.
From: Stkydesrt
Some Cooking Tips A lot of my style of cooking is because I have more time than dollars.
I can
spend a little extra time to make up for my lack of money. If you have
neither time nor dollars, then some of my advice will be wasted on
you. You
have to have one or the other. Having both is nice, as you then can
choose
how much of my advice to take and what to ignore.
.
Even if you live alone, don't eat standing at the kitchen sink. Fix
a plate
of food and eat at a table. Make it attractive, or at least served
properly.
Otherwise it's not eating, it's just a fuel stop. This is even more
important
if you are feeding other people. Eat around a table together. Turn
the tv or
radio off and talk. It may take a little while to get used to, but
you and
they will eventually like meal times together. Even your pets eat better
and
are happier if you don't just throw the food down to them.
.
Don't experiment with your cooking unless you are willing to eat your
experiment, no matter how badly it turns out. You came to this page
to learn
how to make your food and food budget go further. If you end up throwing
away
food, everyone loses. But if you do experiment, keep a record of what
you
did. If you like it, you will want to fix it again. If you didn't like
it,
you will want to know that too. If it works out particularly well,
or you
have some special recipe you think should be here, send it to me.
.
Make a shopping list of what you need and stick to it.
.
If you have small children, do almost anything to avoid taking them
to the
grocery store with you. Shopping will take much longer, and may not
be a
happy experience for you or the children. And you may be more inclined
to
make impulse purchases.
.
Really small children will want to help in the kitchen and should be
encouraged with safe and useful tasks, and praised and thanked for
their
efforts.
.
Older children may have to be encouraged to help in the kitchen and
need to
be told that they are doing something useful. Don't just give them
the chores
you don't want to do. If they are able and interested let them cook
some of
the meal and you do the cleaning up. They will quickly lose interest
if it
seems they have to do the chores you are unwilling to do yourself.
.
If you know some adult to go shopping with, do it. You can each buy
packages
of some things that neither of you might afford to buy alone, then
take it
home and divide it between you. Or at least make arrangements to share
some
of those purchases, even if you can't go shopping together.
.
Don't buy things you aren't going to use and use all of. Food thrown
away is
money, time, and food wasted.
.
Get a set of measuring cups and spoons and always use them. Guessing
how much
is a teaspoonful or 2/3's of a cup is only a guess and your cooking
can
suffer from your guessing. And even if you are lucky one time, you
won't
guess the same amount next time. I have two sets of each, so one set
can get
used for dry ingredients and the other for wet.
.
I almost always only buy raw ingredients, to cook with and to make
my own
mixes. There is a whole file of recipes, called Master Mixes, to show
you how
to make all those mixes and packaged foods you buy at the store. Someone
is
making money selling you all those mixes, why not save the money and
put them
together yourself? At the very least, you will know what goes in them,
and
may even be using better ingredients. And you can adjust them to your
own
taste.
.
I never buy packaged foods unless I can use each part of the package
separately. Never. Even Ramen noodles contain two parts, the noodles
and the
bouillon flavor packet. I use them more often separately than together.
You
can eat the noodles plain or spread with a little peanut butter. It
can be
messy, but they now sell expensive rice cakes that you eat the same
way. I
find the flavor packets contain more salt than I like, so they are
used
sparingly. Packaged macaroni and cheese contain the macaroni noodles,
which
can go into a soup or macaroni salad, and the cheese packet which can
be
turned into a cheese spread for a sandwich.
.
If you can't use each part of a packaged food separately, don't buy
it, make
it. Master
Mixes.
.
Save good resealable empty containers. Empty peanut butter jars are
very
useful, for example. When I run out of a mix, the next time I fix one
of
something, I put several more measured amounts of the dry ingredients
in
jars. There is my packaged mix for the next time. This works really
well for
cake mixes, for example. You might want to label them, or indicate
what you
have to add to make whatever the mix is for.
.
Get or save empty containers with tight fitting lids to keep your flour,
sugar, and other dry ingredients in. Proper tightly fitting lids will
keep
the bugs out, and bugs will find their way into the cleanest kitchen.
By
sealing the containers, you won't have to buy a lot of bug spray or
throw
away ruined food.
.
If you have a sweet tooth, feed it at home. Or at least make something
to
feed it at home. Homemade cake or brownies will taste just as good
as that
expensive candy bar or cake from the store. Don't pretend that you
don't get
a craving for something sweet. Then you will buy the more expensive
thing at
the convenience store.
