<p>musica–I stand chastened. I guess i should be able to pull if off more often. Saturday and Sunday are my writing, kayaking, biking and other stuff which keeps my soul happy days, and I sometimes, but not always, fit advance cooking in!</p>
<p>OTOH, we are having pesto from the garden tonight,and I just prepped and froze two bags of pesto-ready basil for the winter. Pesto is one thing I never do from jars (there’s plenty else I do.) Am up to twenty bags of blended pesto and oil so far this summer.</p>
<p>next up, if I’m ambitious, is to get a basket of local tomatoes from the farm around the corner and prep/freeze those. (Just need more time!)</p>
<p>Since I was a SAHM until 3 years ago, I cooked a lot but I didn’t always cook as healthily as I could. I used canned soups (typically extremely high in sodium), things like Rice-a-roni, Lean Cuisines for lunch, lunch meats, Hamburger helper, etc. We didn’t really eat out a lot.</p>
<p>I have a good friend who cooks dinner almost every night but it’s not at all healthy.</p>
<p>In the last 6 months, my blood pressure started creeping up and I really took a hard look at my diet. Was amazed at how much sodium is in most prepared foods. Same for sugar. So I made a concerted effort to start cooking from scratch and I mean, really from scratch. I will use precut things like salads and onions when available as well as sodium free canned beans and broths but that’s about it.</p>
<p>It does take a lot of planning and time. I am only working 3 days a week so I typically make a trip to Whole Foods on Sat as well a the regular grocery store and then cook Sun and Monday. I make soups and lots of side veggie dishes that are low in sodium. If I plan it right we can eat on that all week.</p>
<p>It only recently occurred to me that I can prepare batches of stuff and freeze it, so that is my new mission in life 
Likewise, it never occurred to me to make my own broth but I am going to start doing that also. Thanks for the tip on throwing leftover veggies in a freezer bag, musicamusica! </p>
<p>Personally, I think the reason we have such an obesity problem in this country is because we rely on prepackaged and fast foods way too much (not to mention our cars).</p>
<p>Then again garland…cooking is just one of those things that does keep my soul fired up.
(as long as it doesnt get in the way of the hiking and painting) I do wish I had enough sun in my yard for basil. I have about 15 square feet that gets sun and that space is for my precious tomato plants.</p>
<p>Dried beans do taste much better, and there is a much larger variety of dried beans than canned available at the market. I soak and simmer large quantities of beans and then freeze them for a quick addition to soups, or as a simple saute with escarole and garlic over Italian toast.</p>
<p>Wow Garland, we can’t get our basil to grow bushy enough to make enough pesto to get us through winter. How many plants do you start with? I start with four seedlings. I’m humbled. Generally I make and freeze the pesto, do you just prep and freeze the leaves?</p>
<p>Basil: wait until it’s really hot to plant basil. Buy a packet of seeds. Spread them thinly in two or three big pots (18" or so) or in a 3 foot square area. Keep them well watered. It takes about two months to grow more basil than any sane person can use from one packet of seeds. And it’s LOTS cheaper than buying plants. Basil likes it really really hot. You want 80 degree days before you plant. Then it grows fast and furious. Otherwise it sulks.</p>
<p>For me, planning is the key to being able to eat healthy, tasty, non-processed food for dinner and other meals. If you plan ahead (soaking beans, roasting veggies like beets or squash, defrosting fish/meat, cleaning greens) you can come home and quickly put something together. Otherwise you can’t. My H loves to cook and thinks of it as therapy. On Sundays he watches football all day on the kitchen tv and makes wonderful stocks (veggie, chicken, beef, fish). We freeze it and use it to make great soups all fall and winter. It’s one time I don’t complain about football on tv forever and ever. I’ve recently eliminated meat from my diet and am focusing on veggies and fish. It’s required me to plan even more–especially cutting and chopping veggies and putting them in the fridge. I haven’t found any frozen fish that I really like, so I go to the fish market the same day that I’m going to have fish for dinner. I grew up in the midwest in a working-class Catholic family and my concept of fish (on Fridays) was frozen fishsticks or frozen perch (that was our typical Friday fare). I didn’t think I liked fish until I moved to the east coast and had fresh fish readily available.</p>
<p>I grow basil year-round in pots in the northeast. I usually have several 10-12" diameter pots going. Most people use such small pots that they never have enough basil to make pesto. I use an entire seed packet each time I start seeds. In the winter, I use grow lights to lengthen the number of hours of light per day, which is especially important when the plants are young. After they are established, I pinch back frequently to encourage new growth - that and weekly feedings really help. I have a conservatory, but any sunny spot will work - basil isn’t particularly picky. I also grow thyme, rosemary and sage as well.</p>
<p>I have to give my H credit for the basil. I just asked him. He says, between two plantings, we have seventy to ninety plants. I had no idea it was so many.</p>
<p>Freezing-- I blend a pesto-correct amount of basil with enough olive oil to make it blendable. That’s what I freeze (in freezer bags which I lay flat to freeze so i can stack). Then we defrost and blend in the cheese, garlic and pine nuts. </p>
<p>Musica–I do love cooking, and you’re right; it’s soul-satisfying too. There’s just so much to compete with! (Exhibit A in “why I want to quit my job.”)</p>
<p>I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but I am not big on planning. For example I went to Sprouts (kind of a low end Whole Foods) this morning all ready to cook grilled salmon and veggies with a pumkin pie for dessert. (having guests over).
