cheaphealthygood

Sabtu, 07 Mei 2011

Saturday Throwback: Overcoming Your Cooking Obstacles

Every Saturday, we post a piece from the CHG archives. This one comes from May 2009.

When it comes to eating healthier and saving money on food, we’ve established time and time again that few strategies are more effective than cooking at home. Making meals in your own kitchen gives you total control over nutrition, flavor, ingredient quality, and expenditures, among other things. Plus, making a mess with flour is fun.

Still, for many, home cooking is nigh inconceivable. Maybe you work 80 hours a week, and can’t find 20 minutes to make a sandwich. Maybe you live in New York’s East Village, where your apartment galley doubles as your bathroom and your bedroom. Maybe you never learned to cook, and are afraid of blowing $10 on a chicken, then charring it beyond recognition.

Fortunately, we here at the CHG laboratory (translation: my bathroom) have the answer.

First, we isolated a handful factors that most affect peoples’ ability to fire up their own stoves. They are: time, space (in the capacity sense, not the extraterrestrial sense), inexperience, fear of failure, and The Damn Dishes. More than anything else, these five elements drive the average folk to takeout, restaurants, and pilfering fruit from sweet old ladies.

Then, drawing from extensive research and our own experiences, we brainstormed tips and tricks to combat these hindrances. Without further ado, here's everything.

TIME

The problem, defined: Since it’s a thrice-daily activity, cooking can be a total time suck. And if you have children, a demanding job, or stuff to do, it’s difficult blocking an hour or two per day for food prep. Consider this: in the 1950s, Americans (read: women) spent about 20 hours a week in the kitchen. Today, it’s less than six.

The solution, explained: Prioritizing cooking isn’t a full-throttle, 0-to-60 overnight deal. It’s a habit developed gradually, and you have to give yourself some leeway. So, start small. Eat breakfast at home everyday for a week, or take 20 minutes to make a basic, from-scratch meal. Try bringing lunch to work. Force yourself to sit down, at your table, and drink a full cup of coffee. Eat in your kitchen instead of in front of your television. Find three or four easy recipes, and cook all your food for the week on a Sunday. Enlist help from the kids/husband/erstwhile in-laws. Again: take baby steps, and don't forget to give yourself a break. With a few months and constant reinforcement, that hour-a-day will start to come naturally.

SPACE

The problem, defined: Your place has exactly enough room for you, your roommate from Albania, and the dust bunnies you’re raising together as common law spouses. There’s no space for a box of cereal, never mind a 12-piece set of Calphalon.

The solution, explained: You’re already starting small, so that advice is out the window (if, in fact, you have a window). Instead, think big. Where else can you store food, besides your refrigerator and/or cabinet(s)? Is there room under your bed? On top of the microwave? Under the table? Can you install shelving over doorways? Are there Lazy Susans or mini-shelving you can cram under your sink? Check Apartment Therapy’s Smallest Coolest contest for creative ideas, and always remember: IKEA is your friend. For more, check Frugal Storage Solutions for the Small Kitchen, a CHG post from November 2008.

INEXPERIENCE

The problem, defined: When it comes to cooking, there are fetuses with more wherewithal. At least they know what to do with leftovers.

The solution, explained: Remember: everybody has to start somewhere. If you don’t know a scallop from a shallot, that’s fine. No one’s evaluating you. Don’t be afraid to experiment and play, and know that you’ll foul up on occasion, sometimes monumentally. Picking up a simple cookbook always helps (suggestions: any Betty Crocker tome, How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman, How to Boil Water by Food Network), as do basic recipe sites (AllRecipes, Food Blog Search, etc.), beginners’ TV shows (Everyday Italian, etc.) and fun magazines (Everyday Food, etc.). If you know a good cook, take some time to watch them work. Because if he/she can do it, so can you.

