This is Basic Cook, not Top Chef

hiatus:

2010-08-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

Really busy with other things, so I have to take a hiatus from this blog. Enjoy your food!

avocados:

2010-08-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

Picking: If ripening a day or two before, you can pick a lighter green one, which will feel like a rock and not squeezable, and put it in a paper bag with an apple to ripen it. I often just leave it on the counter and wait for the color to change; avocados ripen quickly.

An avocado that is a darker green is usually ripe, but if the skin feels a little too soft, like the skin is loose or shriveled, chances are you've found an over-ripened, bruised avocado, which isn't so great. The best avocado is one that is slightly squeezable, and a darker green without being almost blackish-green.

Seasons (from ehow): Haas avocados are available year-round but are at their peak from April to November. Fuerte are available from November to July. Reed are available from March to September. Booth, Lula and Taylor are available from the end of June through February. Zutano are available from October to May. Bacon are available from November through July.

Here's a simple video for how to prepare avocados. I use the same methods--cut in half, twist, chop knife into pit and twist to remove, use a butter knife to cut through, and scoop out with a spoon.

rice noodles:

2010-07-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

Those Asian dried rice noodles in the plastic packages--what do you do with them? Soak them in cold water for 30-60 minutes. You want them just separated but still firm and not mushy. In a pinch, place them in warm water for 10-15 minutes, but this may cook them slightly. The water temperature only matters if you're looking for a fresher, firmer texture. Throw them in soup or fry them up with plenty of oil. Rice noodles are sometimes called rice stick. The "cellophane" noodles that are like thread are usually made of mung beans and not rice. They take longer to cook and are not the same as rice noodles though they look similar. So, beware!

lettuce:

2010-05-26T00:50:00.000-07:00

My least favorite commonly eaten food is probably lettuce, but it's good to know how to prep it for a salad or even a sandwich. There are four types of lettuce: butterhead, crisphead, looseleaf, and Romaine. Icebergs, a type of crisphead, are very popular but the least nutritious. Romaine is typically used for Caesar salads and is also crisp, but not as "sweet" as iceberg. Looseleaf is common to gourmet sandwiches and green salads, and I find it is the slowest to wilt.

For heads of lettuce, peel off the outermost leaves and remove any part that is brown or wilted. For shredded lettuce, rinse the outside, cut the head in half, and then slice down very thinly to achieve the strands you find in tacos, for example. For a salad, whatever type of lettuce, I peel off all the leaves carefully, rinse them, tear the leaves apart by hand into smaller pieces, and place them in a salad spinner (sometimes) to keep them dry and crisp. For looseleaf lettuce, just cut off the joining stem and proceed as above.

There are a number of lettuce variants like arugula, raddichio, and endive, and each has its own type of flavor. It's probably a good idea to taste them individually and pair them with various foods to see what you like.

With darker greens, you might see some sliminess that needs to be removed as well. Hopefully you can eat the leaves soon after purchasing them so as not to reach this stage.

cuts of beef:

2010-03-12T16:12:00.000-08:00

What I use in:

Beef stew, beef noodle soup--chuck

Stir fry--flank, top round (something labeled London broil, which is not actually a cut)

Fajitas--flank

Pot roast--chuck

Shredded beef for tacos, etc--shoulder blade roast (from chuck) or top round

Ribs--short ribs or back ribs

Burgers, meatballs, meat sauces--ground beef

Plain ol' steak--all the short loins are the best, and most expensive. I don't really like to cook sirloin, but it's a cheaper alternative.

steak:

2010-03-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

I was going to write this long entry, but I found a site that has many of the same tips I've learned (e.g., let meat come to room temperature before cooking, use tongs, don't move it for the first couple minutes so it doesn't stick). Good stuff. It also has all the cuts of steak so you know what you're getting. Another good resource is Bon Appetit's "Grilling Issue." The next entry will be about the "other" steaks/cuts of beef and what I use for various types of dishes.

Cooking the Perfect Steak

salt:

2010-02-23T16:11:00.000-08:00

Table salt, kosher salt, and sea salt--does it make a difference which one you use? You can find plenty of info online, but my basic opinion is this: Try them and you'll see. Table salt is refined and processed with some additives or chemicals (although still 97% NaCl at least). It is fine when you are dissolving it in something like soup or just need a little something on your food. However, when you are roasting potatoes or rubbing it on meat, the larger crystals of kosher salt are slower-dissolving and have a purer flavor. I don't believe iodine is added to it, however, and we all do need a little iodine for our health. Sea salt seems to have a different flavor than kosher or table salt. I tend to only use it on foods directly served, like sprinkling it on an avocado, because it has a strong, lingering flavor for me. When it comes to a "pinch of salt" in recipes, the larger crystals are easier to pinch. Also, Morton is saltier than Diamond table salt, so it's always helpful to try out a recipe and see if you need to adjust the salt amount. That's as far as my salt repertoire goes; I've never had gray sea salt or other colored salt varieties.

browning ground beef:

2010-02-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

Heat a little bit of oil in a pan on Medium-High and throw in the ground beef (or turkey or pork). I try to break everything up as quickly as possible so I end up with little pieces and not strings or clumps. A better way would be to break up the meat in its container before you throw it in, but I often don't do it.

