Thank you! You gave me tips I've not gotten before. I especially appreciate the recipes you provided. Hardest for me will be measuring by eye or hand.
4
Easy starting point: get a soup ladle and pour a measured quarter cup of water in it. Look at it for a minute and remember roughly how much space is left between the liquid and the top of the ladle. Pour it into a pan and have a look it. Now you know what ~1/4 c of liquid looks like. Measure out a tablespoon of sugar into the palm of your hand and feel how much it is. Put back all but a teaspoon and look at how much that is -- most measurements for spices are somewhere between these two amounts, and now you know what they look like.
20
Cod cooked in butter garnished with salt and pepper is simple and delicious!
4
Good tips here. I'm a real mulitasker and I love foil pans. Take a foil pan, add chopped or sliced vegetables...tonight I diced one good sized zucchini and sliced four leeks (all from the farmer's market) then chopped some Greek oregano, drizzled the whole thing with olive oil and (obviously) added salt and pepper...good cooks are always liberal with salt. Put the pan on top the preheated grill and toss with tongs until tender or until it looks right. In the meantime, you've grilled fish or chicken or beef on the other side. It's really good and I can hold a conversation whilst I'm doing it.
9
The premise of this article IS good. It doesn't take much to prepare a healthy meal. Just follow a few basics as suggested here even realizing that some points are too complicated by the "experts." The moisture content of vegetables determines a cooking temperature is confusing and offputting. Just roast until fork tender! The novice can become expert by reading the why's if necessary.
Experiment with spices and herbs. So what a little too much. This is how a chef learns and creates. Better less salt before and just add later. Again, if a novice but turned on chef is curious, maybe learning that: "only the lazy starve" leads to better meals.
Cooking doesn't have to be difficult. It's only the magazines that intimidate.
Experiment with spices and herbs. So what a little too much. This is how a chef learns and creates. Better less salt before and just add later. Again, if a novice but turned on chef is curious, maybe learning that: "only the lazy starve" leads to better meals.
Cooking doesn't have to be difficult. It's only the magazines that intimidate.
10
Thank you! I live alone, a day like to spend as little time as possible when it comes top preparing meals. This article contains great tips for a "non-cook" like me.
7
It's always encouraging but depressing to find my stand-bys detailed in the NYT. On the one hand, I am proud to have dfound and developed these approved recipes without the times. On the other hand I am disappointed to see that I may have hit some kind of ceiling.
11
Great concept, but it makes little sense for a novice cook to start with fish, perhaps one of the most difficult things to get just right. Chicken, beef, pork, lamb, any of those are more forgiving. Fish goes from undercooked to rubber in a New York Minute.
15
The premise of this article is absurd. You can think about your work or the kids while you cook but keep an eye on the fish and subtract or add a minute or two to take charge of your cooking and ad-lib as you go along all the while helping your kids with multiplication...
Multi-tasking is a myth. Good cooking, even easy cooking, needs your attention. Follow this article and your cooking will be lousy and your kids will stink at math. One might as well order in Chinese.
Multi-tasking is a myth. Good cooking, even easy cooking, needs your attention. Follow this article and your cooking will be lousy and your kids will stink at math. One might as well order in Chinese.
5
No, see, the idea is that you have a few dishes so easy and fulfilling that you'll have them committed to muscle memory. Then you really can think about other stuff.
21
I don't think the premise is absurd. I did when I was younger. I don't think I could do it now but that is why it is nice to have a young mind and a big kitchen table.
8
If ever an article cried out for videos, this is it. It's fine to describe cooking techniques, but who reads and follows instructions any more? But if you demonstrate them . . . then they might pay attention.
9
Re meatballs, I can only suggest that 1 t. salt for each pound is way too much. If you are using commercial breadcrumbs, salt is already added, and if you choose to add grated cheese for example, as many do, that is additional added sodium. It is a matter of taste but from this cook for 35+ years, I find that meatballs need no added salt, especially when there are additional ingredients or spices.
12
I agree that one teaspoon is way too much, but I can't agree with using no salt. About a half teaspoon is perfect, IMHO.
3
This piece has an excellent premise--get thee to autopilot--with useful suggestions for doing so, both general and quite specific. I will save and reread the entire article as there is much that's useful to absorb. Thank you!
9
Very awesome idea here! We garden year round and always have fresh something, but we get rather in a rut, as opposed to a good routine. These recipes sound delicious and do-able. I have read this to my husband, who is the great cook in our house. Thanks!
4
As a vegan, I learn how to cook healthy dishes following your techniques, but I use only plant-based whole foods.