Salmon didnt look so great, so I grabbed the flank steak on sale and peaches for .49 a pound. Peach cobble takes almost 1/2 hour to cook, marinate the flank for the day, throw on the grill. While I was in the store, I checked epicurious.com for some ingredient info—my DROID has saved me more time and money in the store than you can imagine. So tonight it’s soft rolled steak tacos, grilled veggies, margharitas (limes 10 for a dollar!) and peach cobbler. wambo fambo–that’s entertainment
And if it’s good enough for tonight, it will be even better for tomorrow.</p>
<p>and about the basil. I have tried year after year. But not only am I sun challenged, but for some reason the possums love digging around it and rolling in it. I think it’s a sort of possum-nip</p>
<p>Oh wow, that amount of plants would keep me in pesto all winter! Basil isn’t very picky I just wasn’t envisioning so many plants! We also have dill, sage, and rosemary which takes care of the chicken, turkey and fish for the winter. And the tomatos which were prolific this year. Never really got into the beans or peppers…they are so abundant and inexpensive at the farm markets. Just 1 small cherry-type tomato and 2 large full size. I’ll have to try just the basil and the olive oil adding the other ingredients later, I wonder if it tastes “fresher” that way…</p>
<p>And yes, pinching back when it’s smaller helps to get bushier plants. (to an earlier comment.)</p>
<p>I think it tastes fresher just doing the basil/oil. It’s easier, anyway! :)</p>
<p>Tomatoes were so so this year; thank God for the farm markets!</p>
<p>My freezer is critical for quick meals. Frozen home made sauce (none of us like jarred), bags of the tomato base for chicken tortilla soup, swedish meatballs, italian sausages-- all kinds of stuff finds its way into the freezer. When things go from busy to crazy, I grab a bag and we eat.</p>
<p>The crock pot is a lifesaver on some days, too!</p>
<p>I’m totally a farmer’s market driven cook. This is an amazing time of the year here in CA, we should have great tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, peppers and so much more through November. These great veggies and lots of fish is what we mostly eat. </p>
<p>Only canned veggie we eat is tomatoes out of season. Actually think good Italian canned is better that freezing my own. Processed food only eaten on the road with no choice.</p>
<p>We eat some poultry but very little red meat. Quinoa and brown rice has replaced most pasta and rice for us. Hitting 50 soon is making us much more health conscious.</p>
<p>Just discovered quinoa this summer. Had heard of it, but never tried it. Phenomenal!</p>
<p>A friend of mine (serious bird-watcher) went to Bhutan and came home raving about Himalyan red rice. She served it at a dinner party and I was hooked. It is a long grain rice that is similar in size and shape to brown rice, but it has more fiber. It’s also a beautiful red color and very tasty. I think it has a nutty flavor/texture to it. My friend served it as a rice salad and it was wonderful. It’s a nice alternative to brown rice, which I know is healthy, but isn’t my favorite.</p>
<p>For the most part I can cook faster than pizza can be delivered, though the pizza might free time for other pursuits. I find Asian cuisines, to be quick, and between the rice cooker and a stocked house, can usually find something to stir fry. Shrimp and long life tofu, frozen individual breasts and having sauces and vegetables at the ready make for fast meals. Japanese curry is a household favorite. Googe tomato egg stir fry-a fast and yummy Chinese staple. </p>
<p>My kids like more western food, and we eat all manner of stuffed tortillas when they’re home these days. As the girls are pesco vegetarians, I’m using much more frozen fish, shrimp, canned clams and beans than previously. Bagged spinach and baby carrots are lifesavers, and my kind of quick fix. I have hypertension, and try to eat a produce based diet. The salad spinner changed my life! </p>
<p>Summer meals tend to be salad greens with stuff on top. Meat slices, cheese, eggs, garbanzos plus the usual vegetables. Same theme, new permutation every night. Whole grain garlic bread under the broiler or corn on the cob if you want something to complement. Fast pizzas made with naan. Vegetable garbanzo stews. </p>
<p>Winter meals are soups and stews. High quality broth concentrate, garlic and wine make for a good base. I used to make my own broths as well-just too time consuming these days. </p>
<p>If cooking pasta, I add carrots or broccoli just before the pasta is done. Our pesto pasta usually has yellow squash or broccoli and cherry tomatoes added. </p>
<p>Musicamusica, I go with the flow as well. These days all meals are CSA and garden driven. Or anytime, when finding produce deals at the store. I don’t plan, aside from keeping the house stocked. Usually I pick a vegetable theme, and find a way to add protein. </p>
<p>Regarding basil-I planted my little seedlings from the farmer’s market as usual this year, and they were very slowly progressing. At Trader Joe’s one day, I found a pot of far more advanced plants, transplanted some and put the rest in a big pot. They have taken off beautifully, and given me earlier and larger basil than I’d have had otherwise.</p>
<p>I don’t usually freeze my pesto, but my understanding is that it should be frozen without the cheese, otherwise the cheese will react with the olive oil and separate into oily little globules. The flavor remains the same, but it isn’t as attractive.</p>
<p>To those who freeze, how do you keep the pesto bright green?</p>