FEAR OF FAILURE

The problem, defined: You buy the finest ingredients. You have all the cooking equipment you possibly need. You’ve watched hour after hour of Julia Child spatchcocking … whatever it is that can be spatchcocked. Still, everything you make ranges in quality from suck to blow. Why waste all that money and time if you know it’s going to be terrible?

The solution, explained: From Eric Ripert to your great-grandma Mary Sue, all chefs have had disasters, often repeatedly. While prompting you to “Suck it up and get back in the game, champ!” is clichéd and glib, there’s some truth to its underlying optimism. You’ll never get any better if you don’t learn from mistakes (your numerous, calamitous mistakes). If you’re concerned about cost, practice your technique on lower-priced ingredients with Craigslist-caliber cookware (and keep a few inexpensive insta-meals around for backup). Don’t forget to read recipes several times and taste your creations as you prepare them. It’ll save you from undersalting or overcooking. Finally, if you can find one, make a loved one your personal guinea pig. Eventually, as you get better, he/she will reap the culinary rewards. Now suck it up and get back in the game, champ!

THE DAMN DISHES

The problem, defined: After 18 roommates and nine apartments spread over 13 years, I’m secretly convinced that 95% of cooking blocks come from one thing: nobody (me included) wants to do The Damn Dishes. Time-consuming and the total opposite of fun, they’re a pain in the tuchus for all involved. In college, I knew a guy who would leave his Damn Dishes in the sink for DAYS, until his roommates couldn’t take it anymore, surrendered, and washed them. Also - cooking shows and cookbooks NEVER, EVER consider The Damn Dishes when they’re telling you how to make food. I love Ina Garten, but if I ever saw her wash a Damn Dish on Barefoot Contessa, I’d drop dead.

The solution, explained: If you don’t have a dishwasher, I feel your pain. An already-tedious task becomes more difficult when it’s compounded by Whirlpool envy. Starting out with simple, one-pot meals can alleviate this somewhat, as can concentrating on cold salads and sandwiches, which naturally involve fewer dishes. You could also choose one day per week to do all your cooking, which condenses the dishwashing into a half-hour or so. If all else fails, try setting up a system with your roommate/family/Husband-Elect, wherein you do the cooking and he/she/they does/do the dishes. You’ll eat well and avoid dishpan hands.

If you DO have a dishwasher … use it. Lucky dog.

