Cheating in the Kitchen

[digitS']

I think I'm an okay cook but kind of go for the lowest common denominator. My list of ingredients is usually pretty short but there are quite a few garden veggies .

Stocks are a big, BIG part of my cooking. A bone never makes it out of the kitchen unless it has been boiled. I collect them from steaks, for example, right off the dinner plates and they go back on the stove in a pot of water.

That frugalness is also a part of the treatment for veggies. Anything that doesn't quite meet the standards for something else, often ends up in with the bone in the stock pot. One part of the carrot may be in the pot, another part of the same carrot may be on the table. After simmering for 90 minutes or so, what is solid in the pot gets tossed and the stock goes in a zip lock bag and the freezer. With a steady supply of stock, I'm in business!

Nice fresh veggies and meat, maybe with some pasta or rice, go in 5 or 6 cups of stock and there will be soup on the table in about 30 minutes!

Nice veggies and cooked meat, maybe with some pasta or rice, will go in 2 or 3 cups of stock and a can of "cream of something" soup. There will be a casserole on the table in about 30 minutes!

You see, the ingredients are all the same except for that can of condensed soup. What varies is whether I cook them first and put in a little stock and a casserole dish or cook them together in a lot of stock in a pot on the stove. I may put various kinds of cheese in the casserole but I may also put cheese in the soup!

The family seems to think I'm a good cook but am I just a cheat?

Steve :/

 

[Mickey328]

You certainly are NOT! That's what good cooks do...combine ingredients in different ways. And a good AND frugal cook, does that and also ensures that nothing useful goes to waste.

I keep a zipper bag in the freezer and as I come across things like bones, slightly wilted or blemished veggies...I toss them in the bag. I don't mix the bones, though...I make a separate bag for chicken and beef. Once it's full, I start another. At some point, when I have enough, I toss all that stuff in the pressure cooker with some water, onions, garlic and whatever fresh herbs I have on hand and and cook it. Takes about an hour or so. Then I strain the liquid, put it in jars and process that. Freezer space is always at a premium here, so anything I'm able to can, I do. I can the stock in both pint (for casseroles) and quart (for soups) jars so I have a good variety to choose from.

I further separate the solids setting the bones aside and giving the rest to the chickens. After being pressure cooked, bones tend to become quite soft and don't splinter. I've got these in a box too...waiting till I get enough. Then I'm going to put them in the food processor and grind them into bone meal. So in the end, nothing at all goes in the garbage.

 

[Carol Dee]

Steve you would be pretty nice to have around. I get tired of being the only cook and bottle washer. Everything sounds fresh and delicious. TFS the great tips.

 

[lesa]

That is good, old fashioned home cooking! I love having stock on hand. I once read that you could use carrot tops in stock- anybody ever tried it? I always plan to...and then never get around to it! Since the chickens don't like them, I would love to find something to do with them. Everything is better with cheese, Steve!

 

[ninnymary]

Steve, I think you're more than a just ok cook. Your food always sound amazing, especially those pies!

Mary

 

[Jared77]

Cheat? NO WAY!!!

Your building flavor! That's how its done. Stock is just another ingredient. No different than as seasoning or herb, protein, or veg. Simple as that. Think of it this way, you start the cooking when you make the stock, and then its on pause till you resume the cooking when you make it into something else.

 

[digitS']

Ah,

Thanks!

Family

& Friends!

Steve

 

[897tgigvib]

Now I have the Dick Van Dyke show tune in my head!!!

Hay Digit! You have any single sisters who cook like that?

 

[Southern Gardener]

Martha Stewart would be so proud of you! I recently watched her making three different stocks - I'm gonna try it someday.

 

[thistlebloom]

Well, I have kitchen experience and nobody around here has ever starved, but I've never made stock so you're miles ahead of me!
I have a brother-in-law who could be Rob Petries twin! He's not so clumsy tho'.