Cooking Fresh Food - breaking the jar/can/bottle habit...

[TheBear]

Sorry I've been a little quiet for a few days, I got to bring my DD home from the hospital for the first time on Thursday, so I've been a little distracted since then...

Some really good recipes coming out here - if you have a recipe that matches the list of open requests on the front page, then feel free to add it.

Netix - My Stock Pot is a huge 80 liter monster of a thing, doesn't fit on a stove, so it goes on a gas burner on the balcony!

BG - I use a mixture of different preserving techniques, you can preserve lots of things that don't contain much protein without refridgeration using jars - I use resealable preserving jars for high turnover things that we will use a lot (tomato and chilli jam, tomato and ginger preserve, home made mustard, marinaded eggplant/zucchini, picked cabbage that sort of thing). For longer term preserves (jams/marmalades/passatta, preserved lemons, etc) I buy trays of jam jars from a catering supplier - we preserve stone fruit (cherries, peaches, apricots) over the summer and citrus (blood oranges, seville oranges, ruby grapefruit, etc) during the winter - we're going to make some ruby grapefruit and rose petal marmalade this week - last years stock of seville orange and calvados marmalade is nearly done, so I'll probably make another batch of that too.
For anything that contains protein, then you need to find other ways to preserve it - a vacuum packing machine is a great tool (it might also allow you to make a broader range of boil-in-the bag stuff for you DH's truck) Produce survives the fridge/freezer much better in a vacuum packing, and it also gives a huge boost to any marinades. I also use old fashioned traditional preserving techniques - confit where the meat is initially cooked and stored in jar of fat (works well for pork, duck, goose) - the fat is removed before the final cooking, so it isn't as unhealthy as you might think. I've been getting into salting and curing of meat too which is proving to be very interesting and rewarding, if you've got dibs on some whole animals then it's something that you might want to consider yourself - home made bacon, ham, pancetta is pretty simple and similar techniques can be used for other cuts and animals.

I did a little wander around the supermarket looking at some of the sauces that have been listed, so I'll be posting some more alternative recipes soon.

Creamy Country Chicken has me stumped though, couldn't find it...what's in it?

A couple of people have mentioned cost, I'll see if I can put together some cost breakdowns, but at first glance....the going rate for a 375ml jar of sauce seems to be about $3 - most of the tomato based sauces are >90% tomato...400g of tomato are less than $1

One more from Tali's list...

Chicken Cacciatora (We had this for dinner tonight - nice simple bit of one-pot cooking)

for 4-6 people

A chicken cut into pieces (2 x breasts - each cut in half, two thighs, two drumsticks)
A carrot - peeled and chopped finely
A stick of celery - chopped
An onion - sliced
A clove of garlic - chopped finely
A red or green capsicum - cored, deseeded and cut into strips
A 400g can of tomato
150ml of white wine

Get everything chopped and prepared before you start.
heat some oil in a saucepan, coat the chicken pieces with seasoned flour and fry in the oil until golden, then remove from the pan and put on a plate nearby. The flour will help thicken the sauce.
Add the onion to the pan and reduce the heat, fry the onion until starting to turn golden - a low heat will stop you burning the onion.
Add the wine, and increase the heat - whilst the wine is boiling use a wooden spoon to scrape all the caramelised bits of onion and chicken from the sides and base of the pan - let the wine boil for at least 30 seconds.
Add the carrot, celery, garlic and capsicum and stir briefly before adding all the chicken pieces except the breast - they will not lead as long to cook.
Add the tin of tomato, stir again and cover the saucepan - reduce the heat right down low so that the sauce is barely simmering - allow it to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the breast pieces and simmer for another 10-15 minutes - remove the lid and place the chicken pieces on a serving dish or plate in a warm oven whilst you finish the sauce.
Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste, if you would like the sauce to be thicker then crank up the heat and boil the sauce, stirring regularly until it is at the desired thickness, then pour over the chicken and serve.
The whole thing can be made in advance and reheated, or you could make the sauce without the chicken and keep it in the fridge or freezer until it is needed. Just use it like the simmer sauces - fry the chicken then pour over the sauce and simmer till the chicken is cooked.

