Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

livingontheland - [Livingontheland] Start simple and cheap/ cooking at home

livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Start simple and cheap/ cooking at home
  • Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:13:37 -0700


Now I'm going to say my piece on it, about recipes. That's not the best way
for everybody to start learning.

A great many first need to learn simplest ways to prepare the basic fresh
foods - not complicated recipes. The do-it-once and you've got it type. Like
riding a bicycle, you don't forget. How many different things can you do with
cooking greens, rice or potatoes or beans, tomatoes and fruits, cheese,
semolina pasta, olive oil, small amounts of meat or broth - in soups,
crockpots, or pans? And what's in the pantry (pantry?) that needs to be used
up? You get the feel for making meals with whatever happens to be on hand.
After a person picks up basic skills it's second nature. It's easy and you're
encourages by success. Then you keep learning and experimenting and even
(gasp) try recipes ;-)

Where do you learn how to get started in the kitchen? Well, try to find
someone who'll show you. May be a frustrating search, but worth it.
Unemployed? Cooking from basic foods can allow people to live on less than
food stamps. It's TRUE. Why? Every "value added" supermarket item costs more,
every processed and packaged food is priced higher than what goes into it.
And the con is just to get you to spend more, right down to whole precooked
meals. People are exploited for money. Maybe we need to get mad about it.
Then when more can make good meals from the cheap basics they'll try growing
some of them.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net


*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 11/16/2009 at 6:31 PM Tradingpost wrote:

