Simple Cooking
Tips, Guidelines, and Recipes!
Even simple cooking requires measurements, whether by taste, by sight, or by recipe. We all have one advantage: we know what tastes good to us, and we know what we want to eat. Look at the information below, and continue reading. If you want to send us additional tips or guidelines on simple cooking as well as recipes, please feel free to do so!
Potato Soup
4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
½ c onions, chopped
2 large stalks celery, chopped
½ c chopped parsley
1 T salt |
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1 qt. milk
2 T flour
2T cornstarch
½ c water |
Mix together the potatoes, onions, celery, parsley, and salt. Boil in moderate amount of water. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add the milk. In small bowl, make a paste of of the remaining ingredients. Add to soup. Stir until soup thickens. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Helpful Hints
- Whenever cooking a favorite meal, make an additional batch for the freezer. When you have unexpected company, or if you do not feel like cooking and you do not want to go out, you will not be caught unprepared. Eat them within two months of preparation.
- Brown rice is more delicate than white. Refrigerate your brown rice if you think you will not use it within four months.
- Keep your other grains in a tightly lidded container and store in a cool, dry place.
- If your children want soft cookies instead of the hard ones you baked, store them in a covered container with a slice of regular bread.
- A few drops of lemon juice do wonders: added to rice while it simmers will keep the grains from being sticky; added to potatoes prior to draining will make your mashed potatoes look whiter; added to peeled pears or apples will prevent the fruit from browning faster.
- Fresh lemon juice is good for removing the smell of garlic and of onions from your hands.
- To avoid being splattered with hot oil when frying, put a little salt in the pan prior to frying.
- If you undercook your cookies or cakes, serve them over whipped cream, or top them with whipped cream and fresh fruit.
- Immerse your hard boiled eggs right after draining in cold running water, to prevent black color around the yolks. It will also aid in removing the egg shells easily.
- You can use instant potatoes instead of flour or cornstarch to thicken your stew.
- Sliced jicama stays fresh and crisp for four days if refrigerated submerged in water.
- Keep your meat frozen until you are ready to cook it. Thaw it in the refrigerator, or defrost in the microwave, and cook immediately.
Simple Cooking
Eating outside can be fun and relaxing. However, if you eat outside because you think you have no time to cook, or think you do not know how to cook, you may want to try this instead. Stop by your grocer, get a nice piece of lean beef, a potato, a package of organic salad, and a bottle of juice. Preheat your oven as soon as you enter the house. Wash the meat and the potato well. Set the meat under the broiler when the oven is very hot. Decide if you want your meat rare, medium, or well done, and you will know when to turn that meat over. Consider the thickness of the meat. Make four long shallow cuts on the potato, front, back, and sides. Place it in the microwave. A medium-sized potato will take probably about three to four minutes on high. Within half an hour or less, you will have a healthy meal that is less expensive than what you can find at fast food restaurants. That is simple cooking!
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