Yesterday, in What’s for Dinner (if you don’t "cook") Pt. I . I talked about recipes, because some people who "don’t cook" are intimidated by the recipe, and are afraid they will do it "wrong". I promised another diary today, with some additional ideas for how to have fun playing in the kitchen.
As noted in yesterday’s intro
For some of the people that "don’t cook" there is no interest in ever doing so. Food is something that is a daily requirement like flossing teeth. That’s perfectly OK – there are things I feel the same way about.
For too many, though, the reason they "don’t cook" is they think they "don’t know how". This diary is for them.
Substitutions
Can a bookmark wear out? If this site had a physical button, it would be worn smooth.
Cook’s Thesaurus.
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What is Asiago good for? What if a recipe calls for it, and you don’t have it?
Asiago (aged) Pronuncation: ah-zee-AH-go Notes: This grating cheese is similar to Parmesan and Romano, but it's sweeter. It's good on pizza. There's no need to spring for a pricy Italian Asiago--our domestic knock-offs are pretty good. Don't confuse aged Asiago with the relatively obscure fresh Asiago cheese, which is semi-soft. Substitutes: Parmesan (a little sharper) OR Romano (much sharper) OR dry jack cheese OR Sapsago (low in fat) OR nutritional yeast (This substitution works best if recipe calls for cheese to be sprinkled over a dish. Nutritional yeast is low in fat, high in protein and B vitamins, and it's not made with any animal products.) OR oil-cured black olives (as a pizza topping) OR seasoned breadcrumbs (as a pizza topping)
They cover thousands of interesting things, including the mysteries of baking powder and baking soda and edible flowers (if you are out of nasturtiums you could try marigolds or pansies)
Of course, if you are a slightly nervous person, who is just trying out cooking adventures, you might not be interested in that; but you might like to know your options for making a macaroni salad
I encourage you to go explore the place yourself. It's chock full of things you didn't know (including things you didn't know you wanted to know)
Equivalents and Food Scales
Another link I would wear out (if I didn’t have a print out in my kitchen, right by the stove) is an
equivalent list This lets me find out that one medium banana yields about 1 cup of sliced bananas, and one pound has approximately 3 or 4 bananas. Good stuff to know if I’m going to need bananas in a recipe.
This resource ultimately led me to purchase a piece of equipment that I wish someone had given me as a wedding present 30+ years ago. Being the decent, but not spectacular, home cook that I am I figured kitchen scales were for the real cooking pro’s (or semi-pro’s, anyway). How wrong I was – and how many years I wasted chopping onions and finding out I needed more onion than I thought (or had chopped twice as much as necessary). I’ve got a partially used onion in my fridge. Is it going to be enough for the half cup of chopped onions a recipe calls for? Well, my equivalence chart tells me that a four or five ounce onion will get me 1/3 to 1/2 cup of chopped onions. That puppy in the fridge weighs in just under 4 ounces, so it will get the job done – at least barely. (And as we know from talking about recipes yesterday, a few less bits of onion won’t ruin the recipe).
What’s also good to know is that when a recipe calls for a medium onion, it’s probably wanting one not much bigger than my chunk of left over onion. The uncut whole onion in my bin weighs a whopping 12 ounces, major over-kill for a dish needing one medium onion.
In short, go get yourself a kitchen scale. They come in all sorts of price points with all sorts of features. One feature that I really appreciate on mine is that I can "reset" to zero. This means I can put a bowl on the scale and reset it to zero so I’m not weighing the bowl. I will only be weighing the ingredients I’m putting in the bowl.
Spices and Seasonings
There is no way you can have fun in the kitchen without playing with herbs and spices. Whole series of diaries can (and have) been done on this subject.
A boneless chicken breast is like a blank canvas that you can paint with any cuisine you want. Every part of the world has its own unique flavors, depending on the seasonings used. Mexican food relies heavily on chile, cumin onions and garlic. Chinese food features a lot of anise and ginger, and often garlic. For Italian food you want oregano, basil and, of course, garlic. Indian food is all about spices - one recipe for tandoori chicken calls for turmeric, coriander, cumin, ginger, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cloves...and garlic.
