<p>I work full time and I hate to go out. Besides that I do not like most of food (exception - sushi), you never know how your stomach will react and going out takes too much time. I also do not like cooking. I hate any frozen, TV dinners, even when they are called healthy. They taste really bad and way oversalted, all you taste is salt. Canned food even much worse. I do not like cold cuts and sandwiches in general. </p>
<p>I buy lots of food that already semiprepared. I do not buy raw chicken, I buy cooked one, costs the same. Meat and fish is nothing to throw into oven to bake - takes about 10 sec to get out of fridge, unrap and put on baking dish. Besides, I rarely consume any type of protein food, except for nuts, just do not like taste of it, maybe smoked salmon, which I eat straight out of store package with the fork. Nuts go very well with dried fruits and it is the best desert ever. H. cooks some veggies when he is in a mood for about 7 - 10 days consumption. Recipe is always the same: veggi(s), fried onions, garlic, italian seasonning, tons of olive oil. We never sit down at dinner table, everybody is allowed to eat at whatever time they are pleased, except when we have grandchildren for few weeks. We spend time together outside of dinner tables. I found that if you put dinner in a middle of the table, then people take seconds, thirds. The more they eat, the better for my fridge, which is always overflown with food going down whenever you open it. However, overeating is not good for anybody’s health, so the way to avoid it in our family is not to have meals together with tons of food in a middle of the table. We have it only on special ocasions. We consume tons of fruits. Sometime we make soup for about 7 - 10 days ahead. I always save leftovers in freezer after a week of being in refrigirator. We take them for lunches. I never liked to cook, avoiding cooking and still eating healthy has always been my goal, which I feel I have achieved. Generally everybody is very relaxed about food in our house, but my fridge is so full, it is impossible to find anything there. Sometime I feel lazy even to look for specific item, just take what is closer to front.</p>
<p>Did a good end of summer soup yesterday. Started out by caramelizing lots of leeks, shallots and onion. Added a quart of veg broth, 6 Roma tomatoes chopped, 3 chopped zucchini, green beans and a parmesan rind. Cook until veggies just done. Stirred in a little parmesan at table.</p>
<p>Miami, your household sounds just about opposite of mine. I make a big dinner at least five nights a week - usually a salad, two cooked vegetables, soup, pasta, meat, chicken or fish, and often a dessert. We really enjoy the experience and it’s been an important part of my children’s upbringing. They’ve learned proper table manners and how to socialize while dining, certainly, but also how to appreciate fine food and try different foods. I put everything in the middle of the table in serving dishes, light a candle, have a glass of wine…</p>
<p>We’re all slim and fit, so it is possible to have an abundance and still maintain one’s weight. My experience is that it’s easier to control weight by cooking from scratch because ingredients can be closely controlled. I also serve lots of fruits and vegetables, which is key to keeping calories down. </p>
<p>Some people eat to live and others live to eat:)</p>
<p>gourmetmom…you have the right screen name for sure!</p>
<p>I like to cook but I’m not crazy about following recipes to the letter. I like to read recipes, get ideas, and then use what I learned in different ways. This doesn’t work well with baking - but I’ve had very few failures with cooking. I have read through the terrific recipes here and have filed stuff away in my head for future use. Some great ideas!</p>
<p>I just read an interesting book (If the Buddha Came to Dinner), which focused on food/nurishment/eating. One thing that the author said that resonated with me was that the old saying–you are what you eat would be better stated as “you eat what you are.”</p>
<p>And I like Michael Pollan - “you are what you eat eats” (not the best grammar but you get the point)</p>
<p>Mercury in fish. Corn fed beef (they’re supposed to eat grass…feeding them corn is what makes them sick and in need of antibiotics!). On and on. It’s hard to eat clean but it’s worth it IMO…</p>
<p>I bake often, and bring my cakes & cookies to the office, along with baggies. Clients joke that they come for the treats. After awhile, they bring me their own special foods, recipes, and even cupcake baking dishes they stopped using. Its amazing how many older people have stopped cooking, giving up such a creative outlet. A few people have started to volunteer at the food kitchen, and one chef began to each classes again.</p>
<p>I’m still using my original orange crockpot, and my large freezer is full. Whenever i cook, I freeze half. Sadly, I only cook for 2 people now.</p>
<p>I froze them instead of canning. Took the skin off, removed seeds and packed them in ziploc bags. We will see…</p>
<p>I have a chance to visit Penzeys this week as we will be in Stanford.
