Techniques & Tutorials

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.

How to pick up your CSA box

The first time I asked Alex to pick up my CSA box with me, I planned it all wrong. It was exactly two years ago, on a cold, misty Friday night.

We drove deep into the suburbia where street names are vaguely related and yet juxtaposed with other references that make no sense. We drove past the Spanish cities of Aragon Boulevard, Seville Way, and Avila Road. Then we turned the corner and passed by some American universities of Georgetown Avenue, Notre Dame Avenue, Yale Drive, and Colgate Way. As you might be able to tell, we were lost in the suburban maze.

First thing every Thursday morning, Alex bounces downstairs and out the garage door, even before a bite of breakfast. He’s looking for a treasure chest in the form of a waxy cardboard box, with some leafy greens poking out, more often than not. Once Alex brings home the bounty, and we pick apart each item, excited to try the exotic fruits and vegetables we find.