>Terrific, Ken, but that Jamie Oliver piece is too good to leave just a
>link. Here's the whole enchilada ...
>paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>-------------------------------------
>
>Get ready! Better food is coming
>This British chef promises he can improve your dinner -- and even your
>life. Here's how, in 9 easy steps.
>By Jamie Oliver November 15, 2009
>http://www.usaweekend.com/09_issues/091115/091115jamie-oliver.html
>
>Simple, nutritious, downright tasty food doesn't have to break the bank.
>
>Today, we face an epidemic of bad health and obesity. But the great thing
>is that both can be stopped if we take responsibility for the food we put
>into our bodies and learn to cook for ourselves. Although nearly 75% of
>Americans eat dinner at home at least four nights a week, I've been told
>that few of them cook dinners from scratch. Sadly, the same can be said
>for my homeland, England. We consume way too much fast food and takeout,
>and our waistlines and overall health are paying the price.
>
>Luckily, learning how to cook simple, nutritious, tasty food doesn't have
>to break the bank, and in the end, it will change your life! Here are ways
>to start.
>
>Learn to plan ahead.
>
>If you want to save up to 40% on food bills, then learn how to create a
>food budget. The easiest way is to sit down with the people you live with
>and plan out the week ahead. After you figure out who will be eating and
>when, start picking meals. Grab cookbooks and magazines, or pull up a
>recipe website and let each person pick out something.
>
>For more insightful tips and information, including recipes, check out
>Jamie's new book: Jamie's Food Revolution
>
>Think about choosing a variety of foods and colors. With most families
>I've worked with in the United States and England, all their food is a
>drab earth-tone color. That's a serious problem. Add some vegetables, and
>have a salad once in a while.
>
>Sainsbury's, the grocery chain I work with at home, did loads of studies,
>and we found out that many people "sleep shop" at the grocery store,
>buying the same stuff week after week. Most of it is food that is bad for
>you, or because there is no variation, it drives people to get takeout
>several nights a week. So you've bought groceries and you're paying for
>takeout. You can quickly see how the cost adds up. And in both countries,
>anywhere from 15% to 40% of our food ends up in the garbage. If you simply
>thought about what you may eat in the next week, you could eliminate this
>hideous waste and reduce your food bill.
>
>Get others involved.
>
>Whether it is your kids, spouse or flatmates, start cooking together. It's
>our responsibility to pass know-how down to the little ones or a friend in
>need of basic skills.
>
>We live in a time where everyone wants to wrap kids up in a safety blanket
>and not let them pick up knives or cook, and I completely disagree with
>this. By not getting kids involved in meal preparation, you're not doing
>them any favors. Cooking can instill confidence and let young ones take
>ownership in something.
>
>When it comes to new foods or vegetables, parents often will say things
>like, "They'll never eat that." But 10 minutes later, the child is loving
>it because she has created something good. The same principle applies to
>friends: Let them have some ownership and experience what it is like to
>create something new.
>
>Try, try again.
>
>Remember the last time you tried something for the first time, and it
>turned out exactly how you wanted? Most likely, it wasn't even close to
>being perfect. The same goes for cooking. Now, I don't want to promote
>telling a lie, but if your child, girlfriend, boyfriend or flatmate is
>starting out cooking and makes something for you, lie! If you say you
>don't like it or insult the effort, it could crush their confidence, and
>you may ruin their future in cooking. They put effort into that meal, and
>it may not be great the first time, but maybe on the second or third try,
>it's going to take off. At that moment, when they get it right, watch
>their face. When you capture someone's enthusiasm and you offer them
>something to be proud of, the snowball effect of learning and excellence
>is completely radical.
>
>Another problem I encounter is that people find a great recipe, but they
>don't have all the ingredients, so they carry on cooking anyway by
>improvising. Afterward, they say, "Why didn't this taste good?" My answer:
>Because you didn't follow the directions. If you don't follow a map, then
>you don't get to where you want to go. Recipes are your map.
>
>Cook in batches.
>
>Batch cooking will save you a huge amount of time and money and teach you
>how to use your freezer efficiently. The basic principle is taking one
>recipe or dish, which I call the "mothership recipe," and transforming it
>into two, three or four other meals. For example, if you make a big batch
>of Bolognese sauce (traditional meat-based spaghetti sauce) and toss it
>with spaghetti, you have one meal. The next day, use the sauce and turn
>that into cannelloni or lasagna by adding other noodles and ricotta and
>mozzarella cheeses. Later in the week, use the sauce in Italian-style
>burritos.
>
>After you learn how to cook in batches, you can cook once and have maybe
>five to six meals stashed and ready to go for you and your family. Better
>yet, learning how to turn one dish into two, three or four other dishes
>doesn't take two, three or four times the effort -- it just takes a little
>planning.
>
>Stock the basics.
>
>I wouldn't ask you to climb a mountain or go skateboarding without having
>the right equipment. The same goes for your kitchen. I'm not saying you
>need to buy a ton of new gadgets and utensils. I cook all the time, and I
>only use three knives. You also don't need an army of pans -- just a
>couple of good, thick-bottomed, big ones. Eventually, when you get more
>comfortable cooking, you can buy extra stuff.
>All you need is a couple of good, thick-bottomed, big pans.
>
>The second part is your pantry. For $80, you can get cheap, versatile
>ingredients -- flour, rices, couscous, spices, condiments -- to cook an
>enormous range of dishes. The great thing about having a well-stocked
>pantry is that if you go home with some fish or chicken, you can make that
>protein into a Moroccan, Spanish, Italian or French dish. These pantry
>staples will make it go where your taste buds are leading you.
>
>Look around you.
>
>Put a 1-mile, 5-mile and 10-mile circle around your city on a map and find
>out all the great things that are being sold, cooked or grown within those
>circles. Generally, there will be amazing food within these circles at
>some stage of the week. Most likely, there are butchers, fresh fish or
>produce sellers and a handful of other great local product vendors.
>
>One of the best ways to find all of this bounty is quite simple: Ask
>managers at food shops, "Where did you get that?" Look for farmers
>markets. When you get there, ask the vendors where they get their meat or
>vegetables. Never be afraid to ask. Once you find a great shop, continue
>to support it. If you go once or twice a week, they will start to remember
>you, and you can learn more about what you are eating. Also, I have
>learned so many great recipes from butchers and fishmongers -- how to make
>burgers or take some cheap stew cuts and turn them into a fantastic,
>flavorful meal.
>
>Eat real food, not additives.
>
>After sitting through hours of nutritional training, I can tell you one of
>the easiest tips to eating better: Look at the ingredients on the back of
>the food when you are grocery shopping. If it reads like a science
>experiment, then put it back on the shelf. If it has things in it that
>remind you of your grandma's pantry, then buy it. All the food in the
>world that most people love can be made without extra additives. Whatever
>foods get you going -- burgers, chips, kebabs, pizza, tacos -- the real
>versions don't have all that stuff in them.
>
>Stop snacking.
>
>Snacking, in my mind, is the big evil. No one is an angel 100% of the
>time, including me. I like chips and chocolate. But I've never, ever met
>an obese family that didn't treat snacking like meals. In many cases,
>people are eating close to seven "meals" a day. And many drink soda or
>sweetened drinks all the time instead of water. What ever happened to
>treating snack foods like they were only for special times? This boils
>down to taking control of your eating and learning moderation. If you
>can't stop snacking at home, then stop buying those foods, or have someone
>shop with you. Take active steps to curb your addiction to snack foods.
>Look at the ingredients on the back of the box.
>
>Grow something.
>
>No matter if you live in the city or the country, grow some herbs, greens,
>even chilies. Learning how to grow food will definitely change you. Herbs
>do amazing things for your body, and you can use less salt when seasoning
>your meals because you are putting more natural flavors into your cooking.
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Livingontheland mailing list
>Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
>http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland







Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page