the laanba blog

Kits

I'm going to make chili tonight.  I've never made chili before.  I'm going to brown some beef, add water and tomato sauce and a chili starter kit.

The last part of that list is the most important.  When I read In Defense of Food in 2009 it changed so much about the way I looked at food, cooking and recipes.  I have struggled since then to cook mostly from scratch.  To avoid boxes, kits, canned soups and anything that uses overly commercial products.  It has been a struggle for a non-cook like me.  And I realized today that using a kit here and there isn't going to be the end of the world.  It is better that I make this chili this way then get take out which is what I have been doing for the last two weeks.  

I am still going to be very careful about what I make and try to avoid the overly processed meal helpers but if there is an envelope of seasonings that helps me along the way now and then, I'm not going to feel guilty about it.   

Pie

I made pie.  Sticking with my goal** of baking twice a month I made this Tollhouse Pie.  It wasn't bad although in my head I was making a brownie pie which this is not.  I was proud of myself for making it and I even looked forward to the process which is a big hurdle for me.  Now let's see if I can keep it up.

**Decided to call all those "resolutions" goals instead.  I have one resolution and that is STOP BEING LAZY.  All the other steps are goals to help me achieve my resolution.  Works for me.  

Black Eyed Pea Dip

I've made this before but I thought it would be a good way to kick off the year and it covers my vegetable dish for the week.  I won't always make stuff I've made before but I couldn't resist trying to add a little luck with this Black Eyed Pea Dip.

It may not look great, but it was tasty and it was a good way to use up the unopened bag of tortilla chips on my counter.  I didn't add the hot sauce because I'm not a fan of the taste and I think I added just a little bit too much jalapeno.  It had a nice slow burn but I could have probably just done with a slow glow.

This is not a cooking blog so don't expect fabulous food photography.  I'm sure I'll get better as I go along.

Pioneer Woman: Zannie's Black-Eyed Pea Dip

Also...

The idea that I am going to make four or five meals each night that are completely made up of only fresh ingredients and using no processed ingredients is ridiculous.  Sometimes I think I have to do new  things all or nothing.  I am starting to hate cooking again.  Not that I ever loved it but I am starting to  lean towards severe dislike.  

I am going to cut myself some slack.  I have been beating myself up when I have made one of my old comfort foods, sometimes from a box.  Right now I think I need to start with the concept of  "buy groceries and then eat your groceries and don't go out to eat."  I am going to aim for one or two recipes a week with mostly fresh ingredients and if I want to eat a frozen pizza the other nights, no guilt. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Finding Keepers

Remember when I wrote about learning to cook (eek... I can't believe it's almost been a year) and when I made my first real meal of the "learn to cook" era?  The cooking has been sporadic at best although I have been much, much more consistent since the beginning of this year.  I accept that it is going to take more than just a few months to unravel years of bad habits and thinking.

One thing that I have just realized in the last few weeks is that not all my recipes are going to be keepers like that first one.  It took me forever, but it tasted good and I would definitely make it again.  There aren't many recipes that are falling into the "make it again" category.  Many of the recipes are servicable, nothing horrible that I had to throw in the trash, but just sustaining me for the evening.  

Maybe I'm too picky.  Or maybe that's just the nature of cooking.  Maybe I don't have a huge arsenal of recipes because I have only been doing this for a year and I'll have a bigger list after I've been doing it for 5 or 10 years.  Time will tell.  

P.S.  Tonight I made a keeper.  Deviled Chicken from Cook's Country.  It was HOT (mustard, hot sauce and black pepper) and it was GOOD.

P.P.S.  Love the iPhone app GroceryZen.  It has a clean, easy to use interface and I really like that it has a recipe section (which got me thinking about all this). I can enter all the ingredients for a specific recipe and then later if I want to cook that meal all the items will be added to my grocery list with the push of a button.

Shopping Trip

New goodies for the kitchen. My aunt and my grandmother both gave me money to buy things for the kitchen so today I put that money to use.  I'm excited to use my new stuff.  It isn't the most expensive equipment out there, but it is replacing fry pans that I've had since college that were non-stick but are now more of the scratched up, flaking variety.  I bought three new pans, a universal lid, a food processor (finally!) and some new utensils.  And because I couldn't stop my self I went across the street to the bookstore and bought yet another cookbook.  As always I have high hopes.

Show and Tell

Look what I did!  I *made* this.  Chicken with Creamy Mushrooms and Snap Peas.  And it was GOOD!  If you don't know why this is a big deal then read this post.

Of course a dish that is listed as taking 25 minutes took me closer to 60 because it takes me forever to do things like chop vegetables and I'm never sure if it is time to go on to the next step.  I know that I will speed up with more experience.  No matter that I had to eat at 9 o'clock at night.  I'm very happy with the results.   