[Netix]

80 Litres! Wow, that's impressive!

How can you/is it possible to put things into jars to preserve (when it is still scalding hot) if the recipe says to store it in the fridge? I read a recipe the other day for tomato or chilli jam (was distracted at the time), and it said to put it in a jar, and keep in the fridge. Things with dairy I understand (like butterscotch or caramel sauces), but stuff like chilli jams/chutneys I thought were fine to store as a preserve in jars, in the cupboard, until opened, then into the fridge? Having said that, I do have LOTS of recipes waiting for me to try (really want to make some tomato and chilli chutneys, they are very popular in this little black duck's house) that call to be preserved in jars. Can you use any jars? (like pasta sauce jars), or is it best to get preserving jars?

Will definately be back later with some more recipes too. Think I will probably have to wait until the bug is asleep after lunch...

[Astrid]

Came across this article and thought it was very relevant to this thread:
Diet - Life & Style Home - theage.com.au

Bake friands and influence people
Paula Goodyer
August 7, 2008


Nix the mix ... homemade is healthier and more satisfying.

Baking cakes and biscuits together is a good first step in teaching children cooking skills but using a packet mix sends the wrong message. You're encouraging cooking but you're also teaching your kids to eat from packets, warns food coach Judy Davie.

Davie is the author of Read The Label, a detailed guide to knowing exactly what's in the food you buy and how to exit the supermarket toting the healthiest choices, from breakfast cereal and yoghurt to olives and curry paste.

There's a good reason why cake mix wouldn't figure on her own shopping list: the main difference between cakes and muffins created from packets and those made from scratch isn't, surprisingly, less time and effort, it's just more additives. Davie's comparison of packet muffins versus muffins from scratch found they took roughly the same time but the packet version had almost twice the sugar and three times the sodium, plus additives including sulphur dioxide, which is considered a trigger for asthma.

It was a similar story with carrot cake. The packet version took the same amount of time as Davie's recipe but while hers had fresh carrots, the packet cake had dried carrot, more sodium, emulsifiers, dairy powder, cheese powder and food colours.

And don't get her started on pancake mixes. Although these mixes are faster - unlike pancake batter made from scratch you don't have to "rest" the batter for an hour before cooking - the trade-off is almost double the kilojoules and sugar.

"With a proper pancake, you have to think ahead to allow for resting time but you're using fresh eggs, milk and some wholemeal flour. With a pancake shake, you're adding water and there's a list of additives.

"Packet mixes don't really save time and there's more sugar. There's also more sodium - perhaps to ensure the cake really rises," Davie says. She puts these mixes in the same category as cook-in sauces - processed foods that give the illusion of cooking from scratch.

Her advice: ditch the mixes and invest in good ingredients for baking your own cakes and muffins - and regain more control over what you eat.

"With the right ingredients you can put a lot of good nutrition into cakes or muffins you bake yourself - though they're no substitute for eating fruit and vegetables, of course. The carrot cake is a good example. It uses monounsaturated fat, fresh eggs, carrot, wholemeal flour and walnuts - there's not a lot wrong with that. And when you're steering your own ship, you can modify the ingredients.

"Reducing the sugar might mean a cake doesn't rise as much but it will still taste good. If you prefer using monounsaturated oil instead of butter, that's fine as long as you're baking a heavier cake, not a Victoria sponge."

Read The Label has good advice on choosing the best baking ingredients. Davie suggests trying spelt flour, which is made from a type of wheat that contains less gluten than modern wheat grains.

"Baked goods made with spelt are denser and tastier, though they might not rise as much," Davie says.

"We've been conditioned by commercial cakes to think cakes must be light and high, but cake textures vary."

[TheBear]

Sterilise the jars and lids first, then put the jars in the oven and heat until over 100 degrees.

I have a plastic funnel with the bottom cut off that fits nicely into the mouth of most jars, so I take the tray of hot jars out of the oven and fill them immediately with scalding preserve, then seal them immediately.

Most things benefit from being stored in the fridge once they have been opened, but if you get a good sterile seal then many things are fine in the back of the cupboard.

You can use any jar, the real difference is the quality of the seal that you get - most jar lids will only seal 2-3 times before they need to be replaced - that's why I use preserving jars for things that will be frequently opened.

[TheBear]

Astrid - great article, just the kind of thing we're trying to tackle with this thread.

