Anyways, I have a few friends over the past year ask about my cooking process since I do both tend to enjoy cooking and do it a lot. So here friends, is a run down.
My kitchen.
Literal view from the kitchen window.
I then take said list and go to my usual 3 grocery stores, which I admit is a little obnoxious. I go to Trader Joe's for the bulk of the food because I can get most of it organic and for cheap. I go to Kroger to fill in more of the commercial food holes like Pillsbury brownie mix that stores like TJ wont carry. I then top it off with a trip to our local grocery store- Arbor Farms Market where I can find some really fresh local produce and my more foodie items.
My stove topped with all my spices. I was making my favorite vegan chili when this picture was taken.
2) I keep a set of "basics" in the pantry at all times. I like to be able to make meals "off the hip", plus these things include things I use over and over again. I think each person will have their own version of this based on what they like to eat. But also, I only like to buy food for the upcoming week to cut down on waste so our fridge and cupboards are usually bare besides these things. I also try to follow the French philosophy of making food our second spending priority besides rent. That means I will spend a few dollars more to buy better tasting, fresher cheese rather than the pre-shredded/sliced kind. You can definitely taste the difference and feel it too.
My list of basics--
Oils: olive, canola, sesame, coconut, and grapeseed
Sweeteners: honey, agave
Vinegars: basic, balsamic, white wine, red wine, and rice
Grains: barley, basmati brown rice, bulgur, quinoa, red lentils and pasta
Others: Dijon mustard, pesto, shallots, beans, ginger, onions, a lemon, potatoes, tortillas, naan, hummus, Persian cucumbers, a leafy green (arugula, spinach, etc) carrots, a hard cheese (Parmesan), a soft cheese (mozzarella or Havarti) sea salt grinder, pepper, and a bunch of spices.
A shout out to my father who taught me the foundation of creative cooking. This is a picture of him hand making pesto with a knife from this summer.
With all that being said, I am NOT a baker at all. I am more into the art of cooking rather than the science. I give major props to those who are. These brownies are about the extent of my baking prowess but there are really crazy good and have already been made a few times.
In terms of inspiration, I get it from three different main forms: my cookbooks, my recipe binder, and pinterest.
For the most part, I've always had a lot of luck with pinterest meals. I think its an easy way to "organize" your recipes digitally. Also, if I see a recipe that I like from a food blogger that I follow, I will make sure to pin it there. I also keep it up to date to my tastes. So if I made the recipe and it wasn't very good or its not something I will actually eat, I will delete it. Here is a link to my pinterest recipe board.
Mike made this from my pinterest board the other night and it was ahh-mazing!
So second is my recipe binder. My recipe binder is a combination of recipes from friends, pull outs from magazines and if a recipe I find online is really good, I will print it off and put it in there too. All of my recipes go into page protectors so I can pull them out and keep them by me when I am cooking-- plus I don't have to worry about them getting dirty either! I am a subscriber to Vegetarian Times (which has ehh recipes) and Cooking Light (my favorite cooking magazine). I tend to cook a lot from this book since it has a lot of my tried and true favorites, plus it is organized all by categories relevant to my tastes (ie "non bean vegetarian mains"). I even made one for my sister this past Christmas.
Lastly is my beloved cookbooks.
The cookbook I would recommend to everyone is "Keys to the Kitchen". It does a great job of breaking down the nuances and basics of cooking. I've learned a lot from this book and often refer to it when cooking creatively.
Here are some examples:
Basics of spices & cooking poultry.
Go to vegetarian cookbooks:
Super Natural Everyday by Heidi Swanson. Favorite Recipe.
The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen by Peter Berley.
The Sprouted Kitchen by Sara Forte. Favorite Recipe.
A vegan cookbook: Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Favorite recipe.
Now on to novelty cookbooks. I buy these cookbooks based off inspiration food experiences I've had in the past year. First, my trip to Paris was a big food inspiration to me. To me, Parisian food was a mix of quirky with simplicity. I still am dreaming about certain meals that I had there. Secondly, I got a cookbook on middle eastern food. All the grad school, middle eastern food was my go to comfort food in between classes. I got both of these books to engage more- to push my comfort zone in terms of cooking, and to be inspired by a world outside of my own.
The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo.
Check out her blog and my favorite recipe.
Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (a Jew and a Muslim from Jerusalem co-wrote this book-- talk about cool). Favorite recipe.
Some other favorites:
The good ol' Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. Still some of my favorites for soups.
Cooking from the Farmers' Market. This was a great cookbook for when I had an overabundance of vegetables from the garden this summer.
Lastly, the most important thing about cooking is to enjoy the process. Whether its picking out vegetables that glow or growing them in your own garden. From gaining inspiration from a beautiful photograph in a cookbook or from an exquisite meal at a restaurant. To the chopping off the onions or the leftover stems arranged in the sink. The wonderment is truly what makes the magic.
That you for this wonderful post, my love dove. Eric and I have been cooking a lot more- I don't think I've cooked this much in my entire life! I love trying new recipes. Anything you like, please recommend! :)
ReplyDelete