Fry it without a cover (or the meat will toughen) until all the water evaporates and everything is browned. Ground beef tends to lower-quality meat and therefore is subject to parasites and other nasty beings, so it should be completely browned.

Drain the beef through a colander or mesh strainer, catching the oil and throwing it away so it doesn't clog up the drain. If I buy very lean meat, which is a little less moist, sometimes there is so little fat it can just go down the drain. If I'm making taco meat or something similar, I will drain the meat and then throw it back in the pan and heat it up with the tomato sauce, salt, and spices. I don't put the tomato sauce in early because I need to be able to see the meat is cooked through. You don't have to brown the beef first in a slow cooker (like if you're cooking chili or a meat sauce), since it will be cooking for so long, and the beef will most likely be cooked through.

scrambled eggs:

2010-01-19T01:39:00.000-08:00

Two ways I scramble eggs--the chopped omelet & the normal way.

Chopped omelet is for fans of browned scrambled eggs:
1. Melt a pat of butter, spray cooking spray, or put a bit of oil in the pan. Heat at medium-high until ready (see oil entry).
2. Whisk together 2 eggs per person with a few tablespoons of milk in it (you'll have to see how much you like).
3. Pour mixture into pan.
4. Once the edge starts to solidify, push it toward the middle with a spatula. The liquid portion will run out and get cooked.
5. Repeat this a couple times and then start to flip the eggs over. It should break or you can chop it up a bit with the spatula.
6. When the liquid is gone, take it off the heat and serve.

Normal way:
1, 2, 3 as above.
4. Once any part solidifies, stir quickly with a spatula.
5. Keep stirring the mixture, sometimes flipping it, and get all the liquid cooked. It should break up on its own and curd, but if it's browning or the clumps are too large, the heat might be up too high or you're not stirring quickly enough.

I found a video that shows how to make an omelet and a scrambled egg pretty well, though I do it a little differently. There are probably many methods you can find and try.

keeping greens green:

2009-12-15T14:08:00.000-08:00

Peas, broccoli, spinach--they can all turn less-than-appetizing pukish green colors during cooking. This is necessary with casseroles and such, but it can be avoided in other instances. One way to maintain their color is to add them toward the end of the cooking process. To cook them more thoroughly, one can blanch them, which means to dip them in boiling water and then remove and then add to a dish toward the end.

tips for frosting cakes:

2009-10-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

Dip a spatula spreader or frosting spatula (pictured) in hot water to make your frosting nice and smooth. Frosting the cake while it is cold or even frozen helps you avoid crumbs in your frosting.

1. Make sure cake is cool/cold.
2. Brush off loose crumbs.
3. Apply a thin layer of frosting to seal in crumbs.
4. Slather on the rest of the frosting and smooth it out.

oil:

2009-10-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Oil should be heated to the correct temperature before cooking. When you put food into oil, it should sizzle (have little bubbles or make a crackling sound). One way to tell your oil is heated is to lift the pan a tiny bit and look for ripples in the oil. Some have suggested splashing a couple drops of water in and see if it splatters. After a while, you'll be able to tell just by how easily the oil swirls.

If you have non-stick and are trying to ease up on oils, a spray is fine, but you won't get the same influsion of flavor or crispiness in certain foods. They sell oil sprays and spritzers, or if you don't really care about health and aerosols, there's good ol' Pam.

I have actually used bacon grease or lard in the distant past for flavor, but go with olive oil and a lighter cooking oil otherwise (palm, coconut, walnut, peanut, safflower, grapeseed, or canola). I mostly go with olive for Italian, Mediterranean, or light American meals and mostly the lighter oil for everything else. Many nutritionists recommend grapeseed or coconut. Grapeseed is fairly pricey and coconut leaves a hint of its flavor in your food, which my family didn't like. I discovered that canola oil is genetically modified and can hurt the environment. It's amazing how we try to progress, but what our grandmothers used was probably the best for us.

I use olive oil to sautee dark greens, roast red potatoes, or for salad dressings. It goes nicely with coarse salts (sea salt & kosher salt). Lighter oil seems to be better for white, gold, yellow, or russet (the regular brown) potatoes. For deep-frying, which I don't do often, peanut oil is good. Something common to Chinese cooking is to "season" a stainless-steel or iron wok with peanut oil the first time one uses it. Seasoning just means dipping a paper towel in the oil and then rubbing all around the inside of the wok. You do something like this with cast-iron skillets as well.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Don't go for blends, "light" olive oil, or even "natural" olive oil, particularly for your salads or simpler foods. Go with "Extra Virgin" for quality and taste. As for the brand, I have a certain fruitiness I like in my olive oil. Use whatever you like. Just look to keep low on saturated fats and don't buy anything with trans fats.

how to boil water:

2009-10-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

Put water in a pot large enough for the amount of water you're adding, then turn the heat up to high. When bubbles start rising to the top of the water, it's boiling. Sometimes one might throw salt in the boiling water to add flavor to the food being cooked. Scientifically speaking, adding some amount of salt raises the boiling point, yet people say water seems to boil more quickly with salt. It probably just gets to a rolling boil faster with the added impurities, making for a more violent boil. Not sure.

