
shortening: can replace with butter or combine it with some portion of cream cheese.
liquid: this is where the greatest variation can occur… I have used many combinations of the following: water, soy milk, almond milk, cow's milk of all fat levels, yogurt, cream, homemade marmalade, homemade raspberry jam, homemade pear sauce (think apple sauce), eggs and apricot puree*. Just vary the amount of liquid to achieve the proper dough consistency. When marmalade or jam is used, take care to not add too much sugar. Honey and/or maple syrup can be incorporated into the dough as part of the liquid component. I once used some leftover sweetened cream cheese/whip cream topping (great for fruit tart base or dessert topping)… yummy!
Notes:
It is essential to sift the flour anywhere from 1-3 times.
To make scones, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar and replace some of the liquid with 1-2 lightly beaten eggs. Other additives: 1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, dried kumquats are my favorite); mini-chocolate chips; 1/2 tablespoon grated orange/lemon/lime zest.
Apricot puree* can be made by placing ~4-6 oz. dried unsulphured apricots into a oven safe crock. Add water to cover and cover crock. Bake at low temperature (~300 degrees) for 1-2 hours. When cool enough to handle, mash with spoon for apricot puree.
Biscuits can be served with honey, jam/marmalade, used for strawberry shortcake (or other fresh fruit shortcake). A new one for me is beat 8 oz cream cheese with homemade kumquat/orange/clementine marmalade to taste (start with 1/3 cup).
Shortcake… mix 2-4 cups of cut up fruit with a squeeze of lemon/lime (maybe even other citrus) juice (or a spoonful of balsamic vinegar) and a few tablespoons of sugar. Rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes to extract the juice. Spoon fruit mix over split biscuits and top with sweetened whipped cream (or try sweetened cream cheese/whip cream).
post script… Making these biscuits is how I learned to make pie dough. When first started, I would use the flour mix to generously coat the (cold) shortening or butter as I held it in one hand while cutting it with a butter knife in the other hand. I would continue this until the little coated balls of butter were the size of peas. Over time, it became faster to cut the butter into larger chunks and rubbing it into the flour by hand. To make pie dough, find a good recipe and handle the ingredients as described, chill dough, roll and fit to pie dish.
-end original
My current favorite is citrus poppy seed scones:1 tablespoon orange or lemon zest with 2-4 tablespoons poppy seeds and 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin (yes it’s weird but cumin is really good with citrus).
A combination I haven’t tried but have high expectations for is fresh raspberries and white chocolate chips. Imagine this accompanied by sweetened whipped cream… yummy :)!
---
Note:
I tried a savory Parmesan Garlic biscuit... excellent
For a double batch, use 6 oz. of shredded or grated parmesan cheese and 2-3 large cloves of garlic, finely minced. Bake as described above.
---
Note: I used self-rising flour for the very first time yesterday to make cranberry-orange scones (dried cranberries & orange zest). In this case, I was using up some left-over half-and-half from a holiday gathering. The rose beautifully! Better than any biscuits/scones that I made with added baking powder. According to King Arthur flour, the baking powder is much better distributed in self-rising flour and that's what gives a better rise.
From the source: A favorite with many whom I've fed over the past decade. The basic recipe is from Julia Child's cookbook, Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom. I've since made it hundreds of times with many variations inspired by notes and recipes by Elizabeth David, Laurie Colwin and Kim Boyce. This is a very forgiving recipe… I've varied the ratio of flour, liquid and fat by as much as 25% and have gotten very good results. The original recipe is below with variations following the instructions.