And that’s our ballgame, sweet readers. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please fire away in the comment section. We’re waiting for your call!

~~~

If you enjoyed this article, you might also dig:

Jumat, 06 Mei 2011

Kamis, 05 Mei 2011

Veggie Might: Farm Tourist

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.

Spring makes me want to dig in the dirt and make green things grow. I begin to picture a fire escape container garden with trellising bean vines and hanging tomato plants. But two things prevent me from making this yearly urban-farming fantasy a reality: my tiny New York City apartment gets no direct sunlight, and I’m terribly absentminded. So I water my low-light houseplants and leave the food growing to the pros.

Plus, the best part about buying fresh produce is chatting up the farmers at the farmers’ market. My neighborhood market draws the same group of upstate New York and eastern Pennsylvania farmers every year, and they become a part of our community. The Morgiewicz family supplies the majority of my vegetables from April through Thanksgiving, and the folks Breezy Hill Orchard from rock the best stone fruit I’ve ever put in a pie.

But even that can’t beat spending a day on a farm, seeing firsthand where your food comes from. Such was my weekend when I trekked south for the 16th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour sponsored by Carolina Farm Stewardship Association in April. The tour brought together 40 farms across Orange, Alamance, and Chatham counties in central North Carolina, on the eastern edge of the state’s Piedmont region.

Accompanied by my best friend Angela and her hubby Jesse, who live in Pittsboro, in Chatham county, my boyfriend CB and I got to take a peek at four farms in two days despite thunderstorms and tornadoes. We met farmers and talked to sustainable agriculture enthusiasts; we dined at restaurants that served locally sourced produce, dairy, and meats; we made friends with a few animals; and we marvelled at compost—twice.

Our first stop on Saturday was Harland’s Creek Farm in Pittsboro, a certified organic farm that produces flowers, vegetables, herbs, and pastured poultry. Harland’s Creek provided a tour brochure so guests could wander the grounds at their leisure.

Their flowers and herbs are grown in a formal parterre garden of raised, geometrically shaped beds, which reminded me of photographs of English country estates. The stunning historic farmhouse added to the illusion. As we pinched off tiny bits of herbs to smell and taste for identification (fennel and lemon balm or was that lemon verbena?), CB made fast friends with a pair of cats. It would be a recurring theme for the weekend.

Next up was Aryshire Farm, also in Pittsboro, which we visited after waiting out the thunderstorms. We were lucky to be farmer Bill Dow’s last tour of the day, and gratefully slogged through red clay mud to see and hear about his certified organic pear, apple, and peach orchard, blueberry bushes, and vegetable terraces. About halfway through the tour, we were joined by a group of beer-drinking senior citizens who enjoyed themselves as much as we did, but perhaps for different reasons.

Dow grows primarily lettuces and greens for local restaurants, working directly with chefs to produce the produce they want. "I'd never heard of rapini before I started growing it," he quipped. Rapini, mizuna, arugula…he plants what they serve.

He also asks the chefs who visit his farm to bring their waitstaff with them, since as he puts it, "They're the ones talking to the people who eat the food."

Dow explained how he prevents erosion and conserves water on farm. By building terraces on the gently sloping land, water that would normally wash down the hillside is trapped and used by the plants at each level. And he distributes organic fertilizer (manure and compost) from the back of a beat-up old pick up truck that it is the envy of teenagers county-wide.

In late fall, he plants cover crops, like red clover, that are turned into live mulch in the spring. He pointed to the clover tops that were just starting to turn pink explaining that they were most nitrogen-rich and ready to be turned. He then walked over to a small three-sided shed, that housed a small tractor, hand tools, ropes, and buckets. He pulled out a garden hoe, much like one you might use in your backyard garden, except the handle was nearly as long as he was tall.

“The Dutch are better than us in two things: art and gardening.” He then demonstrated that with this Dutch-made, long-handled implement, you could turn the soil or break up weeds without stooping and hurting your back. He offered the hoe for one of our party to try. She passed her brewski to her husband and marveled at its ease of use.

As the tour wrapped, Dow’s dog Kate joined our posse and made fast-friends with CB. She followed him back to the car where we said our goodbyes, but not before Dow offered us a terrace for lease. The four of us looked at each other in contemplation. CB and I quickly said no; but I suspect we may be hearing about Angela and Jesse’s farm-fresh rapini in seasons to come.

Sunday, we set out for central Orange County to visit Avillion Farm, a fiber farm in the small Orange County burg of Efland. A fiber farm raises sheep, goats, and/or rabbits for their fleece which is spun into yarn or thread for knitting, weaving, crocheting, and countless other fiber arts. I’m a knitter/stitcher, so I just had to see the fuzzy animals, which Avillion had in abundance: adorable sheep, goats, and bunnies at every turn. More friends for CB.

Another self-guided tour, we learned from posted signs that, while Shetland sheep and Angora rabbits produce Shetland and Angora wool respectively, Angora goats produce mohair. We also saw a demonstration of vermicomposting of the rabbit poo and cleaned up at a homemade foot-powered hand washing station made of recycled water cooler jugs. It was well worth the hour drive north, and I managed to avoid spending my life’s savings on yarn.

With daylight on our side, we made one last stop: at McAdam’s Farm, also in Efland. A former tobacco farm, McAdams is a conventional farm that produces strawberries, flowers, produce, and raises beef cattle. Howard McAdams is the fourth generation of his family to work the land, making the switch from tobacco in 2000.

McAdams took us on a tour of his produce and strawberry fields, explaining just how labor intensive a crop of strawberries can be. Depending on soil quality and climate, the planting window can be as little as a week, and they must be replanted every year to ensure a healthy, productive crop.

Compared to blueberries, which are mostly at eye-level, strawberries are close to the ground; so harvesting is backbreaking work. That explains the popularity, among farmers at least, of pick-your-own strawberry patches, and why berries come at such a premium.

McAdams uses conventional farming methods, like black and white plastic mulch, along with chemical herbicides and pesticides to keep unwanted plants and critters at bay, and commercial fertilizers to enrich the sandy, coarse soil. He explained, laughing, that his land, unlike much of the surrounding rich red clay was great for tobacco but not that great for vegetables.

Angela made this trip an extra special experience. She is not just my best friend since high school; she is also an incredibly active member of the vibrant sustainable agriculture community of Chatham County. She is the manager of the Pittsboro Farmers’ Market and has been a champion of organic, local food since I can remember.

She asked so many great questions of the farmers, showed us the organic student farm used by the Sustainable Ag program at Central Carolina Community College, and took us for some amazing local fare. Every restaurant we visited, even the greasy-spoon diner and the burgers-and-fries sports bar, boasted local produce, meats, and dairy products.

A stand out was the Saxapahaw General Store in the tiny former-mill-village of Saxapahaw, in Alamance county. A combination restaurant/biofuel gas station, it’s a green oasis where you can fill up your converted minivan with cooking grease and your belly with maybe the best mac and cheese ever to pass these teeth.

In the weeks since my return to the big city, I’ve been thinking about the cost of food, particularly conventional versus organic produce, and I think I get it even more than I did before. Neither are easy to cultivate, and both are subject to the whims of weather, pests, and proper planning. In two days I saw vastly different farming methods in action and met the hard-working people behind them. It was suddenly plain to me why, organic or not, berries are so very expensive, and why organic produce comes at such a premium. Hearing Dow describe spreading manure from the back of a pick up truck with a shovel made me laugh in the moment—as CB said, “I’ve never met an unfunny farmer,”—but now I realize just what it means.

Farming takes commitment and passion, no matter what the scale. Dow is connected to his crops—he knows every plant and tree—and his reward is great, though his output is smaller than a conventional farm. McAdams takes a more business-like approach to his farm, focusing on the big picture of managing a mid-sized operation, and he clearly takes pride in carrying on his family’s legacy.

I’ll also remember how much time and sweat and pollen goes into raising food the next time I start planning my imaginary kitchen garden. This was one of the most eye-opening and delightful trips I’ve ever taken to my home state. My only regret is that I don't have a picture of farmer Dow showing off his superior Dutch hoe.

