How do I skip the planning and shopping?

Question

I really enjoy cooking. I enjoy the creativity, the experimentation and trying new foods. I HATE the planning, list making & shopping.

Is there any service or "technique" for avoiding everything leading up to the work in the kitchen?

Answer

Depending on where you live, there is a pretty simple approach you can try. In the next few days, head out to places that specialize in particular kinds of foods and in making them appeal to you. A farmer's market, a butcher's, a cheese shop, a bakery, etc. Chat with the staff and buy whatever speaks to you in the store. When you come home, make whatever meals you feel inspired to make according to what you've bought. Be creative and impulsive and seasonal. Keep doing that until one day you notice there isn't any food, and either go out and shop or eat something canned and go to shop the next day.

In probably a week's time, one of two things will happen. Either you will be feeling free, creative, inspired etc and so happy you are doing things this new way, or you will have thrown out a lot of expensive food that spoiled before you could use it, and be feeling very stressed and unhappy at 4 or 5 pm each day because you have to figure out what to make. If it's the former, mission accomplished. If it's the latter, you now have your motivation for the planning and the list making, and should find it more pleasant since you know its purpose and what it is saving you from. Either way, the "I hate having to plan my meals" feeling should diminish drastically.

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What can I cook for Indian guests without trying to mimic Indian cuisine?

Question

I am raised in Belgium, with the Belgian cuisine related to the French and (to a much lesser extent) the German. I'm having Indian friends over for dinner and I don't know what to cook for them.

Last time I had an Indian friend, I tried to cook something authentic, the way my grandma would have prepared it: lots of veggies, with very little spices and not too salty. It was not a hit. Indian people are used to very spicy food (compared to Europeans).

I don't want to try to mimic the Indian cuisine in front of Indian people. That won't work. But I still want to prepare something that they will like, based on our local culture. Can you give me any suggestions?

Answer

If Belgian food is anything like the Dutch food my Oma made, your best bet is to limit it to the dessert course and strike out in a different direction. Even there, throwing in an extra pinch of salt and a little fresh ginger or cardamom powder may help liven it up for your friends.

One area where you'll both be happy: Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern fare. If you pick a recipe with plenty of aromatic herbs and spices, and maybe yogurt, it'll have the rich flavors your friends are used to. However, they won't be the same dishes they have at home, so they can't compare unfavorably to their mom or auntie's cooking. Flatbreads, kebabs, braised lamb, goat, yogurt sauces... these will be familiar elements, but by using Mediterranean or Middle-Eastern versions, you'll give them a taste of the exotic too.

Using South or Central American cuisine will have similar results; dishes rich in pungent chilis, cumin, and coriander will combine elements of comfort food with something new. Indian chapatis and naan (flatbreads) are very similar to homemade tortillas. It goes without saying that beef is to be avoided. Depending on what part of Indian your guests are from, coconut milk and tamarind paste may be other familiar elements to play with.

Portugal also has a fine tradition of spicy foods, including the Vin d'alho which Indian adapted into the now-familiar vindaloo.

If you don't feel comfortable with these cuisines, you might do Indian, but with a fusion twist. I found that Saag Paneer with blocks of feta instead of paneer is absolutely divine. Halloumi cheese might work well too. In fact, I'd say it's better than the original dish.

A word on dietary restrictions: Presumably you know your friends' dietary needs, but if they're bringing new acquaintances it is wise to give some thought to dietary restrictions. Many Indians are Hindus, who do not eat beef, and another major fraction are Muslim. Muslims follow a dietary law called halal, which is very similar to kosher law, and likewise excludes pork and animal blood. It also excludes alcohol... which means a spicy tamarind-port pork marinade isn't viable. A sizable part of the Indian population is also vegetarian, so any meal should include a vegetarian entree.

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What are some appropriate accompaniments for satay?

Question

I have an excellent recipe for satay chicken, which I usually accompany with coconut rice. Last time, I also attempted a kind of Asian coleslaw of white cabbage, chilli, carrot and lime juice, but it didn't turn out all that well.

Can anyone suggest a suitable accompaniment, preferably something vegetable and fresh to counter the peanut butter in the sauce, for this? The only caveat is that I am cooking it soon for guests who don't like salad of any kind (lettuce, cucumber etc).

