Pantry Archives – Page 4 of 4

Undressing the Dressing: Secrets Revealed

Learn to make healthy homemade salad dressing.

It amuses me whenever someone watches me prepare a simple meal and suddenly they gasp in amazement, “You make your own salad dressing?!” Um…yes, I guess I take it for granted that everyone does. If you haven’t, rest assured that it’s very simple. I hardly ever buy bottled dressing because healthy homemade salad dressing is so easy.

Making Dressing

Usually I start with a clove of garlic and a pinch of salt in my mortar. I mash that up with my pestle and then add some kind of acid to it. Fresh lemon juice is my favorite, but it could be any kind of citrus juice or vinegar that you have available.

I keep a variety of vinegars in my pantry as they each have their own distinct qualities and they have a long, if not indefinite shelf life. Balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar and rice vinegar are among my favorites. Then I take a fork and use it to slowly whisk in some olive oil. That’s it. Couldn’t be simpler. Taste it as you go and you will find the ratio that works for you. (If I didn’t have a mortar and pestle or food processor, I would mince the garlic and then mash it with the flat side of a big knife, put it into a bowl and whisk in the rest of the ingredients.)

Now, it doesn’t mean you have to stop there. You can layer in all kinds of additions to change the personality of this dressing. Fresh or dried herbs of your choice, dijon or some other kind of mustard, additional spices, fruit jam, honey, miso paste etc. etc. etc. Just think about how you want to balance the flavors in a way that appeals to you and your family.

More Than Veggies

So here’s a salad where I added dried mint to the basic dressing. Finishing up some fresh produce here, with the addition of some leftover farro and canned black beans. Dried grains and canned beans are elevated to a higher level when they’re paired with something fresh. If you’re spacing out your shopping trips, it’s nice to consider combining in this way: something fresh, something dried, something canned…and always finding a new purpose for your leftovers!

tossed salad with radicchio on a white plate — Radicchio with romaine, tomatoes, avocado, black beans, farro, green onion and cilantro with lemon mint vinaigrette

For more salad inspiration, please read Meet the Beets next.

Pancakes From Scratch Are the Best

Pancakes: one of the best simple meals.

I am one of those people who wakes up hungry and one of my first concerns in the morning is what I will eat. As a child, pancakes were my favorite. I would cry if we went out to a restaurant and they didn’t serve pancakes…for dinner. My perplexed young mind wondered, “What kind of a dump doesn’t serve pancakes? What’s the point of going out to dinner?”

One of my favorite simple meals, I could still eat pancakes any time of day. Once when Michael and I were dating, he called at 10 PM and asked what I was doing. “Making pancakes,” I answered nonchalantly. “Making pancakes?!” he exclaimed incredulously. “Do you know how fattening those are?” I thought to myself, “What’s so fattening about one egg and 2 tablespoons of olive oil?” (And that’s for a batch that would feed at least 2 people.) It took me years to realize his understanding was that pancakes were made with bacon fat. If that’s the way you make them, that’s fine. But that’s not the way I grew up eating them.

Measuring

For pancakes and baked goods, I make an exception to not following a formula. If you don’t measure properly, you won’t get the desired results and you can’t taste along the way to see if it’s right. I made the mistake of not explaining this to my young friend once who so kindly volunteered to make us some pancakes when I wasn’t feeling well. From bed, I called out the instructions, eagerly anticipating her creation.

Bless her heart. I didn’t even recognize what she brought me. After inquiring about the process, I realized that she didn’t know how to properly measure dry ingredients. Flour must be leveled off with a knife. Baking powder must be leveled off with its lid. Salt and sugar should not be heaping spoonfuls–just level with the top of the measuring spoon. Sift through a mesh strainer to break up any lumps of baking powder or baking soda.

The Foundation

Mix together dry ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flour
3 teaspooons baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt.

Mix together wet ingredients:

1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons oil

Combine everything and mix just until the batter is wet. Lumpy is fine. Don’t overmix it.

