My Kitchen Set Up, Methods, and Staples

Rather than explaining some of these details in individual recipes, I'll try to describe my set up and methods here then I can just refer back to this post.

My Recipes

I honestly feel it takes longer to write (or read) my recipes than it does to make the food.  I am very serious about fast, easy cooking, and despite my narrative verbosity, you will see if you give the recipes a chance that almost anything I show you is a super fast, super easy, fairly healthy recipe.

Organic

You may notice that almost everything I eat is organic.  I know this is a hotly debated topic, but I'll explain my own reasonings.  While I know "organic" can still have pesticides, I'm hoping they are less or less toxic in most instances.

Some people don't want to buy organic because the fruits and vegetables are often if not always smaller and more blemished.  That's fine by me.  First of all I grew up in the country (for the most part) so blemishes aren't something I freak about.  Secondly, just as I'm not a fan of machine made looking jewelry... I don't want machine made looking produce.  I want eggs with dark yellow yolks, I want sweet juicy apples, I want strawberries that actually have some flavor.

Some people say organic is just too high priced.  Well, yeah, it IS going to be higher priced because it's all about the cost why industry has turned produce into what it is.  When you don't spray insecticide on your crops, you're going to have less produce to sell.  When you let your cows graze the land rather than spend their entire lives cramped in a filthy pen, you will probably own way fewer.

Washing Fruits and Veggies

Stuff gets touched, dropped on floors, etc.  When I bring home my produce, I soak it before I put it away.

I have one dedicated plastic tub that fits into my sink.  I fill the tub halfway or so with a 5-to-1 mix of water and vinegar (5 parts water, 1 part vinegar).  Since regular distilled white vinegar is made from corn and I don't want to risk it (still testing intolerance to corn), I use apple cider vinegar.

For things that I'm going to peel (or for berries), I just let them soak for 15 minutes, then rinse them, dry them, and put them away.  For things that I am going to eat the skin, I take the additional step of brushing the outside of the produce with a dedicated brush.

Doing this helps keep mold at bay and will increase the shelf life of your produce (aside from it helps get rid of dirt, bugs, etc).

Staples

One of the reasons my recipes are generally fast and easy is that I keep a certain amount of "staples" in my kitchen.  These are things I either use daily or use frequently.

Some of them last a long time others are quite perishable.  I'll divide them this way.

Not As Perishable (assume all are organic)...
  • Spices (I have many and I buy in bulk so often have more stashed in the freezer)
  • Broth (veggie, beef, and chicken... used to buy boxed but am going to be making my own soon)
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Vinegars (balsamic, apple cider, rice, etc)
  • Rice cakes
  • Canned tuna
  • Canned salmon
  • Teas (herbal)
  • Honey
  • Maple syrup
  • Canned beans (but I'm working my way up to using more dried beans instead)
  • Sprouting seeds
  • Frozen fruit (mango chunks, strawberries, blueberries)
This, btw, is my spice rack...



Long Shelf Life
  • Dijon mustard
  • Miso
  • Capers
  • Kalamata olives

Medium Shelf Life
These items I get when needed then work my recipe schedule around using them up before they go bad.  So for example, if I have some mayo, I might make sure I have salmon salad, tuna salad, and deviled eggs that month.

Short Shelf Life 
These items I get when needed.  Some I want all the time so I buy them once a week or so (carrots, lettuce).  The rest I just have when called for or if I have a hankering.
  • Avocado
  • Red leaf lettuce
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Carrots
  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Berries

Occasionals

Infused Water

Infused water is another of my staples but I make it each morning.  There are variations but generally it goes like this.  While I'm brewing my morning cup of herbal tea, I also brew a small pot of herbal tea.  When cooled, I dump it into a large pitcher, add a handful or so of frozen fruit (usually strawberries and mangos), add water then put in the fridge.

My goal is to drink a gallon of water per day.


My Kitchen Tools/Appliances

Toaster Oven

I have no oven so I use a toaster oven and truthfully after five years of this I'd have it no other way.  I think toaster ovens are awesome and efficient.  The downside is, of course, their size.  But I rarely have to bake large things or large quantities of things.

Stove

My "stove" is two flat glass stove-top things.  I admit I miss cooking on a gas stove because you actually have the ability to turn the temperature up and down in graduation.  Those with electric stoves know that for the rest of us it's a very dichotomous system.  The temp is either off or it's on.  So if you want "medium", for example, the dial gets put into the middle and then the electricity goes off and on to maintain a "medium" heat.  So you see, there really is no "medium" temperature... it's just a matter of the full heat being turned off at intervals in hopes it's creating a "medium" temperature.

My two glass burners are very close together (and the front one is extremely close to the dials) so in order to cook two things at the same time, they both must be in smallish pots rather than any type of pan.  THAT gets annoying.  But again, I make do.

Fridge

My fridge has temperature issues so I have to be careful how I store things and what I try to store.  I've had to relocate my veggies from the veggies bins at the bottom to the very top of the fridge to keep them from freezing.



Freezer

Due to weirdness with my fridge I purchased a stand alone mini freezer.  I'm actually really happy I did because now I can cook more in bulk and freeze things.  It's wonderful to be able to have a home-cooked meal on days when I don't feel like cooking.

I keep all my flours and nuts and seeds in my freezer, transferring small amounts to the fridge upon demand.  Flours, nuts, and seeds have oils in them that can go rancid if left at room temperature (and it gets hot here in the summer).

Instant Pot

I have the 6-quart Instant Pot.  I originally got it because I was tired of making rice in a teflon-coated rice cooker and was looking into stainless steel rice cookers.  My fabulous Facebook friends encouraged me to get an Instant Pot and I have now ditched my crock pot as well as my rice cooker.

I love cooking large amounts and freezing them for future use.



Have a recipe you’d like me to try out?  Let me know in comments.  So long as it’s gluten free, sugar free, yeast free, and corn free… I’ll have a look.  When leaving a comment, you may need to use the pull-down to change the selection from "Google Account" to "Name/URL" or "Anonymous"  Thanks!







Comments

  1. This sounds like such a healthy way to eat...did you grow up eating healthy or evolve over time? I'm not sure my mom knew about healthy eating back in the 50s/60s....the days of Wonder Bread and bacon, so I had many years of 'instant' cooking. You're an inspiration! Someday I will find myself able to cook in small quantities and that will be fun! In the meantime, I'm going to look for that tuna:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, it's kind of weird... my mom actually did read the Adelle Davis books in the 70's and tried to get us to eat right, but I think by then I'd already had the taste of "other" foods in my system combined with zero will power so although I didn't eat horribly my whole life, there was a TON of room for improvement.

      I only started eating really healthily this past year and I still consider myself at the early stages of recovering my health to its full potential. But better late than never.

      When I was 14 I was diagnosed with severe hypoglycemia and I've sort of been battling cravings for sugar and an inability to eat sugar my whole life. And sugar isn't just sugar... it's too much fruit, or simple carbs, etc.

      I *feel* better with whole grains, raw veggies, fresh fruits, and very little fish/meat in my diet. I just have to continue to remind myself of that. ha ha ha!

      So I'd love to hear a follow up if you try any of my recipes or switch any of your habits in a direction that seems to make you feel better, etc.

      BTW, I don't recall if I mentioned, but I get that tuna at Costco.

      Delete

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