Everybody uses garlic!
A problem with spices, though, is they can be expensive – but they don’t have to be.
I recently priced celery seed and ginger at my local supermarket. They were in these little bottles, each with slightly less than an ounce. The ginger was priced at $4.49 and the celery seed at $5.19. What happens if I am "playing with my food" and discover I don’t care for ginger? I’ve used a tiny bit of the stuff, and the rest goes to waste. Or if it turns out I rarely cook anything needing celery seed, when I need it again in 18 months it is well past its fresh and best.
A more cost effective way to go is to buy from someone who sells bulk spices. If need be you can do this on-line. Here's one site, and I hope some commenters may recommend others. This one (Spicehouse) sells 4 ounces of ginger for $4.69 – more than four times as much as the grocery store, and about the same price. Their 4 ounces of celery seed is $2.79 – again four times as much, and waaay less than $5.19 at the grocery. There is still an issue of waste, though, if you decide you don’t like a spice at all, or if you don’t use it often. [UPDATE: myrealname has "it" - Penzey's]
If you are very, very lucky – as I am - there may be a store in your area that sells bulk spices that you can dip out in the quantity you need, even if it’s just a few spoonfuls. My spice box has lots of little baggies, with just a tablespoon or so of spice in each. My baggie of ginger cost me 28 cents, and my baggie of celery seed was 25 cents. Here’s how royally your supermarket is ripping you off: If I wanted the ginormous quantity of a whole pound of ginger, it would cost me $4.99 where I bought mine. In the little bottles at the grocery it would be $106.64
Other Stuff
Another cool site I’ve got bookmarked is What’s Cooking America. It also has information on spices, different cuisines, and some recipes. But the page I permanently link is their chart for substituting baking pans and casseroles. A recipe may call for an 8" round pan, but my pans are all square. This site tells me that what’s wanted is a 6 cup dish, and I can use a 9" x 9" square pan or an 11" x 7" rectangle.
I turn to this one from time to time. It also has equivalents, comparing one cup of any ingredient to its weight in both grams and ounces. Sometimes it has information my other chart doesn’t show as clearly – for example it makes a difference whether bananas are sliced (8 oz per cup) or mashed (11 oz per cup)
For a different kind of spice my bookmarks include OChef. Posters send in their cooking questions and get answers. Delightfully snarky ones – I think it is trying to be the kitchen version of Car Talk.
Just a couple samples
Q What is the proper length to store refrigerated foods?
A Um, they should be between 3 and 18 inches. Smaller than that and they get lost and you find them several months later with all sorts of inedible things growing on them. Longer than that and they just don't fit on the shelf.
(they do go on to answer all questions with serious information)
And on a question about substitutions
But it’s always worth remembering that you may have had a lot of fun on the days when you had a substitute teacher in class, but in the long run, it didn’t do you any good. You didn’t learn as much, or you had to work that much harder when your teacher returned. Substitutes are best employed sparingly.
Bunch of kill-joys. After I’ve turned you on to being relaxed and flexible in your cooking. Hummph!
But I do endorse their views on herbs and spices
Q How do I learn how to use spices and different condiments?
A That’s a little like the old joke, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" — "Practice!"
The universe of herbs, spices, condiments, and other seasonings is huge. It is learned and mastered over years of cooking practice. But the good news is, you can start small and begin now.
We suggest you make a manageable project out of it. You could pick a flavor of the week and find a way to make a couple of dishes during that week that use your herb or spice.
So, if you have been nervous about getting into the kitchen, take their advice – go practice!
(And if you are one of the "seasoned" foodies on this site, add your own advice in the comments)
PS
From the comments last night elmo recommends the Fine Cooking site.
From TiaRachel some pictures of a dish suitable for the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
And in honor of all the Pootie and Woozle lovers here on DKos, we can't forget
Kitty Litter Cake and Doggie Doo Doo Drops
NOW, go play with your food!