This meal will be even easier! Heyyyaaahhh. This is one of my favourites because it is SO GOOD (I love butternut squash like woah) and dead easy. You can also add beets to this, but remember that they take way longer to cook, so you'll need to put them in before the squash. You can also use parsnips, which are nice and sweet, or any other squash, or turnips, or rutabega, or WHATEVER.
The best part of this dish, no question, is the garlic. Cooked garlic is a thing of beauty and you should absolutely eat the big hunks you end up with. If everything has gone well, it will be really sweet and starting to get crispy and YUM.
Tools:
A baking pan
A knife
A cutting board
A pot
Ingredients:
Olive oil
Half a butternut squash
An onion
Rosemary and thyme
Salt and pepper
Pasta (linguine is good, but whatever you've got)
Parmesan
1. Cut your squash in half, longways. It will be sort of hard to do, because squash is pretty firm. But you can manage, I promise. Just be careful that your knife doesn't slip off. Put one half away, and set to work: cut off the ends and scoop out the insides with a spoon. Peel the devil. Then chop the whole thing up into bite-sized (about an inch each) pieces. Cut up an onion into big pieces and throw it all into the baking dish. Your dish should be large enough that all of the food sits on the bottom, rather than being piled up on top of each other. If your dish is too small, your squash won't cook and definitely won't get crispy.
2. Toss in some olive oil, enough to coat everything. Throw some rosemary and thyme, salt and pepper in. If you're not familiar with those herbs, just smell them and decide which you like! If you like one better, use more of it. Add about a half teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Peel one or two cloves of garlic and just crush them with the side of your knife. Throw them in whole.
3. Put the whole thing into the oven on the middle rack and cook at 375F for about half an hour, or until the squash is soft and starting to crisp. When it feels like its almost ready, cook the pasta.
4. Drain the pasta, then toss it in a bowl with some of the vegetables and a bit more oil. Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
THIS IS IT: cooking yourself dinner
We're doing this. It's happening. We are cooking dinner, and we are not using a recipe. I am sitting at my computer and thinking about throwing things in a frying pan and hopefully you are actually throwing those things in a frying pan. So I guess this is a recipe. But you'll quickly find that you don't need to follow it at all. I'm going to put the actual recipe parts in bold, since I have a whole lotta random talking and information in with it all.
The first dinner: STIRFRY. Magical, delicious, stirfry. Here's what you need:
Tools:
A pot
A frying pan
A cutting board
A knife
A wooden spoon
Ingredients:
Two cups of rice
A pound of ground beef
An onion
Vegetables (my recommendations are red or green peppers, carrots, broccoli, and spinach - though if you're feeling fancy you can buy bok choi or something that actually fits the food you're making... I guess)
Vegetable or sesame oil
A small chunk of ginger
A clove of garlic
Salt & pepper
Cumin, chili powder, Chinese five spice, or any other Asian spices you have on hand
Soy sauce, chili sauce, etc.
Lemon juice
1. Cook the rice according to the instructions on the bag. Follow them exactly. This is not something I am good at, and as a result, I have only successfully made rice in a pot a half-dozen times or so - I used to make my roommate do it for me! I grew up with a rice cooker that did all the work for me (hint: making rice is not a lot of work) and I am spoiled by it. But its because I always forgot to set the timer or turn it down enough or whatever and I'd end up with a ton of rice stuck to the bottom of my pot! Gross. Avoid following in my footsteps there. Anyway: rice takes a while, so it can just be quietly cooking while you do everything else.
2. Dice the onion. This means "cut the onion into small pieces." For this you can make them as large or as small as you want, based on your level of laziness/taste/ Maybe you want strips or rings? Cool, whatevs. Later I will post a video of how to cut up an onion. That might sound crazy, but there's actually a trick. Put a little bit of vegetable oil (or sesame oil, if you have it) in the frying pan at medium/low. The amount you need will vary for the size of your pan - I usually use about a tablespoon. You can always add more later, if you need it. Let the oil warm up for a minute, then toss in the onion. You'll know if the pan is the right temperature if the onions sizzle a bit and start to smell nice but aren't burning/sticking to the pan. Cook them for about five minutes, until they're getting nice and soft.
3. Cut up the garlic and add it. Cut it up all tiny-like! Just keep chopping away and then toss it in. And then keep an eye on it, because garlic burns sorta easily, and you don't want that! By now, your kitchen should be smelling totally delish.
3. Add the ground beef! It will also sizzle nicely. If it goes in as a giant lump, break it up with your wooden spoon. Ground beef also has a lot of liquid, so you might want to pour some of it off before you add anything else in.
4. While the beef is cooking (and you can do it while the onions are cooking!), was and cut up your veggies. Just make everything bite-size. Cut the carrots pretty thinly because otherwise they won't really soften that much. Unless you like crunchy carrots! I don't know your life, man. Make however much you want. Maybe you want one carrot and nothing else, maybe you want an entire head of broccoli. Doesn't matter!
