Read D.I.Y. Delicious: Recipes and Ideas for Simple Food From Scratch Online
Authors: Vanessa Barrington,Sara Remington
Tags: #Food
FEAR OF FERMENTATION
: We tend to fear the things we don’t understand, whether they are unfamiliar religions, cultures, or the workings of the internal combustion engine. Our disconnection from food likewise breeds a fear of unfamiliar kitchen processes. For example, many people are nervous the first few times they leave a food product out at room temperature for several days to let it ferment. That’s a normal and reasonable reaction. Our modern food system has taught us to treat our foods like biohazards, because many of them are. Due to lack of traceability and proper inspection and enforcement protocols, the onus has been put on us to overcook our meat and bleach our countertops, because the food system can’t guarantee that the foods we eat are safe. So, if you’re worried about making yourself sick with fermented foods, consider that the government-supervised food system hasn’t done such a good job of keeping us safe. Trust your own kitchen and your own judgment and senses. Keep things clean and pay attention to what your eyes and your nose tell you and you won’t have any trouble.
If you’re still nervous, remember that fermentation was developed as a way to preserve foods before refrigeration, and we somehow survived as people long enough to invent refrigerators. Fermentation occurs when beneficial bacteria and wild yeasts colonize food. Once the good bacteria colonize a food item, the bad bacteria don’t stand a chance. On occasion, bad organisms get into a food before good ones—usually early in the process. That’s why it’s important to keep things clean. If it happens, you will know it. Your nose will tell you in no uncertain terms. I can’t stress it enough. Trust yourself.
PICKLING
There are books on fermenting and there are books on canning and pickling. Usually, however, they are not the same books. I like fermented pickles, but I also like the bite of a nice vinegary pickled vegetable, so I’ve included both in this book. Pickling is easy. You just have to use the proper proportion of vinegar to keep it safe. I don’t have a large garden, so I rarely find myself with a windfall of vegetables to preserve. The recipes in this book are for small batches of pickles that are kept in the refrigerator. However, I’m all for preserving and canning. If you are too, you likely already have a canning book. You can take the recipes in this book and scale them up and process them according to the canning chart in any
recently updated canning book
. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends canned processing for anything that will be stored at room temperature, including fermented pickles and jams.
CULTURING
There are several cultured dairy products in this book, including butter, yogurt, crème fraîche, and mascarpone. The culturing process is similar to fermentation. A culturing agent is introduced into either milk or cream, which is then exposed to the proper temperature conditions for the proper amount of time to allow the culturing agent to work. It’s pretty much as simple as that. This process, like fermentation, tends to make people nervous. If anything, dairy products are even more likely than vegetables to tell you when something has gone wrong. So trust your nose.
Is the D.I.Y. kitchen also an unplugged kitchen? Yes and no. I firmly believe that a person can successfully make bread without a bread maker and yogurt without a yogurt maker. And I do have a special relationship with the mortar and pestle on my counter. So in these senses, the D.I.Y. kitchen is unplugged.
On the other hand, both your blender and your food processor will get a pretty good workout in this book. The better the quality of these two pieces of equipment, the better the recipes will turn out. I also enjoy having a coffee grinder devoted to spices because it speeds things up, but a mortar and pestle work fine.
CAST IRON
A cast-iron skillet is one of the best pieces of kitchen equipment you will ever buy. Once it’s well seasoned, it’s like a trustworthy friend. It goes from the stove to the oven, nothing will stick to it, it cleans up like a dream, it browns and caramelizes like nobody’s business, it makes perfect pancakes and tortillas, and it dry roasts the ingredients for authentic salsa better than anything else. And guess what? It’s cheap. I’ve found great cast-iron skillets at garage sales for as little as $1 or $2 and even brand new, they won’t set you back much. They’re even still made in the United States.
Get yourself one
.
MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS
You will need a few really good strainers for various recipes, both fine and medium mesh. A Crock-Pot or slow cooker is nice to have, and if you want to make corn tortillas, it’s best to use a tortilla press. Of course, some tortillas are still made entirely by hand, but this is after years of daily practice. I
believe in avoiding frustration in the kitchen as much as possible. A mortar and pestle are essential for pounding garlic into a paste for certain recipes in this book. It mellows the garlic and is used when you want the flavor of garlic to permeate a dish subtly but completely. It’s a technique that is easy and quick, and when it’s called for in a dish, it matters. A pasta maker is nice to have for homemade pasta, but it’s not essential. For vinegar, you’ll need some sort of crock, and for pizza, you’ll be a very happy pizza maker indeed if you have a stone and a peel. All of these items are discussed in recipe head notes and the Sources and Further Reading section.
MASON JARS
You will need mason jars, mostly 1-quart, wide-mouthed jars, for many of the pickles and fermented items. These are also good for storing grains, granola, and leftovers. For jam, you’ll want to buy smaller ones.
Kosher salt is used in almost all of the recipes in this book. It’s a good allpurpose salt that is affordable and readily available. In cases where it might be nice to use a fancier salt, like a
fleur de sel
, I point it out, but it’s never necessary. In cases where the directions say “season with salt,” it isn’t important what kind of salt you use. But for pickling and fermenting, it is important to use what’s specified because different salts have different-sized crystals and they will tend to weigh and measure differently. For example, you must use about 50 percent more kosher salt in a recipe than pickling salt because pickling salt is finer grained.
I prefer to use organic turbinado sugar rather than bleached white sugar, simply because it’s less processed. I buy organic because I think it’s important to support organic practices, but it’s not necessary for the recipes. Many of the recipes here call for alternative sweeteners like honey, agave syrup, or maple syrup.