What spices should I look for? What is definitely worth buying at Penzeys?
(I am writing this as I am making a delicious garam masala chicken for a friend that just had a surgery. Wow, the smell in my house right now is amazing! )</p>
<p>kelowna, We live in close proximity to the first Penzey’s store and have experimented alot with their seasonings over the past decade. Any of the “straight” herbs, spices, sea salts and peppers are excellent - and fresh!. Our favorite seasoning blends are Fox Point (goes on literally anything!), Mural of Flavor, Herbs de Provence (has lavender, great for meats), sandwich sprinkle, and some of the asian mixes (tandoori, rogan josh, garam marsala, sweet curry). There are salt free alternatives in the blends as well, if this is a concern. </p>
<p>I haven’t had much luck cooking with the “smokier” blends (old world, some of the rubs), but I think that is more a matter of our family’s preferred taste profile. Take a half hour or so - the store is an olfactory carnival.</p>
<p>Kelowna: my husband and I really prefer the Vietnamese cinnamon. I use the Southwest blend a LOT. The new 4/S spicy salt is a definite hit. I have found it very difficult to go to Penzey’s and maintain my ability to smell through a whole shopping expedition. I find it best to smell a few things, then go outside for some fresh air for a few minutes before moving to the next group.</p>
<p>We try to cook at home as much as possible. What I do:</p>
<p>I use the crock pot a lot. It’s great for soups and stews, just use less liquid.</p>
<p>I go to one of those meal preparation places where all of the chopping, etc is already done, and you just have to put it together. The meals then go into the freezer. Thre are no preservatives unlike purchased frozen meals.</p>
<p>The one blend I buy from Penzey’s is Galena Street Rub. I put it on pork tenderloin, potatoes, other roasted veggies, just about anything. I don’t like most of the other blends, too much salt. (I imagine the Galena Street Rub has a lot of salt in it, as well.)</p>
<p>I just went to Penzey’s today and made Balti chicken tonight! First time with this blend, and it was great! I use the Greek seasoning alot – a really fast dinner with broiled chicken in cubes, and use some store-bought tzatsiki and make Greek dressing for salad. I’ve been using the new Penzey’s cinnamon blend. Sandwich sprinkle makes great croutons. Their stuff is really great. I always come home with more than I went for…</p>
<p>Fellow Penzey’s fans: do any of you, please, have the Vanilla Cheesecake recipe from somewhere around 2005-2006? My daughter misplaced her catalog with it during a recent move. Thanks!</p>
<p>Also love Penzeys. We cook from scratch every night and so I have a ton of Penzeys herbs, spices and blends. My current favorite is Arizona Dreaming. I bought it mostly for sentimental value because S1 is in school in AZ and no really love it. I even sprinkle it over popcorn. Other favorites we use regularly: Bavarian, BBQ 3000, Northwoods, Pork Chop Seasoning, Greek Seasoning, Chicago Steak Seasoning and I use Smoked Paprika in and on just about everything.</p>
<p>dmd77, my mom has the cookbook. I’ll try to get her to check and see if the recipe is in there.</p>
<p>I’ve been cooking with a lot of whole-grain cornmeal lately. I use Bob’s Red Mill, which has the bran and germ left in. I made a cornbread peach cobbler with it last night, and I frequently make polenta from it instead of eating pasta or rice. It’s terrific with chili, or a cacciatore-type stew, and it’s also good with maple syrup for breakfast.</p>