~~~~

If this flight tickled your fancy, flutter this way:

Rabu, 04 Mei 2011

Frugal Décor: Fabric Wall Panels

We interrupt this regularly scheduled food blog to bring you a frugal art project. (It will be my first and last. I promise.)

When HOTUS and I moved back in December, we were confronted with a perplexing decorative dilemma: an imposingly bare 12-foot wall in our main room. The Beige Monster dwarfed our posters and photos, and buying a gigantic mirror/painting/whatever was prohibitively expensive. To make matters worse, we weren't allowed to paint the wall, or hang anything from it that would require an anchor or excessive reinforcement, making sconces and funky sculptural stuff out of the question. (Yep, #whitegirlproblems. Perhaps the #whitestgirlproblems.)

So, I started Googling solutions, and in short order, came upon this post at Bella Dia. Cute, inexpensive, and infinitely customizable, fabric wall panels seemed like a most excellent solution to our problem. Best of all, they could be completed in 90 minutes, and didn't seem to pose an enormous problem for someone who thinks "damask" is a country in Eastern Europe. (Meaning: me.)

These are my results:

Cute, right? Not bad for someone who finds macaroni necklaces too complicated. If you're interested, here's how the process went down, and how you might be able to create a similar set of panels. (Remember: This is a fool-proof project. I know, because I am that fool.)

First, you have to measure out your wall, and kind of imagine what size canvasses will fit well in the space. (You can also draw a graph, which is what HOTUS did.) While 18x22-inchers were perfect for our 12-foot wall, yours may differ.