Answer

I have made Asian coleslaws multiple times, and they work very well. My main suggestion would be to heat the dressing before adding it to the slaw. Particularly if you're using scallions, the heated dressing wilts it just enough to cut some of the sharpness of the raw veggies. I'd probably make my own dressing from rice vinegar, neutral oil (such as canola) and a touch of sesame oil. Add in spices such as garlic, ginger, etc. You can also vary recipes such as this.

You could also try using unexpected ingredients. I make a salad from cubed jicama, apple, and ripe avocado, topped with lemon juice, olive oil, and a touch of chili powder or cayenne. You get the crisp sweetness and some creaminess from the avocado.

If they're not fans of cucumbers, how do they feel about pickles? Those could also be a nice addition to a coleslaw. Or you could try marinated mushrooms. Either of those would add a vinegary sharpness that would cut nicely through the creaminess of the rice and the satay.

This also brings to mind a preparation I've seen for vegetables in a prepared salad. Blanch your veggies and shock them in an ice bath. Then give them a vinegary dressing and lay them on the plate in attractive ways. This could include green beans, carrots, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, potatoes, etc. You could achieve similar effects by serving roasted vegetables. (Either from the grill or oven-roasted.) These are quite good cold or warm.

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What would be a good accompaniment for Ostrich fillet with Port and Blue Cheese glaze?

Question

On the heel of @ElendilThetall's question: Accompiniments for satay, I'd like to know the following.

About a year ago I found this great recipe for Ostrich Fillet, which is basically flash fried in the pan and then the leftover juices is cooked along with port and blue cheese to create a great-tasting glaze.

I haven't had the chance to make this very often, but it's an amazingly tasty, quick and easy thing to make. The problem I have is figuring out what would go well with this.

At the moment my favourite is a baked potato and roast vegetables, however I'm not so good with the roast veggies. I've also worked under the assumption that anything that goes with regular red meat, like chips, works well, but this is such a unique tasting dish that I'd really like to do something different along with it.

Unfortunately I don't really have a knack for pairing side-dishes with recipes like these, so any help would be appreciated.

Answer

I've had french fries with (beef) gravy and blue cheese, and it's delicious. However, if you want to get away from potatoes and aren't comfortable with roasting, what about doing some other sort of root vegetable mash? Like mash potatoes, but using turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, or sweet potato instead. I've tried them all and I think they're great.

As for a side veg, I'd almost want a really vinegary salad. Something astringent to cut the richness of the dish. To carry the theme, you may like a green salad with apples, walnuts, and a little blue cheese, with a vinegary italian dressing. I imagine that any kind of pickled veg would be nice, too.

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How can I create a varied (or at least tasty) menu for a 12 day hike whilst using as few ingredients as possible? [closed]

Question

I'm going on a 12 day hike with my boyfriend in a couple of months. We'll be at a mountain station that has limited supplies (e.g. meat) for sale every couple of days, but ideally I want to carry as much food as possible (buying food in the wilderness is expensive!). We'll be walking 15-20 kilometres a day. We'll be cooking food on a small gas burner (can only cook one thing at a time).

I've never hiked for more than 3 days before and I'm at a loss on how to plan to feed the both of us for that length of time. Whatever I bring needs to be low on weight/space taken up, and yet be high in energy and nutritional content. And preferably so that I can use the same ingredients for different meals. I don't want to bring something that I'm only going to use once.

I hope this is on topic here, because I would really need advice on what to eat, how to plan a menu/eating plan, how to make the food taste good with limited resources/time.

Answer

We take home-dehydrated cooked meat (beef, chicken, ground beef) along with spices, tomato leather to make tomato sauce, pasta, rice, dehyrated potato-and-sauce (eg scalloped potatoes) from the grocery store, home-dehydrated vegtables, and dried fruit. From that you can make stew, pasta-with-meat-sauce, curry-on-rice, and so on. You might also be interested in making your own english muffins since bread products squish and don't keep well: http://www.gregcons.com/canoe/muffins.htm.

Backpacking is tougher than canoeing but as long as you can be sure of plenty of water, you should be fine with dried products. We usually bring a little frozen meat for the first night, and frozen bacon for the first morning, well wrapped in newspaper, but those might be too heavy when hiking.

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