A Good Cook Sometime 2926Lefty I also have a ton of cookbooks. I don't care what anyone says, even though I Agree with this. I have almost 12 shelf-feet of cookbooks, or actually books about food...
A Good Cook Sometime 2928There are lots of things that can be cooked pretty quickly. Sometimes it helps to have some of the prep work done ahead of time, but depending on what else...
Believer in...?
Like most suggestions, one of mine is to try to put together one or two dishes over the weekend or when you have normal down-time, and reheat them during the busy week.
I cook for one. There are two things I do. First, I always consider the quantity in terms of how many times do I want to eat the dish. I only have a fridge-top freezer so anything I make I may be eating for a few days --after the second day your desire has waned. So I make half-recipes a lot. Try not to make dishes you cannot vary when you reheat. Otherwise, if you only cook for yourself you'll be wasting time and food.
A Good Cook Sometime 2927cook sometimes -- i.e. mainly on the weekends? Second, does anyone have any advice on how someone can still have the convenience during the week...
Second, keep on hand lots of garnish-type foods. I keep olives, cranberry sauce, walnuts, peanuts, pickles, cheeses, jars of sauces, grapes and cut-up fruit, etc. in containers ready to either munch or to use as part of dinner or whatever. If you get home late from work, you can grill a chicken breast or reheat a previously made chop from a recipe, pull out your tray of garnishes, and you have a balanced meal. Or if you need a quick lunch fast, you pull out the tray and graze along with some wheat crackers, and finish with a banana you peel on the way out the door. That also helps with leftovers because you can take a bit of what you've previously prepared, and with different garnishes end up with a totally different dinner each time.
I also have a ton of cookbooks. I don't care what anyone says, even though I am a master at internet research, I have cookbooks that I know the page numbers for stuff I have cooked over the years, and then I love books --there is no comparison --you can't take your monitor to your easy-chair and curl up with it and a cup of coffee.
Also, when I consider making an attempt at a new dish, I often take down a few cookbooks and read about how the same recipe is treated from, say, Southern Cooking to Le Guide, then come up with unique blends that sound good to my personal tastes. The best cookbook to keep is one that offers all of the basics, for reference --once you have the fundamentals handy you can do just about any recipe. -- Lefty
Life is for learning The worst I ever had was wonderful
