Food on the Fly

[talon]

Lots of cooking advise tells you to select your recipes, then list the ingredients you'll need, then go shopping.

This often results in unnecessary trips to the store, buying ingredients you won't use either because you don't make that recipe or you "tinker" with it and the ingredient gets left out and languishes unused, and that leads to food and fuel waste.

Those who read me know I've talked about stocking your pantry and keeping it stocked, and many have asked "What do I stock it with?" and even "Why should I keep all that food on hand?"

I'll answer the second question first.

Why should you have a well-stocked pantry? Because it saves you fuel, money, food, time, and effort. In times of "small" disasters, like winter snow storms that leave you trapped inside your home for a week - or more! - or a prolonged illness that leaves you disinclined to get out and shop or to spread your contagious illness to the delivery person and all the customers s/he contacts after you, you will have a steady supply of food. In times of larger disasters, it buys you more time to plan and prepare. And - as a good host/ess, when unexpected guests drop in, you will have something to feed them.

As to what to stock it with...

Select good, flexible ingredients, ones you know you will eat.

Obviously, if you have food allergies or sensitivities, you will not even think about stocking those ingredients. Just as obviously, you won't whine at me or tell me you are allergic or sensitive or don't like this food or that because the chances are I already know that information and don't need it repeated ad infinitum. This is a generalized list - modify it according to your likes and needs, leaving off the things you can't eat/don't like and adding the ones you do (and why do I always have to add this disclaimer? Y'all are adults, you should know this by heart by now!).

So, all that said and behind us, let's move forward.

Forget the whole making each and every meal well balanced and "healthy" (as if experts truly understand that, what with saying first fats are awful, don't eat any to fats are OK, now it's carbs that'll kill you to carbs aren't so bad after all, but don't use salt ever!). Forget trying to get 100% of your daily vitamins and minerals off of one single food (I'm looking at you, breakfast cereals!). Strive instead for balancing a whole week of meals and snacks. That goes for calories, too. If you eat a caloric meal once, maybe your next 2 or 3 meals will be lower than normal in calories or you skip that snack, and then maybe 2 or 3 days later, you have another high calorie meal. And maybe one meal was more intense to cook and several others were quick and easy meals. Maybe your meal was heavy on the proteins once, and another protein-free. If it all balances out at the end of the week, then you did good. You probably didn't stress as badly over individual meals, either.

Here is a list of things to stock, according to your personal desires: Cooking oils and solids (olive, palm, coconut, safflower, canola, lard, butter), a few specialty oils (walnut, hazelnut, sesame...), salt (kosher salt, sea salt, a couple of nice finishing salts like Himalayan pink, or black lava or tea smoked or mesquite smoked salts...), lemon juice (or fresh lemons or limes), herbs and spices (beef up your herb cabinet - sage, parsley, capers, sesame seeds, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, rosemary, oregano, thyme, summer savory, winter savory, paprika, chilies, peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves, bouillon, mustard seed, nigella seed, basil, chives, dill weed, dill seed, fennel seed, coriander leaves, cilantro, curry leaf, fenugreek leaf, fenugreek seed, kefir lime leaves, tarragon, sweet cicely, angelica, candied borage flowers, candied violet flowers, galangal, ginger, caraway seeds, aniseeds, nutmeg, mace, lemon grass, tamarind, asafetida, cumin, turmeric, saffron, star anise...), vinegars (cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, alegar, herb-flavored vinegars, rice vinegar...), alcohol (rice wine, sherry, mirin, port, dry red wines, sweet white wines, dry white wines, sweet red wines, country wines, amaretto, frangelica, brandy...), sugar (palm sugar in the cone, raw sugar, white granulated sugar, sugar cubes, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, powdered sugar...), sweeteners (honey, molasses, maple syrup, honey granules, maple sugar granules, stevia, agave syrup, light corn syrup, dark corn syrup...), tinned or tubed seafood (shrimp paste, anchovy paste, tinned herring, tinned salmon, tinned tuna, tinned anchovies...) saucessoy sauce, Maggi sauce, vegemite, marmite, chili pepper sauce, Tabasco sauce, fish sauce, ketchup, prepared mustard, mayonnaise...), coconut (fresh, dried flakes, coconut milk, coconut cream, powdered), tinned meat (tinned chicken, tinned ham, deviled ham, tinned beef...), beans and legumes (canned beans: turtle, garbanzo, pinto, red kidney, navy, lima, black eyed peas..., dried beans: turtle, garbanzo, red kidney, navy, pinto, jackson wonder, limas, black eyed peas, green lentils, French black lentils, split peas, yellow dal, red dal, cranberry, fava, tepary, azuki, mung, pigeon pea, lupine, great northern, flor de mayo, borlotti, nightfall, bolita, china, eye of the goat, falcon, yellow indian woman, hutterite, marrow, monk peas, haba, green rice, white kidney, tiger eye, tolosna, snoicap, cannellini, raisin, Raquel, soy, trout, Aztec, marble..., and dried beans you cooked and froze), grains (barley, brown rice, basmati rice, jasmine rice, wild rice, Arborio rice, bamboo rice, Japanese black rice, Chinese black rice, kala jeera, purple sticky rice, Himalayan red, wehani, botan, red matta, mocha, Louisiana pecan style rice, barley, teff, amaranth, buckwheat, kamut, oats, oat groats, millet, sorghum, quinoa, rye, durum wheat, hard red wheat, soft white wheat, spelt, triticale, cornmeal, popcorn, dried corn, grits...), pasta (various wheat pasta shapes, soba, rice pasta shapes, spelt pasta, quinoa pasta...), and baking staples (cornstarch, tapioca, arrowroot, baking soda, baking powder, citric acid, tartaric acid, hirschhorn...) .