5. Toss the vegetables in. Different vegetables take different lengths of time to cook, so toss them in order! Basically if things start out really firm, put them in before the things that start soft. So carrots and cauliflower would go in early, peppers and broccoli can wait a bit. Leave any leafy greens out until the last minute. Like, the very end.
6. Ginger! Peel it, cut it up, throw it in.
7. By now everything should be cooking all nice. Just keep an eye on it, stirring every little while, until the veggies are mostly soft. Stick a fork in there and taste it! Then start throwing in some spices and sauces. Start with soy sauce - maybe a tablespoon. Then up to a teaspoon of chili-sauce, though you might want more or less, depending on how much you like that burning sensation in your mouth. Throw in some cumin and chili powder and salt and pepper. If you're not sure how much to use, just add everything by the half-teaspoon. Add a squeeze of lemon juice for contrast.
8. EAT THAT SHIT. Put some rice on a plate, put some stir fry on top, eat. That's it. Then put the rest in a container and eat it tomorrow! Hooray!
The first dinner: STIRFRY. Magical, delicious, stirfry. Here's what you need:
Tools:
A pot
A frying pan
A cutting board
A knife
A wooden spoon
Ingredients:
Two cups of rice
A pound of ground beef
An onion
Vegetables (my recommendations are red or green peppers, carrots, broccoli, and spinach - though if you're feeling fancy you can buy bok choi or something that actually fits the food you're making... I guess)
Vegetable or sesame oil
A small chunk of ginger
A clove of garlic
Salt & pepper
Cumin, chili powder, Chinese five spice, or any other Asian spices you have on hand
Soy sauce, chili sauce, etc.
Lemon juice
1. Cook the rice according to the instructions on the bag. Follow them exactly. This is not something I am good at, and as a result, I have only successfully made rice in a pot a half-dozen times or so - I used to make my roommate do it for me! I grew up with a rice cooker that did all the work for me (hint: making rice is not a lot of work) and I am spoiled by it. But its because I always forgot to set the timer or turn it down enough or whatever and I'd end up with a ton of rice stuck to the bottom of my pot! Gross. Avoid following in my footsteps there. Anyway: rice takes a while, so it can just be quietly cooking while you do everything else.
2. Dice the onion. This means "cut the onion into small pieces." For this you can make them as large or as small as you want, based on your level of laziness/taste/ Maybe you want strips or rings? Cool, whatevs. Later I will post a video of how to cut up an onion. That might sound crazy, but there's actually a trick. Put a little bit of vegetable oil (or sesame oil, if you have it) in the frying pan at medium/low. The amount you need will vary for the size of your pan - I usually use about a tablespoon. You can always add more later, if you need it. Let the oil warm up for a minute, then toss in the onion. You'll know if the pan is the right temperature if the onions sizzle a bit and start to smell nice but aren't burning/sticking to the pan. Cook them for about five minutes, until they're getting nice and soft.
3. Cut up the garlic and add it. Cut it up all tiny-like! Just keep chopping away and then toss it in. And then keep an eye on it, because garlic burns sorta easily, and you don't want that! By now, your kitchen should be smelling totally delish.
3. Add the ground beef! It will also sizzle nicely. If it goes in as a giant lump, break it up with your wooden spoon. Ground beef also has a lot of liquid, so you might want to pour some of it off before you add anything else in.
4. While the beef is cooking (and you can do it while the onions are cooking!), was and cut up your veggies. Just make everything bite-size. Cut the carrots pretty thinly because otherwise they won't really soften that much. Unless you like crunchy carrots! I don't know your life, man. Make however much you want. Maybe you want one carrot and nothing else, maybe you want an entire head of broccoli. Doesn't matter!
5. Toss the vegetables in. Different vegetables take different lengths of time to cook, so toss them in order! Basically if things start out really firm, put them in before the things that start soft. So carrots and cauliflower would go in early, peppers and broccoli can wait a bit. Leave any leafy greens out until the last minute. Like, the very end.
6. Ginger! Peel it, cut it up, throw it in.
7. By now everything should be cooking all nice. Just keep an eye on it, stirring every little while, until the veggies are mostly soft. Stick a fork in there and taste it! Then start throwing in some spices and sauces. Start with soy sauce - maybe a tablespoon. Then up to a teaspoon of chili-sauce, though you might want more or less, depending on how much you like that burning sensation in your mouth. Throw in some cumin and chili powder and salt and pepper. If you're not sure how much to use, just add everything by the half-teaspoon. Add a squeeze of lemon juice for contrast.