2 cups flour: 1 1/2 c all purpose + 1/2 c cake or 2c pastry
1 2/3 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar: granulated
3/4 cup: shortening
1 liquid: milk
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
In a large bowl, work shortening into flour until rough meal (do this by cutting with knives or rubbing with fingers). Add liquid and with a spatula fold into the flour mix until well combined but take care to not overwork the resulting dough. Turn mixture out onto a floured surface and pat out (or roll with a rolling pin) dough to about 1/2 inch thick (sprinkle top with flour if too sticky). Fold into thirds like a letter and repeat (better yet, cut into thirds and stack up - the cut edges rise better). Pat/roll out to about 3/4 inch thick. Cut 2 1/2 inch biscuits out with a cookie cutter. Press together dough remnants, pat out, fold once and cut as above. Space 1 inch apart on a greased and floured baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.
variations…
flour: use up to 1 1/2 cups barley or oat flour; try white whole wheat flour (available from King Arthur Flour); add 2 heaping tablespoons of raw wheat germ.
baking powder: the amount Julia Child recommends is a bit on the high side; I usually use a heaping tablespoon for a double recipe.
sugar: for a sweeter biscuit, add up to 1/3 cup sugar; can use brown sugar and other less refined sugars and although I have not tried more fluid sugars such as honey or maple syrup, there's no reason they should not work (see below for more information). I prefer to eat my biscuits with honey so I don't bake it into the product.
shortening: can replace with butter or combine it with some portion of cream cheese.
liquid: this is where the greatest variation can occur… I have used many combinations of the following: water, soy milk, almond milk, cow's milk of all fat levels, yogurt, cream, homemade marmalade, homemade raspberry jam, homemade pear sauce (think apple sauce), eggs and apricot puree*. Just vary the amount of liquid to achieve the proper dough consistency. When marmalade or jam is used, take care to not add too much sugar. Honey and/or maple syrup can be incorporated into the dough as part of the liquid component. I once used some leftover sweetened cream cheese/whip cream topping (great for fruit tart base or dessert topping)… yummy!
Notes:
It is essential to sift the flour anywhere from 1-3 times.
To make scones, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar and replace some of the liquid with 1-2 lightly beaten eggs. Other additives: 1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, dried kumquats are my favorite); mini-chocolate chips; 1/2 tablespoon grated orange/lemon/lime zest.
Apricot puree* can be made by placing ~4-6 oz. dried unsulphured apricots into a oven safe crock. Add water to cover and cover crock. Bake at low temperature (~300 degrees) for 1-2 hours. When cool enough to handle, mash with spoon for apricot puree.
Biscuits can be served with honey, jam/marmalade, used for strawberry shortcake (or other fresh fruit shortcake). A new one for me is beat 8 oz cream cheese with homemade kumquat/orange/clementine marmalade to taste (start with 1/3 cup).
Shortcake… mix 2-4 cups of cut up fruit with a squeeze of lemon/lime (maybe even other citrus) juice (or a spoonful of balsamic vinegar) and a few tablespoons of sugar. Rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes to extract the juice. Spoon fruit mix over split biscuits and top with sweetened whipped cream (or try sweetened cream cheese/whip cream).
post script… Making these biscuits is how I learned to make pie dough. When first started, I would use the flour mix to generously coat the (cold) shortening or butter as I held it in one hand while cutting it with a butter knife in the other hand. I would continue this until the little coated balls of butter were the size of peas. Over time, it became faster to cut the butter into larger chunks and rubbing it into the flour by hand. To make pie dough, find a good recipe and handle the ingredients as described, chill dough, roll and fit to pie dish.
-end original
My current favorite is citrus poppy seed scones:1 tablespoon orange or lemon zest with 2-4 tablespoons poppy seeds and 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin (yes it’s weird but cumin is really good with citrus).
A combination I haven’t tried but have high expectations for is fresh raspberries and white chocolate chips. Imagine this accompanied by sweetened whipped cream… yummy :)!
---
Note:
I tried a savory Parmesan Garlic biscuit... excellent
For a double batch, use 6 oz. of shredded or grated parmesan cheese and 2-3 large cloves of garlic, finely minced. Bake as described above.
---
Note: I used self-rising flour for the very first time yesterday to make cranberry-orange scones (dried cranberries & orange zest). In this case, I was using up some left-over half-and-half from a holiday gathering. The rose beautifully! Better than any biscuits/scones that I made with added baking powder. According to King Arthur flour, the baking powder is much better distributed in self-rising flour and that's what gives a better rise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)