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Home Cookin’ Part II – Making a list
Home Cookin’ Part 2
Making a List! — Your Recipe for Success.
Once you’re keeping your pantry stocked with the items above, the second most important activity of home cooking is: THE WEEKLY LIST. We take THE LIST of what meals we plan to prepare each day of the week, and what those recipes will require. And we stick to THE LIST. There is NO DEVIATION from THE LIST. Except — OK, if the supermarket is running a special on something that we use a lot (like the fresh peppers, or maybe chicken), as long as it’s freezable, we will go for it. But it’s got to be an exceptional deal, on something that we regularly use. THE LIST is a sacred thing, so these deviations must be thought through! NO deviations allowed for junk or “convenience” foods — they are not worth it.
Stick to “The List.”
Plan your meals a week ahead of time, and allow yourself just one trip to the grocery store. That’s it. If you forget something, you get to improvise or make something else. This bit of organization and time management may in itself make up for any added time in the kitchen.
We’re fans of Farmer’s Markets and purchasing locally whenever possible. Here’s a helpful site for locating a source near you: Local Harvest.
Also, for you newbies who really don’t have a clue about “scratch” cooking, we have one word: Cookbooks! If you’ve never read one, nothing will get you going like a well-organized cookbook. While the internet has countless excellent on-line cookbooks (many of them free) planning meals with an physical BOOK, pad and pencil seems to put us in the real-world, sensual mood to prepare and enjoy food. Most libraries have fairly good cookbook sections, so browsing start there. If you didn’t inherit mom’s (or dad’s) basic volume like Betty Crocker, or The Joy of Cooking, make an expedition to a used bookstore. Many of the older cookbooks you’ll find there will feature simple, basic recipes that will become standards in your day-to-day collection of favorites. If you can read (and you’ve gotten this far in the article, so no excuses!), you can cook!.
If you're lucky enough to have a Farmer's Market in your area, take your shopping list there!
Other Articles in Our Home Cookin’ Series:
Where Ms. Hubbard Went Wrong — A Well Stocked Pantry makes cooking easy
Rattle Those Pots ‘n’ Pans: — Cheap Kitchenware Essentials
—the Editors, on March 26, 2009