I don't enjoy cooking that much. I'm too picky. I suppose that every person who is responsible for placing food in front people has some sort of criteria for the food they prepare. My criteria is pretty high.
1. It needs to be good for you. No processed stuff. Whole wheat. No refined anything. No corn syrup and ingredients I can't say quickly and easily.
2. No dairy (Olivia reacts to it)
3. The least possible amount of sugar. (Olivia reacts to it.)
4. I want to know where my animals came from. I don't
buy much meat at the store. Mostly "honest " ground beef from the local ranch.
5. Oils are not created equal. Butter, high quality olive oil and coconut oil are the best.
6. Needs to be cheap. Ha.
7. Needs to be simple and easy.
No wonder cooking isn't my favorite thing. How do you make a casserole without holding it together with cheese or cream of mushroom soup? Oh, I'm learning slowly. And then sometimes I just break the rules. I like to thicken soups with a half a cup of brown rice. It doesn't make it thick like flour would, but it fills in the cracks. But tonight I just used flour in the fish chowder. [And no, I didn't use milk. I used water, salt, butter, onions, and garlic. Didn't even use chicken boullion (too fake and expensive)]
Why do I put myself through all this? I have my reasons, the same as any cook. I feel better this way. In part, it is Olivia's food sensitivities that force me to do this. It goes along with the ideals that Jay and I have for our lifestyle. "Wholesome as possible, but all things in moderation."
Two recipes for you to critique: Simple Spaghetti and this rice dish that doesn't have a name because it doesn't deserve one yet.
Spaghetti- 3 garlic cloves minced into olive oil. Dump in 1 quart of tomato sauce. Fresh or frozen basil leaves. Simmer. Cooked whole wheat spaghetti. 1/2 lb. browned beef. Mix.
Rice stuff
Brown beef, add chopped onion and minced garlic and saute with beef. Add salt. Add 2 cups of brown rice and 5 cups of water. Add 1quart of frozen green beans. Simmer and stir occasionally until rice is cooked and water absorbed. Add a big dallop of butter to smooth it out. Totally sustenance food, not memorable. Can you help it out?
How did we come to so many of the same conclusions? Except I use dairy.
ReplyDeleteAbout the rice dish. Can you switch to basmati rice? Brown rice is rather tasteless. But most of all you need to cook your rice properly. Cook it separately and put some salt, olive oil, and butter in your kettle with the rice and water, bring it to a boil then turn to low till done and DO NOT lift the lid during any of this cooking process whatsoever. Be more creative with your seasonings. Susan tells me that Mennonites do not use enough seasoning in quantity or variety. Don't you have a granola store that sells them? Season your ground beef for this dish and use plenty of butter, too. Frankly, I think garlic can be over rated. Think outside the box and try a completely different set of flavors. Throw in some cooked pinto beans for some texture and aesthetic value.
I hardly ever use mushroom or chicken soup and I don't even miss it anymore. I don't know how to cook without milk though.
There how was that for a disconnected piece of advice.
I disagree with Arla about garlic be over rated. We put garlic on everything and Gabe has been growing our own fresh garlic in the garden for the last couple years... it is one of our favorite seasonings.
ReplyDeleteSome chopped chili peppers would be good in your rice dish.
JMB
April, your spaghetti looks good to me! Did you ever check out this website: www.wholeintentions.com Lots of good whole foods... Lots of info.
ReplyDeleteI dont use cream soups either,but I do use a homemade mix for a substitute, love it! Did you try the chicken base that Oregon Spice has?
Your Rice stuff would be good with chicken instead. And for seasoning use cajun or curry or a snitch of dill and peppermint. I think the spaghetti would be really good. If I let it sit all day in the crock pot would it be good? If you only use whole wheat flour...buy 1 bag of gluten free flour from Sharon's store. I bought some when I was out there and I use it for breading chicken nuggets. So maybe you think that's not healthy....but with that breading and good oils it's something kids love and I feel better about the nugget that way than if I would use white flour and vegetable oil. Anyhow, good luck on that whole picky stuff. Oh...do you ever bake cookies or bars or cake using less refined sugars?
ReplyDeleteI love using yogurt instead oil in cakes, try Shilah's chocolate cake in our red church cookbook and Amy , oj works instead of sugar , up to half you can substitute.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that spaghetti was wonderful! That picture of Mima is so funny. Looks like she's either having to wait to eat or is not wanting to eat spaghetti. (I am so surprised finding how much you were blogging while I was there and I didn't even know it.)
ReplyDelete