A few special cultures are called for in this book to make dairy products, soft drinks, vinegar, and kombucha. Availability and sources are discussed in recipe head notes and also in the Sources section. Most of the spices used in this book are easy to find in regular stores across the country. A few items, such as Korean and Aleppo pepper, are found only in specialty or culturally specific food stores. For those items, substitutions are suggested, or look in the Sources section.
Besides the obvious benefits of eating more healthfully, and avoiding additives and excessive packaging, investing time in making foods from scratch can actually save you shopping and cooking time later on. You’ll be surprised at how many creative ways you can use and repurpose the homemade foods in this book for quick, economical, and creative meals and snacks. The simplest things taste better because you’ve made them yourself!
Following are a few easy ideas for using various homemade foods to make impromptu appetizers and quick meals.
Serve with homemade or store-bought crackers or breads along with olives and homemade pickles for a quick and easy appetizer.
Whisk with olive oil and make a quick dressing for salads or drizzle over grilled or baked fish, chicken, or roasted potatoes.
Thin with a little white wine and use it to marinate fish just before cooking.
Stir into scrambled eggs during the last few minutes of cooking.
Use it as a pasta sauce or pizza topping.
Serve alongside mashed potatoes and browned sausage.
Tuck into a grilled cheese sandwich with homemade or store-bought bread.
Toss with whole-wheat pasta and leftover
Mustard and Bourbon-Glazed Pork Roast
.
Eat with beans or atop a bean soup.
AVOCADO-TOMATILLO SALSA
OR
SIMPLE TOMATO SALSA
Smash some cooked pinto beans and make a layered dip with the beans and homemade
Crème Fraîche
or store-bought sour cream.
Shred leftover chicken, beef, or pork and reheat with either type of salsa. Serve tucked into Tortillas.
Stir into scrambled eggs or homemade savory porridge served with an egg.
Stir into cooked beans and serve alongside rice or with eggs and tortillas.
Reheat leftover shredded chicken in the sauce for a mole-like dish.
Stir into cooked polenta or other porridge during the last few minutes of cooking and top with shredded cheese.
Drain for two hours and make a marinade for chicken or fish by adding lots of garlic, lemon juice, fresh herbs, and/or dried spices and a little olive oil.
Drizzle over cooked lentils or beans.
Stir into homemade porridge.
Repurpose it into a dip by draining it in cheesecloth over a bowl or sink for several hours.
Drizzle over fresh pasta or any vegetable soup.
Instead of cream, add it to a pasta dish or pureed soup during the last few minutes of cooking.
Serve with fresh fruit for dessert, drizzled with honey or not.
Drizzle over a pizza topped with smoked fish.
GARLICKY CUCUMBER PICKLE RELISH
Serve on a pork or chicken sandwich.
Drain well and sprinkle over a cured meat or smoked fish pizza after it comes out of the oven.
Serve on crackers with soft cheese.
Serve with beans.
Add to grain salads.
Enjoy alongside brown rice and canned sardines, herring, or mackerel.
Toss with soba noodles and vegetables.
If you don’t eat processed food, why should your baby? Commercial baby food in little jars is a convenience to be sure. Those little jars are super-portable. But they are expensive, and what’s on the ingredients list? Even if there are no additives on the list, how can you know that the best-tasting and freshest ingredients went into that jar? The best way to teach kids to like vegetables and other good-for-you foods is to make sure that the first such foods they try taste great. Not to mention, those little jars are a waste of production energy even if they do go in the recycling.
It’s easy and fast to make your own baby food and it can be just as convenient to store and transport as little jars. The best way is to freeze portions of homemade baby food in ice cube trays and then store them in resealable plastic bags. When you need food to go, take out a few cubes; transfer them to a small, lidded container; and tuck it into an insulated bag. The food will thaw while you’re out and about.
Baby food can be any kind of real food, as long as allergies are taken into account and it’s not heavily seasoned. You’ll want to balance the fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins. In many cases, baby can eat the same thing you’re eating, sometimes with textural adjustments, sometimes not.
Wholegrain porridge
is a good example of a baby-ready food.
FRUITS
: apples, peaches, pears, melons, berries, citrus
VEGETABLES
: green beans, peas, legumes, squash, root vegetables, broccoli, greens, corn
GRAINS
: brown rice, oats, barley, farro, porridge
PROTEINS
: small portions of meat,
plain Yogurt
,
Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese
There are books and Web sites that detail how to make baby food, but all you really need to do to any of the previously listed foods is to cook (in most cases), mash or puree, and store properly.
COOKING METHODS
: steam, roast, or boil
PUREEING METHODS
: blender, food processor, immersion blender, potato masher, baby food mill
STORAGE
: ice cube trays; resealable plastic bags; small, portable lidded containers
Even before the problems with deadly contaminants in pet food surfaced, many pet owners questioned whether commercial pet food was really the best thing for their beloved family members. Even if you buy a respected brand of organic pet food in a pet store, you’re still getting highly processed food, akin to some of the organic packaged and processed foods on the market today, only with more by-products. As with any processed food, you’re really buying convenience. It’s important to remember that domestic animals evolved by living alongside humans and eating most of the same foods humans ate, in the form of table scraps.
I’m not suggesting you feed your pet only table scraps, but in some cases it’s a fine idea. Brown rice or other grains, with a little broth and some vegetables from a soup are perfectly good foods for your dog. I often feed my dog foods that I cannot use or don’t want to eat (but that aren’t spoiled)—it’s better than wasting food. Ground-up fish bones or cooked soup bones are also good for dogs, and a treat they’ll appreciate. Trimmings from fish or fresh meats are other good candidates.
Since you can’t count on your table scraps to feed your dog or cat, there are other ways to go about making sure your animals have the healthiest food possible.