Cook Your Food

I love salads, but I seldom eat them anymore. I have grown suspect of raw vegetables, with good reason.

We get a lot of our produce from other countries now, especially Central American countries. Nothing against the nice folks in those lands, but their in the field hygiene seems to be a bit lacking. Produce from those countries seems to come in, all too often tainted. Now, usually that is an ecoli problem. Yes, you can wash that off, but you best not miss a millimeter of the surface or by the time you eat it, the little germs will have multiplied at an alarming rate.

In addition, there are certain tiny monsters, mostly protozoans, who get inside the produce and these cannot be washed off. You must kill them by cooking and you best cook them well.

I live in Georgia and, like many, a lot of produce comes from California and, yes, that produce is often contaminated. This may be because they use many imported workers to pick and process that food. Maybe the problem has another source, but I cannot imagine what that would be.

If you can get locally grown produce, in season, do so. If not, cook your fruits and vegetables. I have had an ecoli infection and, trust me, you do not want one.

Cooking Without Recipes

Cooking is a lot more fun if you avoid recipes. Now, baking is another matter; when you bake, you need to be precise or that cake you bake may resemble a door stop. But, in every other form of cooking, learn to ad lib.

I like to go the fridge, freezer and cabinets, see what I have, and the just throw things together according to my mood. If I want to put chili powder in my spaghetti sauce, why not?

I might throw sweet potato chunks in my chili or rice into an omelet. Maybe top a burger with sliced beets ( and that is delicious) and hummus on hot dogs (also delicious). Cook what you want, however you want (of course you must also consider those you're serving, but maybe you can get them to also be adventurists)

One day, I decided to fix black beans and rice. As the beans simmered, I decided that they needed something to make them distinctive. On a whim, I added a can of beer and a cup of cashews. Folks went crazy over them.

The only thing you have to do is make sure everything is safely cooked. If you are adding raw chicken, for example, you really want to make sure it is completely cooked.

Be whimsical. You may end up with an occasional disaster, but not too often, and if you do, just laugh it off. Have fun when you cook and you might create a masterpiece.

Meatless Meals

I am not a vegetarian. I love meat. But, I also love my veggies and, from time to time, both for health and financial reasons, a meatless meal is a good idea. Now, in the warm summer, that can take the form of a good salad, b ut when it's cold out, you need something warm and hearty.

There are a few vegetables that can take the center stage in a meal. First, beans; pintos, northern, black, any will do.. They provide a world of vitamins and minerals and a good bit of protein. They can be mixed with any combination of other vegetables and herbs and, besides being healthy, they are cheap. In the old days, we used to soak the dry beans overnight, then boil them until tender. Don't bother. Simply use canned beans; they are just as good and you can still mix them with anything and get a good flavor. I do not recommend frozen; they have no texture and come out like little rocks.

Mushrooms are another option. You do not have to use the expensive varieties. They are great, but you get good flavor from the plain old button  mushrooms. Remember, they cook quickly and they will absorb a lot of liquid.  Again, they have a meaty texture and will blend well with almost anything.

Then we have eggplant. This vegetable has a wonderful meaty texture and taste. Grilled, it is very nice. Like mushrooms, it will take a lot of liquid and if you saute it, it will take as much oil as you give it. Too many people think immediately of eggplant Parmesan, which is a fine dish, but let me give you a simple option. Peel and chop your eggplant into about 1 inch cubes ( it doesn't have to be exact). Boil in salty water until almost tender. Drain and set aside. Saute some celery and onion until tender and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, crumble a sleeve of Saltine crackers, add eggplant, celery and onion, then enough cold milk to make the whole thing a bit soupy. Add black pepper and thyme to taste. Then, stir in two beaten eggs and pour into a greased baking dish. Cover and cook at 325 about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover, and top with bread crumbs and grated cheese (whatever you like) and put it under a broiler until the crumbs start to brown. Let sit for 10 minutes and serve. It should have the texture of a good turkey stuffing and, oddly enough, everyone I've served it to agrees that it tastes like baked oysters.

Meat gets expensive and, while it is good for you, here and there, it is nice to serve an inexpensive, tasty, healthy meal centered around vegetables.

Cooking Smart

Electricity is not cheap, neither is gas. So, whichever you use to cook with, use your head. Be smart and efficient.

My Mom, was not the finest cook, but she was smart about it. She never turned on the oven for just one item. Once a week, she would cook a roast, come chicken, maybe a meatloaf, and baked beans, macaroni and cheese and a bake a pie or a cake. At the same time, on the stove top, she would cook a pot of greens, some chili or spaghetti sauce and maybe a beef stew.

Then, during the week, we just warmed up what we wanted. Now, you may ask, why was that smart and efficient? Simple. It takes time and power to heat an oven, Once its hot, it doesn't take that much to keep it hot. In fact, if you heat an oven to 350, you can turn it off for the last fifteen minutes or so that you have food in it and it will keep cooking just fine.

In addition, using an oven, really heats the kitchen a lot and that, in turn, spreads heat to the whole house. In the winter, that's a good thing. In the summer, it is not. The more you heat the kitchen, the more your air conditioning will run and the electric bill goes up. By cooking so much at once, you are only heating things up a lot, that one time. Warming food doesn't take that much energy and you don't have to turn the oven, or burners up a lot, so less heat is created. In fact, heat things in a microwave and you create no heat and use little power.

We all need to save money and, more and more it is a good idea to not use so much electricity (every year, power companies, in the summer, threaten and sometimes implement, rolling brownouts). Gas, is not cheap either, especially if you are heating your home with it, so why use more than you must. Cook smart and be efficient.

The Practical American

Americans are going through some rough times. Despite what many economic reporters say, the economy is at best shaky. Any slight thing, trouble abroad, somestic scandal, natural disaster, even a run of bad weather in the farm belt, will cause the whole thing to sink into a downturn that will make our last recession look like a party.

I have lived a good while now and have had periods of affluence and periods of poverty. I know how to get along with little money. I worked doing building maintenance and learned how to fix darn near anything. I have worked in kitchens and know how to cook almost anything. And, I had the good fortune to be born into a family whose roots go back to the country where people had to  be largely self-reliant. That is how they survived the Great Depression.

I also have spent some time gardening, both as a hobby and as part of my work. There is little as satisfying as eating vegetables and fruit you have grown yourself.

I have also, through research combined with practical necessity learned a good bit about how to stay healthy. I never did care much for doctors and, on the whole, find that the more I avoid them, the better I feel.

I have decided to write this blog to try and help some of my fellow Americans through the rough times facing this Nation. There is no reason to suffer if you know a few tricks to ease your way along. I hope you find my tips useful. Feel free to comment and/or ask questions.