Some years ago, in the supermarket where I shop most often because I live on top of it, I saw a special offer package of a much-advertised brand of spaghetti with tomato sauce. I looked at it and did a quick calculation in my head. Buying a package of spaghetti and several cans of tomatoes would give me almost four times as many portions for the same price. Almost, because of course I would still need some of the cooking oil and the spices I already had at home.
A few months later, I was standing in the cashier line when I saw a bag labelled "ham and cream pasta sauce" that had a sticker on it: You only add ham and cream. I looked at my purchase: Ham and cream because I wanted to make ham and cream pasta sauce. And I knew I didn't need anything else.
The main argument the food industry and its associates (ad agencies, media) use to promote their products is that it takes less time to cook if you use their products than when you're cooking "from the raw".
But, for example, when making pasta and a sauce, what takes longest is often the heating of the water before you can cook your noodles!
And that's the same no matter if you make the sauce from simple ingredients or from a package.
Samstag, 7. November 2015
Why this blog?
Aren't there enough cooking blogs already? and cookbooks, and cooking shows?
Yes, there are many publications about cooking,
BUT
almost all of them show you a finished dish or even meal, and what you have to do to make it.
Many, especially the shows, are instructions on how to dazzle your friends, not on how to feed yourself and/or your household every day.
I have noticed that some people I know have grown up in households where they couldn't watch someone cooking and so are unsure even about the very basics, like how much water to use to cook noodles, rice or vegetables.
Others spent half a day in different shops all over a city just to get that one ingredient mentioned in the recipe they wanted to make.
So I have decided to start this blog and write about cooking from the bottom up: see what you have on offer and make something good with it.
Yes, there are many publications about cooking,
BUT
almost all of them show you a finished dish or even meal, and what you have to do to make it.
Many, especially the shows, are instructions on how to dazzle your friends, not on how to feed yourself and/or your household every day.
I have noticed that some people I know have grown up in households where they couldn't watch someone cooking and so are unsure even about the very basics, like how much water to use to cook noodles, rice or vegetables.
Others spent half a day in different shops all over a city just to get that one ingredient mentioned in the recipe they wanted to make.
So I have decided to start this blog and write about cooking from the bottom up: see what you have on offer and make something good with it.
Mittwoch, 4. November 2015
Rice in the pan with...
You probably know stir-fried rice from your Asian take-out. Similar dishes are very easy to make.
Per portion:
cooked rice (from 1/2 cup of dry rice)
1 cup of vegetables
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
other ingredients to taste
This is a good way to use veggies that came in packages too large to use fully when first bought. You can, of course, also buy your favourite vegetable for it. I first encountered the recipe with leeks, for example.
While the rice is cooking, cut up the veggies in cubes or slices or rings. Whatever works best. If you have leftover meat or bacon or..., you can cut that up too.
When the rice is almost done, heat the cooking oil. Starting with anything onion-ish, then the hardest uncooked vegetable, add the vegetables one by one and stir. Last things to add are the cooked vegetables and meats. When everything is nice and browned to desire, add the rice and mix evenly.
Taste the mix and season, for example with soy sauce or an appropriate spice mix.
If the rice itself was a (intentional) leftover, continue stirring until everything is reheated.
Per portion:
cooked rice (from 1/2 cup of dry rice)
1 cup of vegetables
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
other ingredients to taste
This is a good way to use veggies that came in packages too large to use fully when first bought. You can, of course, also buy your favourite vegetable for it. I first encountered the recipe with leeks, for example.
While the rice is cooking, cut up the veggies in cubes or slices or rings. Whatever works best. If you have leftover meat or bacon or..., you can cut that up too.
When the rice is almost done, heat the cooking oil. Starting with anything onion-ish, then the hardest uncooked vegetable, add the vegetables one by one and stir. Last things to add are the cooked vegetables and meats. When everything is nice and browned to desire, add the rice and mix evenly.
Taste the mix and season, for example with soy sauce or an appropriate spice mix.
If the rice itself was a (intentional) leftover, continue stirring until everything is reheated.
Rice
There are many varieties of rice on the market.
In Germany, a medium size supermarket will have at least brown rice, parboiled rice, risotto rice, basmati rice and "milk rice" (a roundgrain variety). Each of them has a different taste and cooking time.
Preparing rice for savoury meals (per portion):
1/2 cup of rice
1 cup of water
1/2 Teaspoon of (vegetable) stock powder
Mix rice and stock powder, then add water. Bring both to boil. Reduce heat so that the water just keeps boiling. Stir and check periodically for tenderness of rice grains: Basmati and Asian rice need less water, brown rice may need more. Cooking time varies, too, but is 10 to 20 minutes.
If the grains are tender before all water has been absorbed, drain in a sieve before serving or processing.
If the grains are not tender when all water has been absorbed, add more and continue cooking.
Ideally, the rice will have absorbed all the water when the grains are just tender, and no taste will be lost with the cooking water.
In time, you'll learn how much water each kind of rice needs. Note it for further reference.
In Germany, a medium size supermarket will have at least brown rice, parboiled rice, risotto rice, basmati rice and "milk rice" (a roundgrain variety). Each of them has a different taste and cooking time.
Preparing rice for savoury meals (per portion):
1/2 cup of rice
1 cup of water
1/2 Teaspoon of (vegetable) stock powder
Mix rice and stock powder, then add water. Bring both to boil. Reduce heat so that the water just keeps boiling. Stir and check periodically for tenderness of rice grains: Basmati and Asian rice need less water, brown rice may need more. Cooking time varies, too, but is 10 to 20 minutes.
If the grains are tender before all water has been absorbed, drain in a sieve before serving or processing.
If the grains are not tender when all water has been absorbed, add more and continue cooking.
Ideally, the rice will have absorbed all the water when the grains are just tender, and no taste will be lost with the cooking water.
In time, you'll learn how much water each kind of rice needs. Note it for further reference.
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