Easy Simple Cooking

Last Sunday after church we needed to do our grocery shopping. Since we had our granddaughter with us, we knew we would also need to get some lunch (and it’s better not to shop on an empty stomach anyhow), so we decided to go to Subway. Now I can hear the groans from here, but at least we knew we could get a reasonably cheap, vegan meal. We told our granddaughter where we were going and she flipped: "I LOVE Subway, but my Mommy and Daddy don’t like it." Why? "They say everything they have at Subway is stuff we could buy and have at home." Well, duh!!! Anything you buy anywhere that you eat out is stuff you could buy and have at home!

I think the problem a lot of people have is that they don’t know how to cook the stuff once they get it home, and they think they don’t have time to cook something their family will like. I can relate. For almost the entire 22 years of my first marriage, we ate out. My kids’ friends didn’t believe it when they said their mom didn’t cook – but it was true! I didn’t cook because 1) my husband and 2 kids were picky eaters and none of them liked the same things, and 2) my mom was a great cook, but she never had time to teach me how she did it. On the rare occasion when I did cook it was stuff like bland beef stew, (dry and chewy) pot roast, or spaghetti (Ragu out of the jar).

I joke that one of the reasons I married Pappy was because he cooked for me. Pappy had been on his own for awhile and was used to cooking for himself. After we got together, I got interested in cooking and gradually learned to put some things together. Now I do most of the cooking, although he still helps out in the kitchen.

Almost any older person will tell you it’s cheaper to cook your own meals than to eat out. And many nutritionists will add that if you want to be sure what you’re putting into your body, you should prepare your own food. If you would like to explore cooking some things at home, here are a few ideas. Make friends with someone who cooks. Most cooks are happy to share their expertise with a newbie cook. Check out a cooking class at a local community college, grocery store, church, or food co-op. If you don’t want to take a class, here’s the recipe I learned with. This is the basic one-dish meal that Pappy cooked a lot, and it’s easily customized to fit the tastes of many people.

The Dish
The Dish is cooked in a 9 x 13 inch pan. You can line it with aluminum foil for easier cleanup. If you are going to be using meat, you don’t need to worry about any oil, but if not, you may want to spray the pan with Pam, olive oil, or something similar. You can use chicken, stew beef, pork chops, or any other meat you like. And with this recipe you don’t have to worry too much about getting a great cut of meat. It will cook down enough to make most meat tender. Of course we make it vegan. The basic ingredients are potatoes (any kind you have on hand or can buy cheap), onions, bell peppers, garlic, and tomatoes.

Wash the potatoes and cut off any bad spots or eyes. You don’t need to peel them unless you want to – most of the nutrients are in the peel anyway. Thickly slice the potatoes (about ¼" thick). Peel and slice the onions about the same thickness, or slightly thinner. Also slice the bell peppers into ¼" rings. Then layer the sliced onions, potatoes, and bell peppers in the pan. If you are adding meat, add it now. Add salt, pepper, and any other spices you want to use. I always recommend garlic and maybe a dash of cayenne pepper for a bite. Thinly slice tomatoes as the top layer of The Dish. You can pour in a can of diced tomatoes if you don't have any fresh. Cover with foil and bake in a 350ºF oven for about 1 hour. No need to preheat the oven. You can put this into a cold oven and take a look at it in about an hour, or when you start to smell it. That gives you time to help the kids with homework, have a glass of wine, or take a nice relaxing bath before dinner. Serve The Dish with some crusty bread and a green salad, and you’ve got a meal. Once you feel comfortable with the basic recipe, you can start experimenting with other ingredients. Some we have used are jalapenos, eggplant, squash, zucchini, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, and all kinds of spices: sage, basil, rosemary, parsley, cumin….

Things to remember about cooking:

• Don’t be afraid to try different ingredients. A friend once told me that if you like something on its own, you’ll probably like it in a dish with other things. This is absolutely true with very few exceptions. (I really couldn't think of any right off-hand.)
• Don’t be afraid to substitute ingredients. If you’re following a recipe and don’t have everything it calls for, see if you have something similar. For example, substitute any kind of onions for spring onions or leeks. Or substitute white mushrooms for other types. Most of the time it won’t hurt. It may not have some of the subtle tastes of the original recipe, but it will usually be pretty close.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment with spices. My technique for herbs and spices is to smell them and see if the smells go together with what you’re cooking. Start with a small amount and increase if you need to. Taste a lot while you’re learning so you won’t over-spice with something that doesn’t work as well as you thought it would.

Please give home cooking a try, and get your kids involved too. Kids love to cut vegetables, grease pans, even wash the dishes if you just give them a chance. Most things I’ve read also note that kids involved in producing their own food end up eating more healthily, and that’s always a good thing. Let me know what you try and how it turned out. If you have questions, send them to me. Odds are I’ve made any mistake you can come up with, so I can probably help find an answer. Most of all, enjoy!!

Love, Mimi