Then, hit the stores. If your wall is like ours, you'll need:

Four 18x24-inch wood-frame paint canvasses
Four 22x28-inch bolts of your favorite fabrics (bigger is good, too)
A staple gun and staples
Measuring tape
A pencil
A hammer
Four nails
Brute strength

The cloth was a little pricey, since we headed to Zarin Fabrics (of Real Housewives fame). BUT BUT BUT. I got all four canvasses at Michael's for under $20, total. They came in packs of two, which was nice.

As for the staple gun, an old-school metal one worked best. Word of caution, though: After awhile, that thing is rough on your hands. Wear gloves if you have 'em.

Once everything is procured, it's time to start stapling. Lay a bolt of fabric pattern-side-down on a big surface, like a kitchen table. Then, lay a frame canvas-side down on top of it.

Pick a corner and fold the fabric up over the back of the frame, like you see in this picture. Then, staple it to the wood.

Do the same with the remaining three corners, taking care to keep your fabric straight in the front. If your cloth is striped or patterned, you want it to appear perfectly situated.

Once your corners are done, staple the fabric along each side of the back of the frame, so that it's pulled taut. Then, flip the whole thing over and gander at your handiwork. It should look something like this:

Continue with the remaining frames and fabrics until everything is completed.

Finally, using your pencil, measuring tape, hammer, and nails, position and hang your fabric panels on your wall. You may want 'em spaced evenly or spread out all fun-like. Really, it's up to you. To review, we did this:

And that, sweet readers, is the ballgame. Next stop: figuring out how to cover our fuse box.

