new lease on cooking
It’s been about two weeks since I’ve started my non-processed food kick, and it’s been interesting to see how it’s affected my cooking and eating habits. It’s obviously slightly impossible to keep up when going out for food, but I’ve been pretty good about it otherwise. I spent my last two Sundays cooking lunch and dinner for the week, and I’m mostly excited that I’m learning to cook with ingredients I’ve never used before. Par example:
- Lentils: This was a giant fail, but at least I tried! I learned from some uber vegetarian co-workers that you should steep them the night before to keep them moist.
- Beets: I’ve discovered that I love beets (especially the yellow ones), but they sure are high maintenance to make. Sure it’s easy to cover them in foil and stick them in an oven for an hour, but it makes EVERYTHING they touch purple (e.g. your fingers).
- Arugula: My new favorite base for salads. Arugula, fruit, goat cheese, vinaigrette, done.
- Goat cheese: And my new favorite cheese. See above.
- Red wine vinegar: This is really basic, but I finally realized how easy it is to make your own vinaigrettes. No more store bought bottles going forward.
- Couscous: Did you know this only takes 5 minutes?? Cover couscous with boiling water, cover, then fluff with a fork after 5 minutes. Not sure if it’s as flavorful as lentils or quinoa, but I can’t get over how fast it is.
- Kale: Just bought this today, and will try this out in a few salads this week. My initial thoughts are that it’s pretty bitter and overpowering, but it’s supposedly so good for you!
- Steel cut oats: I found this article on the kitchn, and it makes my mornings a breeze. I just mix in some dried cranberries and bring it with me on the Caltrain.
- Frozen grapes: These really help stave off my cravings for sweets or ice cream. I may try frozen (Bluth) bananas next.
- Spices: This may sound sad, but we really only have salt, pepper, and a few other spices in our cabinet. My co-worker introduced me to cumin, turmeric, coriander, and Garam Masala this week (hint, she’s a pro Indian cook), and I’m hooked.
- Fresh herbs: One of my biggest lessons from these past two weeks is to pre-wash all of your greens before hand. It helps because I’m really lazy on weeknights, and you can brighten up your leftovers with some quick snips of basil or parsley.
- Portobello mushrooms: I gave these a good try, but the gills still freak me out. I may admit defeat on these guys.
And that was just in two weeks! If you guys have any suggestions for good grains or veggies to try, let me know. :)