8. EAT THAT SHIT. Put some rice on a plate, put some stir fry on top, eat. That's it. Then put the rest in a container and eat it tomorrow! Hooray!
Stocking Your Pantry
I guess this post should be called "stocking your cupboard," huh? Who really has a pantry these days, anyway?
Buying food might seem like the easiest part of cooking, right? Buy some meat, buy some vegetables, whatever. But when you look at a recipe you might find it needs a whole slew of spices and things, and all that can add up. But here's how to avoid that:
Spices: the bulk store is your friend. There are absolutely spices that you will need a lot of. Personally, I use cumin, chili powder, rosemary, and thyme fairly frequently, so I buy big containers of it. But if a recipe calls for a whole bunch of spices, it can all add up, since spices are pretty expensive. So check out your bulk store and buy just what you need for a recipe. You can also substitute a lot of spices - if you don't have a spice that you need for a recipe, check it out on Wikipedia - it will usually list similar spices and you might have one! Maybe your recipe calls for cayenne and you only have chili powder? No big D, you can just go ahead and substitute away. Lastly: BUY A PEPPER GRINDER. Do not use any of that pre-ground shit. You might as well use nothing if you're going to do that. Buy whole peppercorns and a grinder (you can even buy disposable pepper grinders with the pepper in them, but those are a terrible idea because they will cost more in the long run, both to your wallet and the environment) and work for your pepper! Your tastebuds will thank you.
Pasta, Rice, Grains, etc.
A lot of great meals are based on a starch. Its cheap, and its filling. And did I mention cheap? You can get a giant bag of rice for only a couple of bucks, and a pound of pasta (a couple of meals worth) is usually about a dollar. Its a good idea to keep this stuff in your cupboard so its around - even if you haven't been to the store in a few days, you can always make a tasty meal with a pot of pasta and some herbs. Same thing with rice! And sometimes you'll want couscous, or quinoa, or whatevs. Though to be honest, if I'm going to teach you how to cook quinoa, I will have to learn myself.
Oils and Vinegars
Once you're cooking for a while, you'll find you have an entire shelf full of oils and vinegars. I've got a few different types of olive oil, hazelnut, truffle, sesame, vegetable, and probably some others, and then balsamic, white, red wine, apple cider, rice wine, and MORE balsamic vinegar. But you don't need all that. You would put yourself out a couple hundred bucks if you filled your cupboard with all that right away! You can make due with just a bit: for oil, start with olive oil and vegetable oil. If you're really into Asian food, you can get yourself some sesame oil too! I love sesame oil more than pretty much anything, myself. For vinegars: white vinegar and balsamic vinegar is all you really need. And to be honest, you'll probably use the white vinegar for cleaning more than cooking.
Sauces and Condiments
This is another list that can grow, and grow, and grow, but doesn't need to start huge! It's pretty reliant on the type of cooking you do: if you do a lot of Chinese or Thai cooking, you will find yourself wanting an array of chili sauces and delicious things. But again, start small: soy sauce is always good to have. I like to head to Sanko for my soy sauce because you can get good Japanese brands instead of the grocery store, stuff, but its not hugely necessary. What I WILL say, though, is do not skimp on soy sauce. Do NOT buy the grocery store brand. I did that once and it was the most disgusting stuff I've ever eaten. Kikkoman is perfectly acceptable, but to be honest I would not go any lower end than that. Anything cheaper just tastes like salt instead of the actual flavour of soy sauce. A good chili sauce is also important: the current darling of the culinary world is Sriracha (pronounced "sri-hat-cha") and with good reason, it is delicious! Get the one with the rooster on the bottle. Regular condiments are always good to have: dijon mustard (not ballpark mustard!) and mayonnaise will both be used pretty frequently.
Baking Needs
Okay, I know, I know, we're talking about cooking - but baking is sort of like cooking, and honestly, you'll use a lot of baking stuff in your regular cooking. Truth! Flour is your FRIEND. Want to make gravy? You need flour. Macaroni and cheese? That needs a roux, which needs flour! Unless you're planning on baking, buy a little bag - you wouldn't think it, but flour can go rancid. And you do not want to be eating ANYTHING that is rancid, trust. Corn starch can be good to have around too (for many of the same reasons as flour), same with sugar and baking soda (which, like vinegar, can be handy for cleaning! A bowl of baking soda in your fridge will clear up any gross food smells in there).
Staples
Keep a couple of things in your fridge/cupboard and you'll never go hungry: eggs, onions. Garlic and ginger. Butter, if you like things to be extra delicious. Everything else you can buy meal to meal - meat and vegetables don't last forever, so you don't want them sitting around for ages before you get to them.
Obviously, there are things I'm missing. sometimes you'll need other food, obviously, and you will buy them when you need them! But you could buy all of these things, spend about a hundred dollars, and be able to cook delicious food for a couple of months. It's an investment, yes, but not nearly as large as it might seem, and you will be able to save so much money in the long run, and eat healthier!