If you have buttermilk, that’s even better! I use it so infrequently that I don’t buy it often. If I’m not too impatient to get cooking, I might add a bit of lemon juice to some milk and let it sit for 20 minutes instead. To the batter described above, you can add any number of fruits, spices and/or nuts. Be sure to mix fruit with dry ingredients before combining with the wet ingredients. You could experiment with different kinds of flour. My favorite spice is cardamom. It works so well in both sweet and savory dishes, so I love to add it to my pancakes.

Two blueberry pancakes on a white plate with a pat of butter. Small bowls of walnuts and blueberries sit in the background with a bottle of maple syrup that is almost empty. — Michael made these blueberry pancakes for me after learning how simple it is

If you don’t have milk, try oat milk. It’s not exactly the same, but it works. Try with a little yogurt too. I have experimented with all kinds of concoctions when I have been out of an ingredient for pancakes. You don’t have to be intimidated!

Michael likes his pancakes topped with coconut syrup, which we discovered on our honeymoon in Hawaii, but I prefer real maple syrup. Growing up, we often didn’t use syrup at all. My mother thought molasses or honey was healthier, so that’s what we used. You could skip syrup altogether and make a fruit compote instead. Or you could….here I go…on and on once again…

How do you like your pancakes?

If you enjoy simple meals for breakfast, please read Ode to Oatmeal next.

Frugal Meal Ideas Make Me a Peppy Pepper Prepper

Frugal meal ideas begin with shopping smart and using fresh produce in the proper order. Stuffed peppers, anyone?

At the end of one very busy day, I realized I had a videoconference coming up in 20 minutes and I had not begun the dinner preparation that I had intended. I didn’t want to wait until after my appointment to start something because we would be very hungry by then. So I turned the oven on to 350 and pondered what to do.

Well, I had bought 3 red bell peppers from the clearance rack at the market because they had a couple tiny soft spots and the skins were starting to wrinkle ever so slightly. So they were my top priority to be eaten. That’s how frugal meal ideas are born. Use your fresh, seasonal produce in the proper order and pair with pantry staples for zero waste cooking that is also budget friendly.

Buying Peppers

Red bell peppers aren’t cheap, especially if you prefer organic. Back in the days when I would send my husband to the store with a list, I would tell him beforehand, “Pick the biggest ones.” They’re usually priced individually rather than by the pound, so you have to be selective on those type of items. What do you think happened on that shopping trip? Yup, another phone call asking, “When you say the biggest, do you mean the tallest or the fattest?” This still makes me laugh. He’s so adorable.

Preparation

So, as I was looking at these peppers wondering what I could throw together super fast that would be ready to eat after my meeting, I decided: Stuffed peppers, of course! No time to pre-cook ingredients. No problem.

So, for 3 peppers, I mixed together in a bowl:

about 3/4 cup of brown rice
1/2 pound ground turkey and
a small part of an onion, diced
water or stock

You could add to this any combination of herbs and spices you like. I happened to be in the mood for:

cumin
turmeric
coriander
cardamom
ginger
cinnamon
allspice
garlic powder

Salt, of course. I’m probably never going to mention salt much because it’s a given, right? Everyone usually seasons with black pepper too, but I prefer grains of paradise.

So, after putting about an inch of water into the bottom of a casserole dish, I filled my hollowed out peppers with the rice/meat mixture. Leaving half an inch of space at the top allows room for them to expand while cooking. Poured in enough water or stock into the peppers to fill them and put the stem back on top. I covered the dish with foil so it could steam, and popped it in the oven. An hour and a half later, we sat down for a delicious and healthy meal.

Meanwhile the quick, no fuss preparation afforded me enough time to put on mascara and bronzer for my meeting. Who says frugal meal ideas require a lot of work?

Obviously you could use any type of ground meat or meat substitute or add some finely chopped vegetables to the mixture instead. You could top the whole thing with cheese or tomato sauce or whatever else suits your fancy. Cooking without a recipe is easy when you start with an anchor ingredient.