[Laranna]

Bear, I was wondering if you could give us a list of "core ingredients" we should always have stocked in our pantries/fridge?

I know I always get caught out with not having some spice or herb, etc when I am trying different recipes. It would be good to know what base ingredients are good to have on hand.

[Astrid]

Any ideas for chicken nuggets? It would be good to make up a large batch for freezing. When we buy we like the tempura coated ones, rather than breadcrumb, seem to have a lot less additives and they taste better aswell. I suppose I could coat small pieces of chicken in a tempura batter and cook them. Would they then freeze and heat well later?

[Janie]

Laranna, I'll start with some things that I am never without........I'm sure Bear will add to the list!

tins of diced tomatoes
onions
garlic
pasta, different shapes, eg. spaghetti, penne
rice, different varieties, arborio, jasmine, brown, basmati
olive oil
tamari/soy sauce
oyster sauce

um, will think of more!

Bear, I'm after a really good, basic sauce for a pasta bake. I refuse to use jars, but I love the convenience of having a pasta dish made ready to put in the oven when I get home from work. My DH doesn't eat a huge variety of vegies, so I'm challenged as to what I can add to the pasta (apart from lots of cheese LOL)

[Olive]

This thread is making me so hungry!

Just thought I would add my two cents in on pasta forno (pasta bakes) and pasta sauces.
Being Italian I can't go more than a couple days without pasta.
There are heaps of quick sauces out there that you can make but I love the long slow cooked ones.

Bolognese Sauce

Olive oil, enough to cover at least 1cm of the pot, 2cm even, heaps.
Half quantities of beef and pork mince about 500g
Onion, diced
Garlic, if you like it, I add about 6 odd cloves, I like it
salt, pepper
Passata, couple bottles
Water if needed

Just warm the oil in the pot, add the onion and garlic, cook them really slowly, don't let them brown, keep them transparent. I cook them for about 20 mins sometimes less if I am pressed for time.
Add the minces, fry til brown, but not over too high a heat.
Add your passata and salt. pepper to taste.
Simmer for at least a couple hours, the longer you cook the, the better it tastes. If it's getting to thick and dry just top up with water.
Serve with parmasen and as Bear said not the pre grated crap. I won't tell you what I call it as it's crass and I'll probably offend someone.
Growing up we used grana padana on pastas, we would have been shot if we put the good parmasen on it, That was strictly after the meal, mind you it was the awesome Reggiano.
If you haven't tried it BUY IT, expensive but you will never go back to pre grated!

As for pasta bake
I use that sauce, with some cooked pasta, al dente, a couple eggs and some pecorino, or mozarella or parmasen, or all three.
Bake it for about half an hour on 200. It's awesome and lasts for ages.

if you make a heap of the sauce you can freeze it and use it to make a quick pasta bake, I do that sometimes.

ETA If you are PG be careful with the Italian cheeses as most of them use unpasturised milk. I'm dying for some good parmasen right now!!

i made your bolognese sauce on saturday and it was awesome! i used same 1/2 jar passata and made up some, tin of toms and tom paste blended together, actually used the sauce to make cannalloni !! thanks will be making it again this way!!

[briggsy's girl]

i make a mean chicken pasta bake in the slow cooker Janie - diced chicken breast, tomato based sauce (which you can do from scratch), whatever veg you want, cook it up - when it's almost done, throw in par cooked pasta and let it finish cooking. freeze in meal sized portions, then when you want it, defrost over night, throw in the oven topped with cheese - beautiful!!

i also do the same with a vegie only bake with a creamy sauce - saute finely chopped veg in garlic butter (i tend to do onion, carrot, spud, swede, turnip, parsnip, zucchini), throw in some cauli and brocolli that's been blanched (and cut up small). make a creamy cheese sauce, mix it all through. mix through some pasta (and if you're wanting some meat, some diced chicken breast that has been browned). again, freeze in meal sized portions, defrost, and throw in the oven to heat/brown the top. you can top with extra cheese if you want, but i tend not to as i throw a fair bit of cheese into the sauce as i make it. i've dished this up to really fussy kids who won't eat anything other than spud and carrot and they hoover it down - the veg is all finely chopped so they literally have no idea how much they're eating in there!