This was from the Food Network magazine.  I have a really good feeling about the recipes there as well as in Rachel Ray's magazine (I know, I know, but I don't have to listen to her in a magazine). You can find the recipe here.  

Cooking so far

My cooking adventures have totally hit the skids the last few weeks as late night rehearsals, concerts, school functions, and just plain old work have eaten up my time.  But that is soon coming to an end and I'm looking forward to having time this summer to really focus on cooking.  I dare say there is a part of me that is actually excited about it.  It is the part of me that imagines this healthy person who cooks all these fresh meals, exercises, gets up before 8 am, etc.  Currently there is no one in this house that is doing these things, but I can dream.

I've become a little bit of a magazine buying fanatic, looking for a good source for recipes.  I think in the end magazines are going to be my best bet.  They aren't very expensive and they have all new options every issue.  I'm also going to collect some things here and there from the internet, but it is so huge and frankly, disorganized, that it is a turn off.  I'm not interested in wading through a whole website to find one useable recipe.  Actually one place I'm going to look is the Flickr group, Recipes to Share.  People post their food photos, which are always fun to look at, but they also have to post a recipe or a link to the recipe.  I think I will find some things that way.

I also hope to visit the local farmer's markets on a regular basis to get some fresh produce and to force myself to try a variety of new things.  That will obviously be much easier in the summer when I have the energy to get up early and go.  I went today and picked up a few things, but I bet there was a lot more selection at eight in the morning than there was at eleven.  

Summer is exactly two months long this year and I know that time is going to fly by.  I hope I can fit in everything that I want to do in regards to cooking.  

In the Kitchen

I made my first recipe from my new cookbook and it didn't turn out horrible!  Woo hoo!  The book I decided on was the Food Network's How to Boil Water.  I like the approach of this book. They want people to use their products and watch their shows so they wrote a book for beginners that leaves nothing to chance.  They even really explain how to boil water.  The recipes have lots of pictures and tips and the book has a section on how to prep vegetables, fruit, use a knife, etc.

The recipe I made was spaghetti with olive oil and garlic.  It will hopefully be one of those recipes that I'll be able to do eventually without thinking, but since I'm such a novice I was unsure of everything (except how to make spaghetti... I actually do know how to boil water).  It would say something like brown the garlic until it was golden, but HOW golden?  These are the thoughts that run through a beginner cook's head.  But I did it.  I even had freshly grated parmesan.  Fancy!

The other significant thing about this meal is that there was no meat.  I'm a big meat eater. BIG.  As in it just isn't a meal if there isn't chicken, pork or beef.  But this article at Frugal Dad inspired me to think about trying some meatless meals.  I hope I can continue doing this at least once a week.

The other thing that is going to be interesting in this odyssey is my imminent reading of the book In Defense of Food.  I'm waiting for the paperback which hits the stands in two weeks. I heard the author on Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me and I watched an interview with him on You Tube. I think his stance sounds very interesting and it is timely considering that I am trying to learn to cook. Basically we have become a nation that eats food like substances instead of food. Special occasion food has become every day food.  We need to get back to cooking and eating fresh fruits and vegetables and visiting farmers markets.  That isn't a good explanation at all. You can watch this video (9 minutes) to get an idea of what the author is talking about.

One day down.  Let's see if I can actually keep it going.

Cooking

I am so tired of the way things are going in almost every single aspect of my life.  It is time for things to change.  There is a lot more underneath that simple statement, but I'm going to keep it to myself right now and just talk about cooking.

I hate to cook.  I think almost anyone who reads this blog knows that. But if I want other things to change, cooking needs to be a major component.  I don't need to go over all the reasons that dining in is better for you because I'm sure you heard them all before (eat healthier, save money, etc.) 

I find nothing joyful or relaxing about cooking.  I look at recipes and feel overwhelmed with long lists of ingredients and step after step of instructions.  Throw in the fact that I am a semi-picky eater and am single and don't want to make 6-8 servings and I hope you can get an idea where I'm coming from.  Or maybe not.  Some people hate being on the computer.  I hate being in the kitchen.

But it has to change.  I think this can be beneficial for more than just the previously mentioned reasons.  I need to stop my endless wandering around the internet night after night.  Clicking from social space to social space hoping that something magical will happen.  That my life will suddenly change and be better.  Things must change.

So it all comes together.  Turn the TV off, close the laptop and get into the kitchen.  Don't stress out if it takes a long time to prepare something.  It would be great if I could fit a little chair in my kitchen to read while things are cooking.  Maybe one day when I don't live in a shoebox.

Now the hard part.  Finding recipes.  You would think the internet would be great for this sort of thing, but instead it is one big huge jumble of confusion.  Looks like I'll be heading to the bookstore soon to get some cookbooks.  I guess there is one other thing I have to change.  I have to stop saying that I hate to cook.