Buying food might seem like the easiest part of cooking, right? Buy some meat, buy some vegetables, whatever. But when you look at a recipe you might find it needs a whole slew of spices and things, and all that can add up. But here's how to avoid that:
Spices: the bulk store is your friend. There are absolutely spices that you will need a lot of. Personally, I use cumin, chili powder, rosemary, and thyme fairly frequently, so I buy big containers of it. But if a recipe calls for a whole bunch of spices, it can all add up, since spices are pretty expensive. So check out your bulk store and buy just what you need for a recipe. You can also substitute a lot of spices - if you don't have a spice that you need for a recipe, check it out on Wikipedia - it will usually list similar spices and you might have one! Maybe your recipe calls for cayenne and you only have chili powder? No big D, you can just go ahead and substitute away. Lastly: BUY A PEPPER GRINDER. Do not use any of that pre-ground shit. You might as well use nothing if you're going to do that. Buy whole peppercorns and a grinder (you can even buy disposable pepper grinders with the pepper in them, but those are a terrible idea because they will cost more in the long run, both to your wallet and the environment) and work for your pepper! Your tastebuds will thank you.
Pasta, Rice, Grains, etc.
A lot of great meals are based on a starch. Its cheap, and its filling. And did I mention cheap? You can get a giant bag of rice for only a couple of bucks, and a pound of pasta (a couple of meals worth) is usually about a dollar. Its a good idea to keep this stuff in your cupboard so its around - even if you haven't been to the store in a few days, you can always make a tasty meal with a pot of pasta and some herbs. Same thing with rice! And sometimes you'll want couscous, or quinoa, or whatevs. Though to be honest, if I'm going to teach you how to cook quinoa, I will have to learn myself.
Oils and Vinegars
Once you're cooking for a while, you'll find you have an entire shelf full of oils and vinegars. I've got a few different types of olive oil, hazelnut, truffle, sesame, vegetable, and probably some others, and then balsamic, white, red wine, apple cider, rice wine, and MORE balsamic vinegar. But you don't need all that. You would put yourself out a couple hundred bucks if you filled your cupboard with all that right away! You can make due with just a bit: for oil, start with olive oil and vegetable oil. If you're really into Asian food, you can get yourself some sesame oil too! I love sesame oil more than pretty much anything, myself. For vinegars: white vinegar and balsamic vinegar is all you really need. And to be honest, you'll probably use the white vinegar for cleaning more than cooking.
Sauces and Condiments
This is another list that can grow, and grow, and grow, but doesn't need to start huge! It's pretty reliant on the type of cooking you do: if you do a lot of Chinese or Thai cooking, you will find yourself wanting an array of chili sauces and delicious things. But again, start small: soy sauce is always good to have. I like to head to Sanko for my soy sauce because you can get good Japanese brands instead of the grocery store, stuff, but its not hugely necessary. What I WILL say, though, is do not skimp on soy sauce. Do NOT buy the grocery store brand. I did that once and it was the most disgusting stuff I've ever eaten. Kikkoman is perfectly acceptable, but to be honest I would not go any lower end than that. Anything cheaper just tastes like salt instead of the actual flavour of soy sauce. A good chili sauce is also important: the current darling of the culinary world is Sriracha (pronounced "sri-hat-cha") and with good reason, it is delicious! Get the one with the rooster on the bottle. Regular condiments are always good to have: dijon mustard (not ballpark mustard!) and mayonnaise will both be used pretty frequently.
Baking Needs
Okay, I know, I know, we're talking about cooking - but baking is sort of like cooking, and honestly, you'll use a lot of baking stuff in your regular cooking. Truth! Flour is your FRIEND. Want to make gravy? You need flour. Macaroni and cheese? That needs a roux, which needs flour! Unless you're planning on baking, buy a little bag - you wouldn't think it, but flour can go rancid. And you do not want to be eating ANYTHING that is rancid, trust. Corn starch can be good to have around too (for many of the same reasons as flour), same with sugar and baking soda (which, like vinegar, can be handy for cleaning! A bowl of baking soda in your fridge will clear up any gross food smells in there).
Staples
Keep a couple of things in your fridge/cupboard and you'll never go hungry: eggs, onions. Garlic and ginger. Butter, if you like things to be extra delicious. Everything else you can buy meal to meal - meat and vegetables don't last forever, so you don't want them sitting around for ages before you get to them.
Obviously, there are things I'm missing. sometimes you'll need other food, obviously, and you will buy them when you need them! But you could buy all of these things, spend about a hundred dollars, and be able to cook delicious food for a couple of months. It's an investment, yes, but not nearly as large as it might seem, and you will be able to save so much money in the long run, and eat healthier!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)