And by the way, if it comes down to it, I would choose the fattest pepper rather than the tallest for this dish. 🤣

frugal meal idea of stuffed red pepper cut in half, corn on the cob and green salad on a white plate

What about meat and potatoes? Yes, we eat those too. Please read No Small Potatoes to learn more.

Squash Your Prejudice By Trying Something New

Get creative and try something new like a squash stew while learning to cook without recipes.

Cooking without a recipe or a meal plan requires smart shopping and wise use of ingredients on you have on hand. Let me explain why a squash like kabocha is a good one to keep around. Keep reading for inspiration on a delicious squash stew.

kabocha squash on white tablecloth — For those of you who haven’t met, here is the kabocha. He looks a little intimidating with his rough exterior, doesn’t he? Heavy and hard, he could do some serious damage if aimed at your head…which is precisely why he’s a good friend to have around the kitchen.

I love zucchini as much as anyone else does, but please make sure you eat it within a few days of purchase. It’s soft and tender, with a thin skin…not unlike some dear friends of mine; the ones requiring immediate attention and gentle handling. A hard squash like this one, though, is content to be ignored for weeks or even months until you decide you need him. You will love his sweet, bright orange flesh that softens while cooking. Just like people, you have to get to know what’s inside before dismissing a gruff appearance.

Changing My Mind

I will be honest. I was not always a fan of this vegetable. Growing up with a Japanese father, kabocha was a common offering at dinner. It seemed a little plain to me, only being seasoned with soy sauce. So when my friend, Monika, wanted me to try it in a stew years ago, I had a knee jerk reaction to object.

Here’s an example of why I suggest a different preparation if you hadn’t previously been fond of a particular food. I changed my mind when I tried this delicious and colorful stew. Best of all, it can be made with healthy, shelf stable items when you might not have a lot of other options at home.

Ingredients for Kabocha Squash Stew:

kabocha
chickpeas
red lentils
onion
carrots
ginger
stock
spices such as cumin, saffron, turmeric, paprika
tomato paste

I always keep some fresh ginger root in the freezer as it’s a powerful flavor addition to so many dishes). Use whatever flavorful liquid you have on hand. I like chicken stock, but it could be vegetable stock or even some leftover salty pasta water if that’s all you have. Experiment with spices such as cumin, saffron, turmeric and paprika. What’s in your spice cabinet?

squash, legumes and spices on a white plate — Butternut squash, red lentils, chickpeas, saffron, paprika,turmeric and cumin

You could put a little tomato paste in there, but I often find myself without it. (If you remember to buy some tomato paste, please don’t throw away the remainder of the unused can. You can freeze blocks of it in an ice cube tray and then store it in the freezer in a plastic bag. The kind that comes in a tube keeps in the refrigerator well also.) I used a smidgen of ketchup last time instead.

My Cooking Philosophy

Rather than relying on exact measurements, I tend to think in terms of proportions. So, compared to the size of your kabocha, the dried legumes should each appear to be about a quarter of that amount. I soak the chickpeas overnight, but one can would work just as well. Just add the can, drained, near the end of cooking the stew, which takes a few hours on the stove top or up to 6 in a slow cooker.

Red lentils work well in this because they harmonize with the beautiful orange color of the squash and the carrots. But if you have another variety of lentils, use them. It’s not quite as pretty, but it still tastes good.

Where I live, kabocha is not difficult to find in the supermarket. You can ask someone who works there if you don’t see it. If they don’t have it, don’t panic. You can still make this delicious stew with an acorn squash or a butternut squash. I recommend taking them home also because not only are they very nutritious, but they will also wait patiently to make their appearance while you consume your most perishable produce first. You can’t help but love a non-needy vegetable!

If you have produce that is getting over-ripe, please use it first. Please read Pepper Prepper next for more delicious inspiration on cooking without a recipe.