Do you have a favorite decor solution? Do tell.

~~~

If you liked this, you'll really love:

Selasa, 03 Mei 2011

CHG Best of April 2011

What a month, what a month. We cooked a whole bunch, raised $200 for a lovely Rwandan girl's kitchen, and, with readers, figured out the best deals at both Trader Joe's and CostCo. Beers all around!

APRIL RECIPES

Artichoke Pesto Dip
Broccoli Almond Stir-Fry
Cilantro Pesto
Creamy, Cheezy, Smoky, Spicy Grits with Kale
Cranberry Bulgur Wheat Pilaf
Curried Pumpkin Hummus
Easy Meatballs
Sesame Snap Peas

APRIL ARTICLES

Jaime, a recent carnivore convert, discussed Easy Meatballs and an Ethical Quandary.

We collaborated with readers on The Best Deals at Big Box Stores: A Cheat Sheet, and then followed it up with The Best Deals at Trader Joe's: A Cheat Sheet.

Leigh meditated on Eating Thoughtfully and Gratefully.

Frugal Food Shopping: Hitting Up Multiple Stores discussed a hugely useful strategy in lowering your food budget.

Best of all, y'all pitched in for Help CHG Raise $200 for Aline’s Kitchen in Rwanda. Pics coming soon!

Oh yeah! Rounding out the month, we Asked the Internet about…

For more Cheap Healthy Goodness…

1) Have your say!
We love reading creative comments and participating in thought-provoking discussions. There’s even a fabulous new Ask the Internet column, where readers can write in with various inquiries and/or offer helpful suggestions. Sweet.

2) Spread the word!
Like us? Link to us! Refer us to a bookmarking site! (We have StumbleUpon and Digg buttons! Come to think of it, at some point, we should probably get Reddit, too.) Or just talk us up to your mom. That’s nice, too.

3) Behold our social networking!
Subscribe to our feed, join our Facebook page, or check out our Twitter … thing. They’re super fun ways to kill time, without any accompanying not-so-fresh feeling.

Ask the Internet: Where Do You Food Shop?

To start, just a quick thing from yesterday: That quote I attributed to Mark Twain wasn't from him at all, but a paraphrased statement by Clarence Darrow. It's been amended.

With that aside, on to today's question!

Q: Over the last few weeks, we've discussed food shopping at Trader Joe's, CostCo, and multiple supermarkets. But I was curious: Where do you most frequently shop?

A: For me, in order of frequency, it's:

My local supermarket (once a week)
This family-owned produce tent around the block from where I work (once a week)
This family-owned bulk good store around the block from where I work (once every three weeks)
CostCo (once a month)
Trader Joe's (usually wine, occasionally party foods)
This butcher around the block (rare)

Also, I hit up farmer's markets on occasion, when the weather is warmer. This has changed pretty often over the years.

How about you, sweet readers? Your answers will help us determine where to focus our blogging efforts from here on out. Fire away!

Want to ask the interweb a question? Post one in the comment section, or write to Cheaphealthygood@gmail.com. Then, tune in next Tuesday for an answer/several answers from the good people of the World Wide Net.

Senin, 02 Mei 2011

Open-Faced Sloppy Chicken Joes

"I have never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." - Clarence Darrow

Well, that happened. Sometimes, when you're writing about barbecue sauce, other stuff goes down, and the barbecue sauce doesn't seem that important anymore. As a result, I'm going to keep this one a bit short today, and encourage y'all to watch this. Statesmanlike!

The recipe comes from The The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook, a recipe tome based on Erin Chase’s excellent frugal cooking site. It’s a bit more family-and- (duh) dinner-oriented than this interweb destination, but absolutely worth a few hours of browsing/menu-planning/other stuff, especially if you’re just starting out in the wide world of Getting Your Grocery Bills Down.

The dish came out to $5.08, but I’ll chalk that extra $0.08 up to Brooklyn pricing and my snotty insistence on Grey Poupon. (If mustard can’t be passed to you through a Rolls Royce window by a stately gentleman wearing a bowler, what good is it? Harrumph harrumph.)

I did make two big changes to Erin’s original dish. First, I reduced the amount of red pepper flakes pretty drastically. A full teaspoon sounded like a lot for my particular face to handle, so down to 1/2 it went. If you’re into spicy things and/or feel like clearing out your sinuses, opt for the original prescription.

Second, I swapped out a bun for simple slices of whole wheat bread. Why? Only my hairdresser knows for sure. Though, how she obtained that information, I have no idea. My guess is it involved a hot curling iron and some thinly veiled threats.

Overall, the dish isn't quite something you'd serve to company, but it makes for a solid weeknight dinner. Thumbs up!

(Thanks to my friend B. for the Twain quote.)

~~~

If you like chicken and gettin’ sloppy, you’ll quite enjoy:

~~~

Open–Faced Sloppy Chicken Joes
Serves 4
Adapted from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
4 slices whole wheat bread, toasted

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, sugar, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes until thoroughly combined. Pour into a large, nonstick skillet and turn heat to medium. Add chicken. Cover. Cook until chicken is no longer pink, but still moist, about 8 to 12 minutes. If you’d like to reduce the sauce somewhat, remove the cover about 6 minutes in.

2) Spoon chicken on to toasted bread. Serve.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
462 calories, 8.1 g fat, 4.8 g fiber, 58.3 g protein, $1.27

Calculations
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce: 147 calories, 0.9 g fat, 6.9 g fiber, 6.1 g protein, $1.39
3 tablespoons brown sugar: 156 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.08
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard: 15 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.14
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar: 2 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.02
1/2 teaspoon salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.01
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper: 3 calories, 0 g fat, 0.3 g fiber, 0.1 g protein, $0.02
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.03
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1/2-inch cubes: 1123 calories, 24.5 g fat, 0 g fiber, 211.1 g protein, $2.97
4 slices whole wheat bread, toasted: 400 calories, 8 g fat, 12 g fiber, 16 g protein, $0.42
TOTAL: 1846 calories, 32.5 g fat, 19.2 g fiber, 233.3 g protein, $5.08
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 462 calories, 8.1 g fat, 4.8 g fiber, 58.3 g protein, $1.27