[Janie]

Oooooh yeah, I have to kick my Reggiano habit It's getting too expensive, back to the old Padano for us I think! But the Reggiano is sooooooooo good mmmmmmmmmm

ETA Thanks BG, they sound great!

[briggsy's girl]

Janie, the best thing with them is that i always cook in bulk, and freeze probably a dozen meals at a time (for one person - love chinese take out containers - stack nicely in the freezer!). i also "hide" lots of vegies in stuff like that. it's not that DH doesn't like vegies (far from it) but if he doesn't have something like this while he's away in the truck, he doesn't, IMO, get enough veg. as "convenient" as the average truck stop is, steak and chips, or whatever (even if they throw a grilled tomato on the plate) just isnt a substantial meal to be eating on a regular basis!!

i hide masses of vegies in everything i cook in the slow cooker for him to take away - have not had a complaint yet... lol

i really just need to get back to basics for things like the sauces and stuff (which i'll be starting soon - but i'm not gonna waste what is in the cupboard already)

[ll80]

i made your bolognese sauce on saturday and it was awesome! i used same 1/2 jar passata and made up some, tin of toms and tom paste blended together, actually used the sauce to make cannalloni !! thanks will be making it again this way!!

my pleasure, glad you enjoyed it!
I often use tin tomatoes as well if I am out of passata.
I just buy the cheap no name brand, I don't find it makes any difference at all to the sauce and they are only 49c.

I also use this sauce for lasange I just add a fair amount of water to it so that the pasta cooks. I tend to use the dried pasta if I haven't been bothered to make my own.

[Netix]

Astrid, great article. Confirms a lot of what I already thought. Maybe I could get the Man to read it, and he will stop buying me cake mixes and learn to just ask or point out something in one of my books....
Chicken nuggets.... tempura batter is very crispy yes? What about crumbing small pieces of chicken in the corn flake crumb sort of thing? Would that work for you? Then they could still be frozen raw, and cooked as needed. I don't imagine a batter would thaw and cook well, unless it was put into a deep fryer. Yuk. (Yuk for me atm)

Bear, I had to read your bit a few times before it dawned on me that you actually do mean opening the jar 2 or 3 times, not filling the jar . I can see the need to use proper preserving jars. Are they expensive?

I am building up my stock of different herbs and spices, and desperately trying to get rid of other things. Like onion and garlic. I can't eat them atm, so think I will just hand them to my Mum.

I must be very lucky with my family, I don't have to hide veges. Most of the plate is taken up with veges every night, and my Mum can't believe how many veg our family eats. Even if they are just steamed, they all go.

Ok, dumb question. What is passata?

[Astrid]

I do feel a bit guilty after posting the article as I do have some packet mixes in the cupboard I have though in the past couple of months been building up some more baking basics.

[sloane]

my mum uses farmers direct (i think that's what they're called) & they get a parcel of whatever is fresh that week. at the moment they're getting loads of small potatoes & she keeps passing them on to me.

DP doesn't like plain boiled potatoes (and it would take us around 8 days of eating them every night to get through them) & now i have about 1.5-2kg of small potatoes (about the size of an egg) to use up....can anyone help me with some ideas of what to do with them?!!!

[ll80]

Ok, dumb question. What is passata?

It's just pureed tomato basically, like tinned tomato only smooth. You can get it at the supermarket, don't go by price though as the cheap stuff is just the same if not better than the $$ ones.

[Netix]

• Mashed potatoes (I put an egg or two in mine, along with butter, salt, pepper, and a dash of milk if needed) or try mashed with another vege, like pumpkin/sweet potato/carrot
• Fritters/croquettes (with corn/ground meat (good way to use left over meat)/carrot, etc)
• Gnocchi (have lots of recipes, very simple but a bit time consuming)
• mashed as topping for sheperds pie (sprinkle with nutmeg before putting in the oven)
• Jacket potatoes (you know, cooked in foil, serve with grated cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, homemade chunky tomato sauce/salsa, corn kernals, herb or garlic butter)
• Chunky wedges sprinkled with herbs or spices and a bit of oil done in the oven, serve with sour cream or chilli sauce

hope that helps...
I love spuds, will definately be cooking some tonight!

Thanks ll80, I really had no idea! I just use the tins of diced tomatoes (yep, the el cheapo ones). Thanks again!