Cooking for yourself, especially with a busy schedule, is more efficient and enjoyable when you know the right techniques and systems to save you time and energy.
Learning essential techniques allows you to understand the “why” behind a recipe and how to modify it with the ingredients you have. Pick up the basics like how to stir fry and how to press tofu. Or join the ongoing discussion on complex, evolving issues like how to eat less meat without going vegetarian.
Combine these techniques with an ingredients-first approach and you’ll start looking forward to eating in instead of ordering out.
Three weeks ago, a brown paper bag sat on my desk, quietly waiting for me to open it. I was both excited and dreaded opening the bag. You see, I knew that opening that bag meant I would be opening Pandora’s box. “What if it’s a lot of work?” “What if I ruin it?” “What … Read more
Alex and I spent more than $300 dollars on broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and other vegetables in the last 6 months, and we’ve yet to taste a bite.
No, we didn’t throw the food out.
Instead, this food is baby food. Not the mushy food you feed to a baby. I mean baby plants, seedlings, waiting to grow up into tall, beautiful bouquets of lettuces and cilantro.
Yep folks, we started a community garden.
Arugula. I hate it. The bitter, peppery taste in salads offends me, and I detest the aftertaste. I feel like a cow chewing on grass every time I eat it. I’ll only tolerate it on very thin-crust pizzas with plenty of prosciutto to cover up the arugula. But even then, I prefer my pizzas and salads … Read more
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
I’ve been blasting Christmas carols all week. November might seem too early. Yet, with retailers already selling Christmas decorations, I think Christmas carols are fair game.
My rain-drenched shoes are another reminder that fall is coming to an end. Which means holiday seasons are around the corner!
With Thanksgiving as soon as next week, and Christmas following thereafter, I’ve given some thought to what will happen to my CSA boxes while I am out of town.
I remember taking my graduate student, ChoEun, to Ralph’s, my closest grocery store in downtown Los Angeles. It was one of our “culture” lessons.
I tutored international graduate students who needed a bit of help with English and integrating into American life.
(Ironic, isn’t it? Considering I am not American but was teaching others the American way of life.)
I guided her to the peanut butter aisle. On cue, she gasped.
“This is all peanut butter?” she asked.
“Yep, welcome to America. The land of free choice,” I replied.
I had the same experience myself only three years before.
When I first walked into the peanut butter aisle, fresh off the proverbial boat, I was shocked by the variety and choice of peanut butter in American grocery stores.
Crunchy or smooth. Salted or unsalted. Roasted or raw. Organic or 100% natural.
I knew there was nothing like this in South Korean supermarkets. Rows and rows of peanut butter. Every combination you can think of.
And similarly, when you first decide to sign up for a CSA box, you too will be hit with many choices. How do you choose a service?