Now to these staples add fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits, milk, eggs, cheese, sour cream or yogurt, and some meat.

In winter, kale, chard, leeks, cabbages, winter squashes, carrots, celery, rutabagas, turnips, celeriac, oranges, parsley, onions, and potatoes are in season.

In spring, we get fiddleheads, garlic scapes, nettles, pea tendrils, peas, radishes, beets, lettuces, asparagus, artichokes, strawberries, early tomatoes, morels, spinach, onions, turnips, rhubarb, mint, kohlrabi, and in the late spring, cherries.

In summer, we get lots of good things: apples, bell peppers, tomatoes, avocadoes, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, chard, cherries, chilies, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, figs, garlic, green beans, mangoes, onions, garlic, limes, green beans, peas, melons, nasturtiums, nectarines, early peaches, okra, peas, plums, raspberries, radicchio, shallots, tomatillos, summer squashes, zucchini...

In fall, we get late apples, second crop of artichokes, endive, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, carrots, celery, celeriac, raab, chicories, cranberries, edamame, escarole, fennel, grapes, figs, sunchokes, horseradish, kohlrabi, onions, garlic, lemongrass, mushrooms, parsnips, pears, pomegranates, quinces, pumpkins, rutabagas, shelling beans, potatoes, winter squashes, second crop spinach, late lettuces (until first frost), persimmons, nuts, peaches, apricots, late plums, kale, chard...

If you buy (or grow) the food in season, and spend a little time freezing and/or canning them, you'll have them on hand in the off season in your pantry.

Meat also has a season, usually fall, although culled meats such as lamb and veal are spring meats. They are the cheapest in season, especially if you buy from a butcher rather than a grocery store.

You can cook and freeze grains (like fried rice) and beans in individual portions for quickly heating and eating later, or using as ingredients in soups, stews, casseroles, and pot pies.

Kale, chard, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and parsley are available year round and keep well, so they are good things to have on hand for cooking on the fly.

Eggs are a fast and simple protein source that also stores well. Hard cooked eggs can be chopped into tuna, salmon, or egg salads, sprinkled over green salads or cream soups or on bruschetta or roasted vegetables, stirred into brothy soups or pureed beans. Beaten eggs can be stirred into brothy soups to cook at the last minute or dropped over fried hashed or cubed potatoes. Eggs can be used to make frittatas, quiches, and omelets. Eggs can be "poached" in a nest of cabbage, or baked in the hollow of a winter squash. Eggs can be beaten well, fried in a thin "pancake" and then cut up to make "noodles" for soups or to decorate rice or vegetable dishes. Eggs make deviled eggs...

Don't be intimidated by the long list I put up, here's the simplified list, it's much kinder on your nerves:

Cooking oils and solids
Salt
Lemon juice
herbs and spices
vinegar
alcohol
sugars and sweeteners
tinned meat
sauces
beans and legumes
grains
pastas
baking staples
frozen or canned fruits and vegetables
milk or milk substitute (soy or almond or rice)
eggs
sour cream or yogurt
nuts
in season fresh vegetables and fruit
meat

See, not so intimidating.

And with these, you can mix and match to create fast delicious meals any time. Pick and choose foods out of each category that you will eat. When you're hungry, look in your well stocked and customized pantry, pull out a few ingredients, cook them, tasting and seasoning as you go, and then sit down to enjoy your meal.

You don't need a recipe.

Really. You don't need recipes.

Peel and dice a potato, chop a bit of onion, maybe add a bit of garlic, brown them all in a splash of oil (or butter, I like butter). If you like, add a few frozen broccoli florets or slices of squash or shreds of carrots. When the potatoes are browned and crisping up, break in an eggs and stir. When the egg is set, serve it up with salsa and a sprinkle of cheese. This is what my grandfather called "farmer's breakfast". There is no recipe. You can scale it up or down or change the ingredients if the base remains potatoes and eggs.

Or there's the frittata: Stir fry a cup of vegetables (fresh or frozen, any kind). Add half a cup to a cup of cooked rice (if you cooked and froze it, take it out to thaw just before you heat your skillet). When the rice is warmed up, beat 2 or 3 eggs per person and stir them in. Then cover the skillet, turn the heat down, and let the eggs set. Just before serving, sprinkle on some cheese and let the cheese melt. Serve with a salsa or gravy or sauce, maybe a salad on the side, or slap it between bread, or cut it in cubes and dip in a dressing of some sort. Or cube it and use it as "croutons" for salads or soups.

Chop some onion and toss into a skillet with some butter or oil and caramelize the onion. While it's caramelizing, chop some cabbage and pull out the left over mashed potatoes. When the onions are nicely wilted and caramelizing, spread on a layer of the mashed potatoes and top with the chopped cabbage. Cover the skillet and let the cabbage wilt and soften. When the cabbage is soft, scoop it into a bowl to mix it all up and serve it with bacon or sausages or even slices of roast or steak.

Those should be enough to get you going for now.