Most of the time, you'll need to reach a rolling boil to cook pasta or noodles or dumplings. A rolling boil means the water bubbles and rises so much it looks like it's rolling into itself.

Water does boil away, so in some dishes you'll have to take the reduction in volume into account. Likewise, the pot needs to be bigger than just the water if you'll be adding food to it. You don't have to stand over the pot, but don't let it boil dry or you'll stain or burn the pot.

I do not usually put a lid on a pot with only water in it. A lid helps it heat up faster; I just find it easier when I don't have to keep lifting the lid to see if it's boiling. Lids are important, however, for cooking many basic foods like rice and hard-cooked eggs.

eggs part 1:

2009-10-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

Knowing how to use and cook eggs will get you pretty far.

Choosing eggs: I like Eggland's Best eggs. I will sometimes purchase cage-free and/or organic brown varieties if they're on sale, but I have found that the latter are not as easy to peel when hard-boiled. Just look at the expiration date to see which carton is freshest. I always buy large or jumbo for any recipe that calls for eggs. P.S. Unlike sugar, there is no difference in taste between brown and white varieties of eggs; it's purely cosmetic and genetic (I just found this out).

Storing eggs: Eggs should be refrigerated, but baked goods and other foods will often come out better if you let the egg get to room temp before using. I don't often do this, as it's not worth the risk to me (a germaphobe), especially in summer weather.

Cracking eggs: I tend to tap them right on the counter somewhere in the middle of the egg, but slightly toward the smaller end. It makes for a nice break I can easily get my thumb in. And for whatever reason, I never get eggshells in my food this way. Most people, I believe, tap the middle of the egg against the rim of a bowl or pan, take both thumbs and pull apart the egg shell halves while lifting them upward.

Mixing eggs: Poke the egg yolk with a fork (I use chopsticks) and stir. If you have just eggs in the mixing bowl, you can tilt the bowl and stir with a swift elliptical motion. I'll explain how to actually make scrambled eggs in a future post.

liquid measure vs. dry measure:

2009-09-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Why two sets of measuring devices? Simply because for wet ingredients, it's easier to measure and pour out of a spouted cup with a handle. Likewise, for dry ingredients, it's easier to scoop and then level and pour for accuracy. You only require one set of measuring spoons for both dry and wet (like salt and vanilla). In cooking with standard (vs. metric) recipes, a dry cup measures out about the same as a liquid cup. However, when it comes to ounces, 16 ounces or a pound is not the same as 16 fluid ounces. So for very large quantities, which I've never cooked in, I think you'd have to break out the scale. I'm not sure.

This is a nice calculator for equivalents. The only time I've needed to convert like this was doubling or halving a recipe.

intro to this simple food blog for my kids:

2009-09-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about the basic things I want to teach my children in terms of food and cooking, especially before they are off on their own. I wouldn't say I'm the best at anything, and I'm certainly not qualified to be an instructor. However, I would say that knowing how to cook basic foods like eggs or pasta or rice will get you very far should you ever need to fix a meal in a jiffy. Knowing how to pick fruit or vegetables or even meat makes a huge difference. That's one thing my mom taught me--how to pick fruit--otherwise, she told me to get out of the kitchen and get back to my books.

My husband and kids seem to think I cook pretty well, but I just know what they like. Get to know for whom you're cooking. My husband can't eat anything containing onion in any form, so there go most pre-made foods and sauces. I save it for the potlucks. It never seems to turn out as well when I cook for others--I guess because I know what my family likes, and it's stressful for me cooking for others. Stress will show up in your cooking.

Thus, I had to hone in on making my meat tender and what flavors complement each other on a plate. Along with that, I save time not having to look at a cookbook or recipe card as often as before. I'm learning the art of simple but tasty meals. If I ever want to try something new that's already been taste-tested, there's always allrecipes.com or my Best New Recipe cookbook to the rescue.

Chinese food is the most familiar to me--the fact that my dad was a chef and my mom pretty much raised her three younger sisters helps. But sometimes I simply don't have the time to wrap dumplings so I'll just buy them. There's no shame in that, especially when Costco sells ones without onions. And I mostly do stir fry and sometimes soups but seldom steam anymore. I think I steam tamales more often than Chinese buns!

The thing about food blogs is that, in the end, everyone's tastes are different. So I will tell you about basic scrambling of eggs and you decide whether you want to add chopped ham, cheese, and vegetables for a skillet meal or if you like it with just salt and pepper on an English muffin. I will tell you how to make basic mashed potatoes--you decide if you want rosemary, garlic, or chipotle peppers.

So get ready for some novice level stuff. At least you'll know what braising, folding, blanching, and al dente mean without having to Google or Wiki and hope for the best.