Speed Cooking

While the intrepid cook never seems to lose his composure (at least not until the end) I know I've felt the same type of pressure to get a meal out quickly.



Have a couple goto meals you can turn out in 15 minutes or less. Make sure that it's not just junk food. It's fine to use some prepared foods just make sure you have some fresh foods as well. My favorite last minute meal:

Grilled Cheese

• Shredded Cheddar
• Tomato Slices
• Dijon Mustard
• French Bread Sliced Thin
• Olive oil for browning
  

Tomato Salad

• Tomatoes (Cherry or Sliced)
• Cucumber (Sliced)
• Onion (Slice)
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Olive Oil (Optional)

Baked Beans

• Canned baked beans
• Mustard and Ketchup (to taste)

If I've got it I'll serve cantaloupe slices also. It's your own picnic. It's primitive, tasty and it makes for great leftovers. It also only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish.

100 Mile Diet

We've not completely embraced organic foods. I try to serve organic foods that are better than conventionally grown or raised. Just because something is labeled organic I need to know why it's better than a conventionally grown product, it's the Scotsman in me. Consumer Reports put out a guide for what type of foods are best to buy organically and which you could by conventionally. My personal belief is that if you want to buy 100% organic and you can afford too you're making a smart choice. But realistically most of us want the most of our money.

With the recent scares with our food supply. I'm thinking of trying the 100 Mile Diet. Does it sound extreme? I'm not going to lie; you'll have to pull the artichokes from my cold fingers to get me to stop eating them. But with everything that can go wrong with food do I really want to have to worry if my meat was fed lead base paint in a trough that is made from depleated uranium?

I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Banana Honey Nut Bread

I love bananas and I love cake. This recipe takes care of both. Plus it's easy to make and comes our great every time. Variations of this recipe add 1/2 cups of blueberries or currents or frost the loaves and serve as dessert.

Banana Honey Nut Bread

• 1/3 cups shortening, butter flavored if available
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
  
• 4 eggs
• 3.5 cups flour, all-purpose
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 (3 cups) bananas, over ripe and mashed (Little known fact, children love to mash)
  
• 1 cup pecans, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two bread pans or six mini-bread pans.
2. In a large bowl, combine shortening and sugar and mix completely. (Children can add the ingredients)
   
3. Add eggs to bowl and mix until combined.
4. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
   
5. Stir half of the flour mixture and half of the bananas into the sugar mixture mix until combined. Add remaining flour and bananas and mix until combined. (Let the sous chef mix this time)
   
6. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans. (Kids work the spatula here)
   
7. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes rotate pans and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
8. Enjoy.
   

Makes approximately six mini-loafs with six servings per loaf.
Prep Time 15 min
Cook Time 40-45 min
Total Time 1 hour

Gear for the wee littles

growingcooks.com

I just wish we could get past the pink and white and have more unisex colors.

Tomorrow, turning your three year old into a sous chef.

Where's the beef?

Remember that little old lady that was given the bait and switch, Wendy's made it all better. I try to stay away from prepackaged ground meats. If I want ground meat I'll ask the butcher at the local grocery store to grind a chuck roast or brisket for me. I figure that way it only comes from one animal and is less processed. It turns out to be about the same price and tastes just as good.

Remember with meat the more load the muscle carries while alive the more fibrous it will be when you eat it. When cooking meat that is fibrous slow moist cooking will knock the fight right out of.

Yorkshire Pudding

Yorkshire Pudding

2 cup Flour, All Purpose 2 cup milk 4 medium eggs 1 tsp salt ½ cup broth beef and roast drippings 2 tbs butter, cut in two equal parts 1 Remove meat from roasting pan, increase oven temperature to 450°. Pour ½ cup of the pan drippings into a measuring cup. If necessary, add enough beef broth to drippings to equal ½ cup. Remove any excess drippings from pan. Pour the measured drippings back into the roasting pan. Put butter into pan 2 In a mixing bowl combine eggs and milk mix gently until combined. Add flour, salt and two tsp of pan drippings. Mix until smooth. 3 Place pan into oven until pan is hot and butter melts. Approx 5-7 minutes. Pour batter into roasting pan and return it to the 450° oven. Bake for 10 minutes. 4 After 10 minutes reduce heat to 350° and bake for 15 minutes or until puffy and golden. Cut into 12 squares. 5 Enjoy. Servings: 8 Nutrition Facts Serving size: 1 serving Percent daily values based on a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. Amount Per Serving Calories 205.40 Calories From Fat (29%) 60.00 % Daily Value Total Fat 6.76g 10% Saturated Fat 3.32g 17% Cholesterol 105.76mg 35% Sodium 510.79mg 21% Potassium 155.33mg 4% Carbohydrates 26.87g 9% Dietary Fiber 0.84g 3% Sugar 3.34g Sugar Alcohols 0.00g Net Carbohydrates 26.03g Protein 8.52g 17%

No time to cook

It's spawn's birthday soon, he's gonna be three. Me and the wife have been trying to get the house birthday party ready while fighting a stomach bug. With all the goings on I've not had time to cook much of anything this weekend. I think to prevent this from happening in the future I'm going to freeze some emergency meals to make it easier to just to eat a homemade meal.

When time is tight breakfast is easy:

whole wheat toast with cream cheese and a bit of jelly
fruit (usually banana)
tomato juice, low sodium

The boy loves it and I can have breakfast made and done in 10 minutes. It's dinners that usually throw off my good intentions of cooking.

How do you make time for cookings when busy?

Curried Chicken Salad

This is a great last minute recipe. I usually make it with half of a Costco rotisserie chicken. Just de-bone the chicken and cut the meat into half inch cubes. While the chicken is loaded with sodium it's tasty and quick. Serve open face on rye bread, add couscous and a spinach salad and your set for the night with leftovers for lunch.

Chicken Curry Salad
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
• 1/4-1/2 cup mayonnaise or plain yogurt
  
• 1-2 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 stalks celery, chopped fine
• 1 small onion, chopped fine (optional)
  
• 1/4 cup currents or raisins
• 1/4 cup pistachios or almonds, chopped
• pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, stir in half the mayonnaise, half the curry powder, celery, onion, currents and pistachios until well blended.
   
2. Add the chunk chicken and mix until blended. Use remaining mayonnaise and curry to achieve desired creaminess and taste.
3. If time chill for 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
4. Serve and enjoy.
   

Gearing your Kitchen

The New York Post has a great article abut the minimum equipment needed for an effective kitchen. It's a great list but I would change a few.

Get two lids if for no other reason: less splatter = quicker cleanup. Two baking sheets and a couple of cooling racks will make baking much faster since you can prep one pan while one is in the oven plus once you bake bacon in the oven you'll never go back to the stove top. Trade the instant read thermometer with a remote thermometer, pick one up at Target for $10 more. It's more versatile and allows you to set alarms when your food hits proper temperatures. Add a wine bottle opener. I'd also splurge and get hard anodized pans. Save money, leave out the mandoline. Cook for a couple months; you'll be slicing like a pro with the chef's knife. A microwave is a must you can use it for more than making popcorn. To clean up make sure you have plenty of tea towels. Use three or four while cooking. Try different colored towels to prevent cross contamination one towel each for raw meats, raw vegetables, cooking and clean up. Green for raw, red for cooked and black for cleanup is my system.

That said Mark's list is complete and would serve any family cook.

A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks

By MARK BITTMAN

Published: May 9, 2007

Description	Price
7 quart saucepan	13.95
3 quart saucepan	9.00
1 quart saucepan	6.50
Pot cover (for above)	4.95
10 inch non-stick frying pan	12.95
14 inch deep sided skillet with handles	25.50
13x18 inch sheet pen	5.75
Loaf pan, nonstick	4.95
Roasting pan	6.50
1½ quart mixing bowl	0.95
3 quart mixing bowl	1.95
5 quart mixing bowl	2.25
Measuring cups	6.50
6 inch strainer	2.75
Peeler	2.95
Skimmer	1.95
14 inch aluminum colander	6.95
2 wooden spoons .95	1.90
Slotted spoon	1.45
13 inch solid spoon	1.25
Bread Knife	7.95
8 inch chef's knife	9.95
Paring knife	2.95
Heat-resistant spatula	4.50
9 inch tongs	3.50
12 inch whisk	3.25
6 ounce ladle	2.50
12x18-inch plastic cutting board	5.95
Instant read thermometer	4.95
Can opener	3.95
Japanese mandolin	25.00
Micro-plane grater	10.00
Salad spinner	15.00
Food processor	60.00
Coffee/spice grinder	10.00
Whetstone	6.00
Measuring spoons	1.00
Total:	297.35

How much should I feed the Family

Here is a guide I found at the usda.gov web site. While I've read criticisms about the food pyramid most health professionals seem to agree that it is a good guide for eating healthy. I look at the guide as a reference. I try to eat only whole grains and very lean or non-meat protean. It is a good starting point to start eating more healthy and can help with your weekly menu planning. Of note the list of vegetable types that should be eaten per week has helped me in preparing menus.

Food Intake Guide

Chicken Leek Pot Pie

You can make this as written or just make the filling and then serve over rice or noodles.

Chicken Leek Pot Pie

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 medium leeks or 1 large leek
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Frozen pie crusts one in pie tin for base, one out of tin for pie top
• Ground pepper to taste or to taste
• Salt to taste or to tast

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the chicken in a single layer, season with salt and pepper, and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. While the chicken works, trim the tough tops and root ends from the leeks. Cut the remaining white and tender green parts in half lengthwise, then cut the leeks into 1-inch half-moons. Place the leeks in a colander and run cold water over them. Separate the layers to release the dirt and grit. Rinse the leeks well, then drain.

3. Preheat oven to 350.

4. Stir the leeks and mushrooms into the chicken and wilt about 5 minutes. Add the wine and let it cook down by half.

5. While the chicken cooks melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly, about 1 to 2 minutes.

6. Stir milk into saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute or until thickened.

7. Add white sauce to chicken and leek mixture and mix until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

8. Pour creamy chicken into base pie crust and place second crust on top of base. Cut four vents into the base and bake in 350 oven.

Essential Equipment- Intro

A kitchen can be a daunting place for the uninitiated and even for the long time cook. Have you ever looked at the gadget wall in Willams-Sonoma with no clue what something was? Weird implements of torture from the Inquisition abound in just about every drawer and while some things are obvious some are not, the best why to cut mushrooms is to use an egg slicer.

I'm going to break down the gear in importance to me and my style of cooking. This will be a several post thread but at the end of the day you only need a few key pieces of gear to make great food.

There are some rules that apply to any item you bring into the kitchen.

1. Buy the highest quality item you can afford-This does not mean buy the most expensive items just the best quality. Unfortunately, good quality often costs a bit more in the beginning but you'll save by not having to replace an item as quickly.
2. More is not always better-While sets of pots and knives are often cheaper than the individual items. You might not use every item included. Compare prices of the individual pieces you want with a set. Often times you'll save some money.
3. Gadgets are great I love em. Just make sure you don't go over board. One of my cooking heroes Alton Brown banishes all "uni-taskers" from his kitchen; if it can't do two things you probably don't need the clutter it's going to create. Do you really need a snow cone maker do you have room for it?
4. If it's not comfortable you're not going to use it. That forged knife with the thick tang that holds a great edge is not going to do you any good if you don't like holding it. Get the stamped knife with the plastic handle that holds an okay edge if it's what feels comfortable. Cooking needs to be enjoyable if your going to do it regularly otherwise you'll end up going out to eat or treat cooking like a chore.
   

Next up, Pots and Pans

Hello world

I'm a stay at home dad. I never imagined that I would have to know how to cook more than spaghetti to impress a girlfriend. But, now I've got to feed the family, healthy, tasty food that appeals to my wife and my three year old tastes.

These are the lessons I've learned...