Wow--I just realized the other day that I haven't done an AE blog entry in over a month! I must confess that since I started work at my new job, I have been insanely busy...time has not been on my side, and thusly, I haven't been in the kitchen cooking. Like, at all. My poor lovah has had to fend for himself the last five weeks (suffice to say, we have gone through about 20 frozen pizzas), but I am hoping that things will settle down soon and I can get back on the AE bandwagon. Also: we got a puppy! Potty-training and hanging out with her overall cuteness has been a full-time job in itself.
In the meantime, I thought I would do a post on a few of my favorite time-saving tips that I have amassed over the years. Now, I have to confess that personally I find the whole 'semi-homemade' trend that started around ten years ago insanely irritating (Sandra Lee, I'm looking at you, with your ridiculous canned frostings and whatnot), but even worse than that, I think, is the whole 'quick-foods-that-aren't-really-quick-and-cost-a-lot-of-money' trend for rich people (Gwyneth Paltrow, I am giving you the death stare). The simple fact of the matter is that the (potentially self-righteous, pseduo-arrogant) organic/localvore food postulation that so many people insist upon just doesn't work for everybody, all the time. Sometimes, people don't have time to peruse the farmer's market and pay six bucks for a bunch of beets. Sometimes, people aren't able to find an organic, free-range chicken (let alone afford the $6.99+ a pound pricetag!) Unless you grow and/or farm the product yourself, going to, say, Whole Foods and buying a bag of their groceries is a socio-economic based luxury that not everybody can afford. Don't get me wrong, it's great if you have the time and the budget to do these things, and I'm not saying that everybody who advocates for organic or local food is a pompous ass (I myself advocate for local food on this very blog as a means of conservation!), but I AM saying that it's not for everybody, all the time. Some people work fifty hours a week and have twenty bucks in their bank account, you know what I'm saying? You do the best you can, with what you got.
With that being said, listed below are my favorite time-saving, inexpensive tips for food preparation/cooking/eating. These are my personal little time-saving gems, and they are, in no particular order:
A) quick marinades. When you don't have time to brine poultry or pork, and/or the time to braise or stew meats, I have a few quick 'go-to' marinades that I use to quickly tenderize (usually cheaper cuts of) meat. For chicken: plain yogurt, or a lemon juice/olive oil mixture. For pork: a can of Coca-Cola. For beef: hoisin sauce with apple-cider vinegar (for an Asian flavor) or white vinegar with soy sauce. The key here, my friends, is acid: the ultimate, quick tenderizer.
B) using lemonade mix with fresh lemon juice for a refreshing summer beverage. I find that it's quick, easy, and makes for a perfectly-balanced lemonade: sweet and tart. Add a splash of sparkling water (and hell, a shot of vodka) and you've got a party! One thing I've learned NOT to do, however, is to leave lemon slices in the mixture to steep--the rind makes for a disgustingly sour taste. Oftentimes Rainbow Foods has 'Country Time' lemonade mix on sale, too...in fact, the last time I bought it, I used a coupon on 'Double Daze' and got two canisters for free!
C) canned biscuits (like the ones Pilsbury makes) to use on top of a homemade chicken pot pie. I must confess: I can not bake to save my life. I'm horrible at it--cakes, biscuits, cookies etc. are all my nemesis. The exact measuring, the separating of wet and dry ingredients, the precise oven temperatures...I despise it all! So when I make chicken pot pie (cooked chicken, sauteed carrots/celery/mushrooms, béchamel sauce), I slice those pre-made biscuits in half, and cover the top of my casserole dish with them. Works great every time!
E) par-boiling potatoes and then freezing them. Potatoes are a filling and cheap starch to add to any meal, but they take time to cook--so sometimes, I like to do a large batch by peeling & cutting a 5 lb bag into cubes, boiling them for a few minutes, and dividing them into a few ziploc bags and throwing them in the freezer. Note: I've learned the hard way that boiling them is MUST before freezing, otherwise they turn brown and mushy and disgusting in the freezer.
Well, I think that will about do it for me. Thanks for letting me get on my soapbox for a bit! I hope these quick tips will help you save a little bit of time (and maybe even some money) as you cook your way through the remainder of the summer. Bon appetit!
Little Blanche Wolfgang VonHildegard, age 9 weeks
In the meantime, I thought I would do a post on a few of my favorite time-saving tips that I have amassed over the years. Now, I have to confess that personally I find the whole 'semi-homemade' trend that started around ten years ago insanely irritating (Sandra Lee, I'm looking at you, with your ridiculous canned frostings and whatnot), but even worse than that, I think, is the whole 'quick-foods-that-aren't-really-quick-and-cost-a-lot-of-money' trend for rich people (Gwyneth Paltrow, I am giving you the death stare). The simple fact of the matter is that the (potentially self-righteous, pseduo-arrogant) organic/localvore food postulation that so many people insist upon just doesn't work for everybody, all the time. Sometimes, people don't have time to peruse the farmer's market and pay six bucks for a bunch of beets. Sometimes, people aren't able to find an organic, free-range chicken (let alone afford the $6.99+ a pound pricetag!) Unless you grow and/or farm the product yourself, going to, say, Whole Foods and buying a bag of their groceries is a socio-economic based luxury that not everybody can afford. Don't get me wrong, it's great if you have the time and the budget to do these things, and I'm not saying that everybody who advocates for organic or local food is a pompous ass (I myself advocate for local food on this very blog as a means of conservation!), but I AM saying that it's not for everybody, all the time. Some people work fifty hours a week and have twenty bucks in their bank account, you know what I'm saying? You do the best you can, with what you got.
With that being said, listed below are my favorite time-saving, inexpensive tips for food preparation/cooking/eating. These are my personal little time-saving gems, and they are, in no particular order:
A) quick marinades. When you don't have time to brine poultry or pork, and/or the time to braise or stew meats, I have a few quick 'go-to' marinades that I use to quickly tenderize (usually cheaper cuts of) meat. For chicken: plain yogurt, or a lemon juice/olive oil mixture. For pork: a can of Coca-Cola. For beef: hoisin sauce with apple-cider vinegar (for an Asian flavor) or white vinegar with soy sauce. The key here, my friends, is acid: the ultimate, quick tenderizer.
B) using lemonade mix with fresh lemon juice for a refreshing summer beverage. I find that it's quick, easy, and makes for a perfectly-balanced lemonade: sweet and tart. Add a splash of sparkling water (and hell, a shot of vodka) and you've got a party! One thing I've learned NOT to do, however, is to leave lemon slices in the mixture to steep--the rind makes for a disgustingly sour taste. Oftentimes Rainbow Foods has 'Country Time' lemonade mix on sale, too...in fact, the last time I bought it, I used a coupon on 'Double Daze' and got two canisters for free!
C) canned biscuits (like the ones Pilsbury makes) to use on top of a homemade chicken pot pie. I must confess: I can not bake to save my life. I'm horrible at it--cakes, biscuits, cookies etc. are all my nemesis. The exact measuring, the separating of wet and dry ingredients, the precise oven temperatures...I despise it all! So when I make chicken pot pie (cooked chicken, sauteed carrots/celery/mushrooms, béchamel sauce), I slice those pre-made biscuits in half, and cover the top of my casserole dish with them. Works great every time!
D) ramen noodle packet noodles. They are seriously awesome! I dedicated an entire blog entry to this earlier, and I stand by it: once you toss away that creepy msg-riddled 'spice packet', the world is your oyster: so easy to add fresh veggies (mushrooms, onions, etc.) and a protein (chicken always works well) with a few aromatics (fresh herbs) to make a complete meal.
E) par-boiling potatoes and then freezing them. Potatoes are a filling and cheap starch to add to any meal, but they take time to cook--so sometimes, I like to do a large batch by peeling & cutting a 5 lb bag into cubes, boiling them for a few minutes, and dividing them into a few ziploc bags and throwing them in the freezer. Note: I've learned the hard way that boiling them is MUST before freezing, otherwise they turn brown and mushy and disgusting in the freezer.
Well, I think that will about do it for me. Thanks for letting me get on my soapbox for a bit! I hope these quick tips will help you save a little bit of time (and maybe even some money) as you cook your way through the remainder of the summer. Bon appetit!
