Sunday Story...Poached, Pureed, Sliced, Diced

Sunday Story…Poached, pureed, sliced and diced

As promised this post is a primer on how to cook. I posed a couple questions to a gathering of friends last weekend…where did you learn to cook, and what would be the single motivating factor to learn to do it today or learn to do it better?

Overwhelmingly most of the people said they learned to cook from the kitchens of their homes…watching Mom or Grandma cook, being asked to help do things, learning by observing and doing.
And the single motivating factor? To learn to have a real appreciation for food. Not food as sustenance, mind you but food as a joyful celebration of taste, smell, and sensual experience. And this is not just for the consumer…this is for the one doing the cooking…the joy of preparation, of cutting, chopping, sautéing, reducing, of putting together tastes and flavors in ways you have never thought of and then sitting down and savoring that very first bite. That is the joy I am talking about, that is the appreciation for food that strikes me deep in my core.

Look, cooking is really not that hard. It may seem as if there is some big mystery to it but I am about to debunk most of that…first like anything else you have to learn the language…
Boil…really hot bubbling water (or any liquid) you put things into…not always the best way to cook but it does have its purpose from time to time
Steam…put the food over the boiling water and let the steam cook the food…better than boiling since the good things in the food don’t get lost in the water
Sauté…a way to quickly cook food in a small amount of oil with fairly high heat
Fry…more oil, hotter than Sauté
Broil…under high heat close to the food
Bake…in the oven at a specific temperature
Roast…in the oven like baking but usually covered but not always…think of it like this…I bake cookies, I roast a turkey
Grill…hot fire (gas, wood, charcoal) under the food
Braise…very quickly sautéing the food and just browning it enough to seal the juice in but not to cook through.
Microwave…duh
Raw...duh again
Chop…large chunks (1 inch square or so)
Slice…large thin pieces
Dice…small chunks
Mince…really small chunks
Some tools that are necessary…
Knives…the sharper the better as they are more efficient and safer
A set of pots and pans of varying sizes…pots are deeper, pan are shallower, just like some of your friends
A cutting board to cut stuff on
A set of measuring spoons and cups
A slow cooker or a crock pot
A blender or a food processor or a hand blender or all 3!
There is a bunch of stuff I am sure I am forgetting but if I walked into your kitchen and it had all of the above we would be very good to go!

Things your pantry must contain (these are staples that get used almost constantly):
Salt (sea salt not chemical salt)
Black pepper
Dried basil, oregano, parsley, tarragon, thyme, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, paprika, dried red pepper flakes, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger
Fresh Garlic (you could also have some garlic powder)
Squash...butternut, spaghetti, acorn come to mind
Sweet potatoes and/or yams
Olive Oil (extra virgin is best)
Coconut Oil
Coconut milk in a can
Onion (you could also have some onion powder)
Dijon Mustard
Vinegar (apple cider is a staple but red wine and balsamic have their uses as well)
Tuna (I prefer dark in oil myself)

Things to find in your refrigerator:
Vegetables…use your imagination but…carrots, broccoli, eggplant, zucchini, kale, chard, spinach, lettuce (not iceberg), beets, radishes, and ginger, the list is endless
Meat…grass fed, pastured, free range, wild…whether its chicken, beef, fish or ? it needs to be raised as cleanly as possible
Eggs…vegetarian cage free and local if possible
Butter…grass fed if possible, organic for sure

Got all that? Pretty simple really. So let’s cook something for dinner…maybe some chicken, potatoes and a salad…
Grab a medium pan of water and put on to boil. Peel 4 sweet potatoes or yams and cut into small pieces (the smaller the pieces the faster they will cook.) and place in the pan
While that is cooking…
Get your large sauté pan out and put 2 tablespoons of oil and heat on medium…chop up an onion and throw in the pan…grab your chicken and put in the pan with one clove of minced garlic…btw you can use pretty much any cut of chicken you want…cook for 4 minutes on each side…take the chicken out of the pan and put on a plate…scrape the pan, leaving the oil in the pan and add a diced carrot a teaspoon each of paprika and oregano and cook for 2 minutes on medium and ½ a can of coconut milk…heat to boiling and let boil uncovered to reduce to ½ the amount you started with…maybe 7 or 8 minutes, put the chicken back in reduce heat to med/low and cover for about 10 minutes
Take the pot with the potatoes off the stove and drain the potatoes. Put them in a bowl and mash by hand, in the blender, food processor or hand blender add 2 tablespoons of butter and salt and pepper to taste (that means as much as you like to taste).
About now when you are done with the potatoes grab some broccoli and cut into florets (the little trees) and throw on top of the chicken and put the cover back on for 2 minutes.
Throw some green lettuce in a bowl put some olive oil and your favorite vinegar on it.
Serve the chicken, covered in the sauce on a plate with the potatoes, the salad in a bowl. Your choice of beverage (water, lemon water, glass of wine).

There you have it…from start to finish maybe 45 minutes...a healthy, good, for you meal prepared with love and care, a feast for the senses. Not that hard.
You can do this.
Let’s eat…more later


Namaste
John
“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”
www.martialartsnevada.com

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