.
If you are an American, and unless you have a very different way of
living,
you will like to have some kind of snack occasionally. It may be something
you eat while you watch tv. It might be carrot sticks or celery, but
probably
isn't. Try to find a snack food that you can make yourself, or buy
in bulk.
Some people like popcorn, or pretzels. Some like sweet snacks. Try
to find
something you can make at home, as it will cost less. You know you
will want
that snack, so you might as well plan for it, even if it means not
having
something for desert with your meal occasionally. And if you have snacks
regularly, then you should take that into account when you plan your
diet.
You might cut down on certain similar foods at meal time. Don't buy
something
because you might fix it at home, unless you will fix it at home. If
you
never eat popcorn, buying popcorn for a cheap snack is a waste, unless
you do
fix it and eat it.
.
I save empty jars. It's not a big thing, and the house isn't filled
with
them. Just a few in sizes that I think might be useful. Empty pickle
and
relish jars and small spaghetti sauce jars have a rubber gasket in
the lid.
That makes them very reusable for small lots of homemade jams and jellies.
A
large empty peanut butter jar becomes a great jar to use as a shaker
to mix
liquids, like my lemonade concentrate. Even something as simple as
the empty
container that baking powder came in. If you have ever tried to measure
salt
from the large container, you know that a lot ends on the floor or
in the
sink. Put some salt in the empty baking powder container. Many of them
have a
little scraping device and all of them have plastic lids. You now can
measure
the correct amount of salt, easily.
.
I use non-fat powdered milk and prefer it. The secret, if there is
one, is to
always fix it ahead of time and have it cold. Very cold. If you can
afford
it, but think powdered milk is too thin and watery, use extra milk
powder.
(Properly mixed non-fat powdered milk is no thinner than the non-fat
milk you
would buy at the store.) I find that an extra 1/3 cup of powdered milk
per
quart, makes it about as thick as whole milk, with extra nutritive
value and
without the fat. If you don't have a way to keep it cold, don't make
it at
all to drink, but use it for cooking. (I have a friend who can't stand
powdered milk, because his mother would always mix it at the last minute
using tap water, so it was never cold.)
.
Don't stretch powdered milk or drink mixes or (especially) baby formula
by
adding too much water. (There are children in Africa who are starving
because
a company first convinced the new mothers that formula was better than
breast
feeding, then sold them formula at a price they couldn't afford. The
mothers
watered down the formula to make it go far enough. The company, of
course,
denies all this, or that it might be their fault.)
.
Get some herbs and spices. Most of the major brands are, I think, far
too
expensive. It costs a great deal to package spices in those little
containers. If there is a health food store or food co-op in your area,
they
will probably sell fresh herbs and spices in bulk, very cheaply compared
with
the little bottle or package at the grocery store. But you will need
small
containers at home to store the herbs in. If there isn't any other
source,
and you are just starting a kitchen, even the little sets of spices
and herbs
at your xx-Mart could be a beginning set. But I hope you won't have
to resort
to that drastic a measure. I have included a list of herbs and spices
to
indicate what is usually added to what food. It is more than just a
good
starting point, as it will prevent many distasteful mistakes. Be gentle
with
the use of herbs and seasonings and try to use a variety from meal
to meal.
.
A note about microwaves: They all are different. I'm using the college
dorm
special, 450-500 watts with a turn-table. If you have the 1000 watt
model, it
probably has a 1/2 power setting. If you don't know how powerful your
microwave is, it is very plainly listed on a little plaque on the back
near
the power cord. Like the tags on matresses, the law requires it to
be there.
The times I list in my recipes are based on this small microwave. Your
cooking time may differ. It probably will slightly. Where I state a
pan size
for the microwave, it will usually be an 8x8 glass microwave and oven
safe
pan. In the Meal Master recipe files, if you find a recipe marked for
microwave, then someone has probably tried it and it works in a microwave.
If
it isn't marked microwave, it might still work, or it might be a disaster.
.
If you live near the coast of the continent, and buy only locally grown
produce then you probably won't need to buy iodized salt, as it will
be in
the food you already eat. If you live inland, then you will need iodized
salt. I use a reduced sodium salt, just because I want to be careful
about
it. Americans tend to use a lot of salt in and on their food, so using
a
reduced sodium salt, if you can find one that suits your taste, might
be a
good idea. But I'm not giving medical advice and only speaking of the
way I
cook and eat.
