- Trader Joe's --- http://www.traderjoes.com/
- Falls Church City Farmers Market --- http://www.fallschurchva.gov/content/government/departments/recparks/farmersmarket/default.aspx
- H Mart --- http://www.hmart.com/
- Whole Foods --- http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/
- Wegmans --- http://www.wegmans.com/
- Costco --- http://www.costco.com/
- Giant --- http://www.giantfood.com/
- Safeway --- http://www.safeway.com/IFL/Grocery/Home
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Let's Get Cooking
So now that you have everything you need in your kitchen it's time to get cooking. But one last thing before I get started with recipes. Living in the Washington, D.C., metro area we have lots of choices when it comes to grocery stores, including multiple ethnic markets. I understand that not everyone reading this blog has the same choices I have, but I will try to customize my suggestions to accommodate shopping choices in your area. Here is a list of places I shop in order of frequency:
Having Proper Equipment
It's all well and good to have a well stocked pantry, along with the best-quality ingredients in your kitchen, but if you don't have quality kitchen tools to cook with you might as well stop now and order take-out. Just kidding, but seriously having the proper equipment can be the difference between a good meal and a great meal. Here is a list of must needs in your kitchen:
- Knives --- Good Quality. I like MAC and Wusthof and keep them sharpened.
- Sharpening Stones
- Spatulas (Rubber, Flat & Fish)
- Wooden Spoons
- Cutting Boards
- Box Grater
- Half Sheet Trays
- Silpat (At least one)
- Wire Whisk
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Pastry Brush
- Tongs
- Mixing Bowls
- Spice Grinder
- Kitchen Twine
- Mandolin Slicer
- Food Processor
- Kitchen-Aid Mixer
- Immersion Blender
- Grill Pan
- Pots and Pans --- Spend money on good quality pots and pans. I like All-Clad and Le-Creuset. They are both very expensive, but last forever. Sometimes you can find both these brands at places like TJ Maxx and Marshalls. It's worth the money. Trust me.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Fresh, Frozen, Pantry --- