I mentioned earlier this week that my love for and understanding of cooking are increasing with each year, but reading this article made me realize just how far I have to go, how many basics I have to learn. And how common-sensical lots of the best advice can be! Bittman tells you what to toss out of your pantry, and what to put in:
OUT Bouillon cubes or powder, or canned stock.
IN Simmer a carrot, a celery stalk and half an onion in a couple of cups of water for 10 minutes and you're better off; if you have any chicken scraps, even a half-hour of cooking with those same vegetables will give you something 10 times better than any canned stock.
Duh! We ran out of homemade chicken stock for our soup this week, and I ran to the store for a couple cans.
OUT Spices older than a year: smell before using; if you get a whiff of dust or must before you smell the spice, toss it. I find it easier to clean house once a year and buy new ones.
IN Fresh spices. Almost all spices are worth having.
Um, we just celebrated our 10-year anniversary. We still have a spice rack with several of the spices someone gave us at our wedding.
OUT Grated imitation "Parmesan" (beware the green cylinder, or any other pre-grated cheese for that matter).
IN Real Parmigiano-Reggiano. Wrapped well, it keeps for a year (scrape mold off if necessary). Grated over anything, there is no more magical ingredient.
Super grateful for this advice. I grew up with the green cylinder, and we still have been using a bit pricier pre-grated Parm for years. My wife recently discovered a cheap but tasty block of Parm-Regg, and we have a couple blocks in our fridge. I'm glad to know I can keep them for a year.
There is more where that comes from in Bittman's article. Great stuff.
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Admittedly I am a grump, but I shall take my precious beloved bouillon cube over chopping up and boiling a bunch of veggies, every time.
Some of us are working mothers, you know! ;-)
I loved this article too--learned all kinds of useful stuff like an easy recipe with CANNED COCONUT MILK: cook some onions in oil with curry powder; stir in coconut milk; poach chicken, fish, tofu, or even meat in that. Serve over rice. Yum!
Oops, sorry, that was me for the above comment. Happy belated anniversary, btw!
Thanks, Rachel! And thanks for the recipe, too.
H.S., as a working father with a wife who freelances, I hear you.
A helpful hint for the quick-and-dirty homemade stock: Tamari soy sauce (not the cheap Chinese takeout kind), added to the onion-carrot-celery mixture, adds depth to the flavor. Tamari has an almost sherry-like quality about it, and isn't overly salty like conventional soy sauce. It can be found in most larger supermarkets (even here in rural flyover country), and if you're near a food cooperative you may even be able to buy it in bulk, or in large bottles for frequent use.
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