Home Economics
Jul. 3rd, 2009 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphiloOurdert invited herself to lunch at short notice- but instead of panicking as I would once have done- or suggesting we race off to the chippie- I reached for a cook book and the store cupboard and- in about 40 minutes- threw together a very interesting little stew containing chicken, potatoes, tomato and lots of coriander. Where I lacked ingredients I improvised, throwing in a couple of chillies instead of a splash of tabasco sauce. This was a test of my confidence and resilience- and I believe I passed it.
I've learned how important it is to have a well-stocked kitchen. There are certain things one should never be without. They include chicken, vegetables in season, fresh herbs and a wide range of sauces and seasonings. The challenge- and this is going to take some smarts- is to balance the need to have all this stuff to hand against waste. I despise waste. I think it's immoral to throw food away.
But it must be doable. Our mother's couldn't afford waste- and they managed without fridges or freezers. I'm just old enough to remember a time when perishables were stored in a cool room- a sort of walk-in cupboard- called the larder. I guess I must have eaten a lot of rancid butter in my time.
We went shopping yesterday afternoon. We spent more than usual because it was a store-cupboard shop. I bought a chicken because I need to have chicken in the freezer. Also some lamb steaks and a piece of basa- also for the freezer. The basa (cheapest fish on the block) will go to make a fish curry or something along those lines. And I now own a bottle of tabasco.
I've learned how important it is to have a well-stocked kitchen. There are certain things one should never be without. They include chicken, vegetables in season, fresh herbs and a wide range of sauces and seasonings. The challenge- and this is going to take some smarts- is to balance the need to have all this stuff to hand against waste. I despise waste. I think it's immoral to throw food away.
But it must be doable. Our mother's couldn't afford waste- and they managed without fridges or freezers. I'm just old enough to remember a time when perishables were stored in a cool room- a sort of walk-in cupboard- called the larder. I guess I must have eaten a lot of rancid butter in my time.
We went shopping yesterday afternoon. We spent more than usual because it was a store-cupboard shop. I bought a chicken because I need to have chicken in the freezer. Also some lamb steaks and a piece of basa- also for the freezer. The basa (cheapest fish on the block) will go to make a fish curry or something along those lines. And I now own a bottle of tabasco.
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-03 11:58 pm (UTC)Something I've noticed since I began cooking a whole lot more things from scratch is that I seem to have acquired a running "stock list" in my head. I can remember how much of what staples we have left in the kitchen and can now with little effort remember what I'm low on and buy more of that when I'm at the store instead of making a list every time.
This has been a pleasant surprise- like part of my head decided that it is it's job to tally the food and give me a mental list based on that.
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Date: 2009-07-04 08:41 am (UTC)I'll be roasting a chicken this afternoon. Fairly basic stuff. We'll have one meal out of it- and then the remnants will go into the freezer for use in curries, risottos etc.
I know what you mean about the mental stock-list. I'm not totally on top of things yet, but I'm getting there.