HOW to COOK--ALL the TIME

Let me tell you the truth.  I fantasize about my own book, cooking show, and so forth especially on these days when my dinner is so pretty I have to take a picture of it and post it on Facebook.

Listen, unfriend me if you don't want to see what I'm eating.   That's how it has to be. 

What I cook is gorgeous...and delicious.  Deal with it.

I cook every single day.  Because I eat every single day.  More than once.  I always pack the next day's lunches pretty much while I'm making our dinner, but it's not always leftovers.  I probably spend at least an hour cooking every night.  I don't know if that's excessive or not, but my multitasking is epic.  It can take less time, but usually it's not more, even if I'm making spaghetti from scratch and homemade marinara.

Why cook so much when food is so convenient?  It started as an effort to be more healthy, we realized we could save some money, and partly because my husband and I LOVE GOOD FOOD.  One night we realized that we hadn't bought any bread (because Billy makes it every weekend) for months(!) and started a list of "things we no longer buy" and it was quite long including things like tortilla shells, fettuccini, ice cream, spaghetti sauce along with bread (which, by the way he makes by grinding the wheat berries into flour and I'm not even kidding about that.  Follow his blog if you want to know more.)

The other day I got this crazy idea to have a business where I'd go to people's houses cook them dinner from the things they have on hand.  I know how "normal" people cook and deal with food.  I used to be one.  To me, it was normal to buy a sleeve of celery and throw it out when it turned brown and liquid-y.  Sure, I used some of it, but never all.  On the next shopping trip, I'd buy more and end up throwing some of that one away and so it continued.  

In those days, those carefree days, I didn't really know how to cook.  I knew how to make some fancy things if I wanted to impress someone, but I didn't really know how to be creative and spontaneous in the kitchen.  So, over the years, here's what I realized...

...in other words:  How to cook all the time.

• Have staples on hand.  You know what you like.  Keep those things handy.  For example, I can say I almost always have mushrooms, onions, celery, carrots, and garlic on hand.  This means you buy ingredients, not pre-packaged "meals".  Everything goes together because it's stuff you like, obviously.

• Buy Real ingredients.  Real fruits, vegetables, whole grains.  Avoid as many processed items as you can.  Make your own whatever-it-is whenever possible.  Pasta requires some special kitchen tools, but homemade tortillas are easy.  Homemade cookies are way better than store-bought ones.  Try new things.  A golden beet (which was a NEW thing for me to try) pretty much inspired this blog.  (Pictured below--so pretty!)

• Prep ingredients beforehand.  I might only need a little bit of onion, but I go ahead and chop the whole thing and put away the extra in the fridge.  Then the next time you're cooking with onion (which of course should be the next time you cook) you just shake some into the pan.  I also peel a whole bag of carrots at a time.  It's not crazy because I know that I will use them all up within a week or so.  It's not really all that time consuming either.  How many times have you glanced at the carrots and decided it wasn't worth the effort because you're in a hurry?  Too hungry to peel.  That old story.  Then, two weeks later, you thrown them away, pale and wiggly.  Just give it a couple of minutes once.  You'll see.  Once you get into the habit, it comes naturally.  

• Use most perishable items first.  This is how I can get away with peeling a whole bag of carrots.  They don't have time to dry out or get wiggly because they are utilized in almost every meal.  Have big salads if your lettuce is iffy--USE IT UP (see next point).

• Try to find a way to use everything up.  It's so easy when you've got little bits of  prepped ingredients.  I start many meals with onion, garlic, celery, and carrot (mirepoix).  It's such a basic, classic start for so many dishes, so those items are killer to have on hand at all times.  As far as not throwing away celery that's gone bad (well it shouldn't go bad because you're going to mirepoix the hell out of that shit), you don't even have to throw out the leaves.  Celery leaves are great flavorings in soups and salads.   Along with this notion is the idea that for the most nutrition, one should Eat a Rainbow.  Think about colors like red and green rather than tan or brown in your cooking forays.

• The freezer is your friend.  I keep bags of cooked brown rice, barley, and quinoa in the freezer.  I store them in freezer bags in portions suitable for 2 people because there are just two of us.  If you have 4 people in your family, get bigger bags.  Since brown rice takes about an hour to cook, it's unrealistic to think that most people have that kind of time.  I will cook a batch of rice or whatever I'm low on on the weekend and freeze the batches.  Then all I have to do is heat them up.  Sometimes, I'll make a batch of veggie burgers and freeze the extras.  I make lots of homemade soups and freeze perfect portions for us.  (That's another staple--there's always a lentil soup in the freezer.)  I make sure we have plenty of options available for times when we don't have time to cook.

• Be organized.  Keep cheeses in one place.  Veggies in another.  I have a Greens drawer in our fridge.  I know that if we have spinach, kale, or lettuce, it's going to be in there.  I don't have to look all over for something.  

There are my top tips of this day.  I hope it makes you want to cook something delicious.   Below, the meal and subsequent lunch that inspired this blog.  It was put together in less than an hour and that includes harvesting the squash, kale and pepper from the garden.

Tilapia, just sauteed in a pan with some tiny chopped onions on a bed of quinoa (from the freezer.  It was the last package, so I know I need to make another large batch and freeze soon.)

On the side, a roasted golden organic beet (roasted last night in our outdoor earth oven--lol another blog altogether), a chopped yellow squash, a jalapeno, kale, and some onion sauteed in olive oil.    Salt and pepper, yo.

Below, tomorrow's lunch.  This is the veggie mixture and the quinoa mixed.  It wasn't quite enough to make another 2 meals out of, so I added chopped tomato (from the garden), torn basil leaves, a drizzle of balsamic reduction, some orange and yellow pepper strips and a little shredded Parmesan.  To be fair, we just hosted a pizza party for some friends using our outdoor oven and there were a few leftover toppings such as the yellow pepper strips and the basil leaves.

In the side pocket, a dollop of Greek yogurt with a sprinkling of chia seeds and some ordinary frozen bagged fruit.

When I make a lunch like that I actually get excited to go to work the next day.   

That's not even the whole lunch.  I also get to enjoy a smoothie.  

(Gawd I love my Vita-Mix)  

This one I made yesterday.  It contains a raw golden beet, an apple, an orange, and two bananas.  It ended up as four portions, so I had some today for lunch and I'll have some tomorrow as well.  

See?--Rainbow!