.
And some opinions:
.
Personally, I don't feel you have to be living in poverty to eat properly.
And eating properly is what I suggest here. Taking more time to prepare
foods
and cooking them carefully, can produce better meals than the meals
that come
already prepared in the freezer section of the grocery store or from
using
all packaged mixes. Everyone can eat properly, even if they don't have
as
much money as they might want. It does take time, but not as much as
you
might imagine. You will have to change the way you think about cooking
and
preparing foods. You'll have to do it differently than you are doing
it now.
Fixing everything from scratch doesn't take any longer, or not much
longer,
once you decide that you are going to do it. And then you will know
what went
into everything you eat. I think that is something important to know.
.
Make the kitchen a comfortable place to be, not some place to be only
because
you must. The kitchen used to be the center of the home and family
life.
Possibly you will find your life changes if you make it the home center
again.
.
If you don't have any, get a few cookbooks. There is almost certainly
a used
paperback bookstore somewhere nearby. And look through the book before
you
buy it. Does it really tell you how to fix meals you would want to
eat and
can afford to fix? If not, put it back and find one that does. I have
a short
list of cookbooks I recommend with some comments, and there are many
others
that should be on the list. But most cookbooks are written for people
fixing
their meals from scratch, not from packaged mixes.
.
I don't go out and harvest greens in spring for salads, as my grandmother
never showed me which greens were fit to eat. If your grandmother will
show
you, bless her and learn something that I wish I knew. I don't go looking
for
wild mushrooms for the same reason. I know the wonderful flavor, but
I'm sure
I'd pick all the wrong ones. If you are willing to learn, you can easily
find
someone to teach you, for the price of the gasoline to get to the picking
grounds. (Please get permission to go there - don't trespass. Most
of that
land is someone's private property.) But those things aside, I'm one
hell of
a wild berry picker. (All white berries in North America are poisonous.
Don't
pick or eat them.)
.
Spend a few Saturday mornings watching the cooking programs on tv.
At least
they come on Saturday morning here. Don't watch what they are cooking
particularly, watch how they cook. All the ingredients are ready in
little
bowls, measured and cut up, just waiting to be used, so the recipe
can go
together quickly. Now you don't have three assistants to cut up and
measure
the food, but you can have everything cut and measured before you begin.
Plastic or plastic covered paper small bowls are sold cheaply at every
grocery store and can be washed and used for a long time. Watch how
to cut
which foods, how to cook them. Learn how to cook without going to cooking
school. That seems like the most important lesson those cooking programs
offer.
.
I use modern tools and techniques when they seem better, to me. But
I can do
anything with a wire wisk that you can do with your hand held electric
mixer.
And just as fast, and I get a little exercise doing it. And I have
less to
wash up and put away afterwards. The microwave is great doing certain
things,
and I use it frequently. But if I should find an affordable standing
rib
roast to serve for dinner for special company, I'm not going to cook
it in
the microwave. Find the kitchen tools that will save you time, the
way you
live and cook. Don't believe all the advertisements. Most of the current
crop
of kitchen appliances have been on the market for quite some time and
you can
pick up a good working version at a garage sale or flea market. Test
it
before you buy it or don't buy it. A hot plate should get hot, a mixer
mix.
Don't use stainless steel knives, get high-carbon steel knives and
a
sharpening stone and keep them sharp yourself. It only takes a few
seconds.
You can't sharpen the stainless steel variety properly.
.
I find that carefully prepared food tastes best. If I prefer to wash,
scrape,
and cut the carrots for my stew by hand and think they are fresher
tasting
and possibly more nutritious, please excuse me. I have nothing against
modern
equipment or techniques. But to change a recipe for something baked
in a
conventional oven into one for the microwave that produces an equal
taste,
texture, and flavor is not easy. You don't just use the same mix and
throw it
in the microwave and hope. And since they never get really hot inside,
they
must be disinfected to kill the bacteria on the walls. Something you
don't
have to worry about with a conventional oven that has been cooking
at 350
degrees for several hours. Crockpots are wonderful things, replacing
the soup
pot that always used to sit on the back burner of the wood burning
stove.
They use less energy and are less polluting, if you care, and you should.
But
crockpots must be used properly or they will become a breeding ground
for
bacteria.
.
Read and follow the directions.
That goes for any device - Read the directions. Follow the directions.
.
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