Kitchen Thinking

 

Good morning!  If I sound cheery, it's because I am.  It's Monday morning, and I jumped out of bed ready to roll this morning.  

While I was working this morning I thought of several things, and I wanted to share them with you all. Some you might have read in part in the Coffee Chat post I am publishing this week.  Some are just thinking about frugal ways, and some are savings of another sort, either of time or frustration.   I think I have time to do a bit now while the granola bakes, the milk heats for yogurt and the bread rises for the last time.

I am going to share this one first because three times today I got caught and had to go back to refer to the recipe (or a similar one).  It is a good practice when making a recipe, even those you make often, to read through the ingredients lists and the directions.  If you've been making a recipe for years and you keep having mixed results in the finished product, I'll lay odds that you are missing some measurement or a step in mixing.  

Sometimes the problem isn't you...sometimes it's the recipe!  If you are determined to master a certain dish and yet the recipe you're using just doesn't turn out, then look at other recipes for the same item.  See what the recipe author has listed as ingredients or steps.  And if it's an online recipe, look at the comments.   Some of the best judges of a recipe are those who have tried it.  Take note of what they say about consistency, cooking temperatures, seasoning suggestions, etc.

While I was making an appetizer that I want to take with us on vacation I did what I usually do and pulled up recipes.  I hit the first one I came to.  It called for 1 pound of grated cheese...That seemed like a LOT of cheese to me.  I don't think I've ever put that much cheese in that recipe in my years of making this item. So, I went right to the original source of the recipe and sure enough it called for just 2 cups of cheese.  But it made me realize that many people do not know how many cups of cheese can be had from a pound of cheese.  Figure on about 1 cup of shredded cheese for every 4 ounces in weight.   There's a BIG difference in using 4 cups and using 2 cups of cheese in a recipe and the greatest difference is in cost to make.  Weight is not always the same as volume.

Too much cheese in a recipe can just make the dish greasy and unpleasant.  So many say, "There's no such thing as too much cheese!"  Well, yes there is.   Cheese is most frequently used as a compliment to the flavors already in the dish.  If your casserole is swimming in a pool of oily cheese, it's not going to taste nearly as good as it might have.  

And if you are a budget minded cook, then the cost of the recipe increases, too.  The cost of a recipe should always be a consideration if you're on a budget.

I've noted this trend all over the internet, especially in vlogs and shorts of people using LOADS of cheese or seasoning.  I think that we should practice more caution.  You can always add more cheese if it's not enough, or more seasoning if the recipe isn't seasoned enough but you can't take it out once it's in.  Sometimes the food is so coated with seasoning that it's a wonder you can appreciate the dish at all.  

Seasoning is supposed to enhance flavors, not mask them!

Now I knew a cook who refused to put salt in any food she prepared.  She put the saltshaker on the table and let everyone salt away.  I'll wager that her family used far more salt than the average family because some foods need to be cooked with a bit of salt in order to have any flavor at all.  By not salting the food, once cooked it was super bland and that meant the family layered on the salt at the table, a step that would have been completely unnecessary if she'd just taken the time to measure in the amount called for in her usual recipes.   Generally, that is anywhere from 1/2 to 1 teaspoon.  And that amount is spread over the whole dish.  But doing it her way, I'll wager that every person in her family ate at least 1/2 teaspoon of salt on their food and likely more, which meant that they consumed far more salt than they would have otherwise.

If you are a long time cook, especially a good cook, I think we can look at a recipe and know what an appropriate amount of seasoning is to achieve flavor.  Some recipe authors are a bit too careful with their amounts.  Some are far too liberal. A few I wonder if they actually tasted the finished product!  If you have a salty bouillon or soup mix in the recipe and suggest a teaspoon of salt as well, I'd say unless you're cooking rice in the dish, to err on the side of using less salt. You can always taste the soup mix to see how salty it is if you're unsure what to do.

 Learn what is an appropriate amount and taste as you go.  Keep a mug of teaspoons near the stove just to use as taste testing spoons and sample.  Adjust seasonings accordingly.  And if the recipe is such that you can't tell until it's fully cooked then make notes on the recipe to add more or less of any seasoning based on your personal taste test and feedback from your family.  In the end, you'll have a dish that your family will eat and won't mind if there are leftovers for another meal.

As I made granola this morning, I knew the flavor profile I wanted. I wanted a maple flavoring but often maple syrup can be a little lacking in flavor unless you also use some brown sugar when you are baking.  I found a recipe that called for both in limited quantities.  But one flavoring caught my eye and I decided to flow with it.  The recipe also called for vanilla flavoring.  This is a lovely combination when baked!  The granola comes out tasting subtly sweet, buttery (no butter in the recipe) and flavorsome.  It also called for half a teaspoon of salt which will offset the bland oats and nuts.  

Here's where I deviated from the recipe.  It called for three cups of old-fashioned oats.  I'd just purchased those but not especially for granola.  I'd bought them to make my Fall batch of Oatmeal cookies.  As I reached in the cabinet to get the box out, I saw the quick oats box...I've been wanting to use those up.  I decided to add 1 cup of the quick oats to my 3 cups of old-fashioned oats.  I'm so happy I did.  They added a subtle texture difference and incidentally stretched my granola a little further.  

The recipe calls for coconut oil or olive oil.  I opted to use Mazola corn oil.  I have it on hand and I want to use it up.  The recipe called for nuts.  I keep a variety of nuts in the freezer, but I noted that the author of the recipe said, "If all you have is dry roasted nuts use those...just skip the salt in the recipe."  What a great idea!  She suggested adding in coconut chips.  I thought coconut sounded wonderful. I have only dried sweetened shredded.  I used that.  She suggested adding seeds, but I didn't have any on hand.

My point in sharing what I used and what the author of the recipe suggested is important.  Use what you have.  If you have dry roasted nuts, then use them.  If you have a different oil than called for, use it.  If you have quick oats, then use them.  

I should remember this lesson more often.  Years ago, when I was teaching Katie to budget and shop for food, she went into the grocery to get things to make a pot roast.  She came out with a pork roast.  Our deal was this: I gave her $20 to make four meals (Entirely possible back then, lol) and whatever money she had left over at the end of the week she got to keep.  Chuck roast cost more than a Pork Roast that week.  She made a pot roast using that pork roast and it was DELICIOUS!  I'd never even contemplated doing that.  Be willing to substitute ingredients.

And finally, my last thought is this: Ask for help.  John is forever asking me if I need help.  He's all too willing to lend a hand carrying heavy loads, reaching things I can't get to, moving things out of my way, etc.  I am forever telling myself I don't need help and then I end up in a pickle, or frustrated.  Just ask for help!  Let those who are more than willing to help do just that.  Stop getting frustrated.

I know none of this is earth shattering but it was my thinking today as I worked in the kitchen.  

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