Sunday, January 5, 2014

Cooking Is Fundamental: The Basics


Cooking Is Fundamental: The Basics


Look in your fridge. What do you see? If you see dozens of take out containers, TV dinners, and ½ eaten cans of beans, then you may want to reconsider your cooking regiment.
Cooking is an excellent way to save money, explore endless flavors, and support a healthy living style.
Don’t know how to cook? Afraid of causing a 3-alarm fire? Don’t worry. I will walk you through the basics of setting up your kitchen for success.

The Basic Hardware:
1 Sharp Kitchen Knife
1 Cutting Board
A Basic Cooking Set: I listed one below
A Pasta Strainer
Basic Pyrex Baking Set:
Aluminum Foil
Plastic Wrap
Zip Loc Bags

Seasonings and Spices

You control how you want your food to taste. First you must ask, what flavors am I drawn to? What have I enjoyed in the past? Once you take a survey of your palate you can seek to re-make experiences you’ve enjoyed.

I come from a West Indian background where well-seasoned foods are standard. I’ll share MY standard seasonings.
You will NOT use these all at once but you should have them at your disposal. (I’ll be posting several recipes that utilize these ingredients

Dry Seasonings:
o   Ground Black Pepper
o   Sea Salt
o   Ground Thyme
o   Ground Basil
o   Ground Oregano
o   Garlic Powder
o   Onion Powder
o   Adobo or Multi-Purpose Seasoning
o   Cayenne Pepper
o   Jamaican Curry Powder

Fresh Seasonings (To Be Refrigerated)
o   Thyme
o   Peeled Garlic
o   Onion
o   Scotch Bonnet Pepper
o   Scallion

 GROCERIES

At any given time no matter what meal I’m going to prepare there are staple items in my kitchen that I replenish as soon as they get low.
o   Pasta Products (Whole Wheat Penne, Ziti, Elbows etc)
o   Cooking Oil (Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Vegetable, or Sunflower seed Oil)
o   Rice (Brown and Parboiled)
o   Tuna
o   Tomato Based Pasta Sauce
o   Cream of Mushroom Soup
o   Vinegar (For cleaning meats)
o   Lemon Juice (For cleaning meats and other uses)
o   Flour (Whole Wheat or Sifted)

GET THESE ITEMS AND WE ARE READY TO ROCK

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