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| It's laughing at unsuspecting kale and beet greens |
In other news, I'm trying to get myself organized for my upcoming month of cooking. I do a lot of recipe reading, on blogs but also offline, in cookbooks and magazines, so I'm going to need to compile a list of things I'd like to try. I've set aside some time over this week to do so, because I'm afraid that if I don't do it ahead of time, it'll feel overwhelming when I actually get into April and have to think of things to cook daily. I'm also trying to have a few themes so that I can maximize ingredient usage. So far, the themes are mushrooms, Indian (I'm thinking of changing this to Asian, though, since I don't think I want to eat Indian every day for a week), and (maybe) molecular gastronomy, though I suspect a full week of that will get old. Passover is in April, too, so I'll have 10 days of gluten-free stuff by default. I'm excited about this endeavor!
Today's Tuesday Tip is actually a tip request. What do you make when your "cooking mojo" is off? I've had a couple of recipes not turn out the way I want, and I'm trying to ease myself back in before April hits. Any suggestions for something that would be easy and relatively fail-proof?
I like to throw together a salad when I don't feel like cooking. I've experimented with making different types of vinaigrette to mix up the flavor. My husband also likes it when I make different types of mac and cheese. It's a good way to use up different pantry/fridge ingredients.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I like that idea! We've tried making our own vinaigrettes before, though, and it's been hard to get the flavors right. It seems to taste one way when in the mixing bowl, but the balance seems off when I add it to a salad. It's a mystery.
DeleteWhen my cooking mojo is off, I make vegetable soup. It's virtually impossible to screw up unless you, I don't know, forget the broth? And it can be made pretty hearty with the addition of beans, barley, etc. And it freezes well.
ReplyDeleteHaha, yes, forgetting the broth might make the soup less...soupy. :) I've never really frozen soup, does it matter what ingredients you have in there?
DeleteSoup is incredibly handy for freezing in 1-serving portions. I've never found ingredients (within the realm of normal soup ingredients) that freeze badly. Tofu does change texture pretty dramatically when frozen, but it doesn't become bad, just... different. But I usually don't put tofu in soup anyway. I also don't have any experience freezing cream-based soups, so I don't know if there would be extra considerations there.
DeleteI've been using different varieties of store-bought recipe starters when my creativity is low... The Philadelphia cream cheese thingys (cooking cream, maybe?) are actually really tasty. They have a whole list of recipes for them online, but you really don't need a recipe at all. You can just sautee some veggies and/or pasta and then throw the cooking cream in and it gets all creamy and saucy and yummy. And it feels like I really made something. (I usually use chicken, but I know you're looking for veggie recipes) :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever tried one of those, but that sounds really good! Sauteing is nice and easy. :)
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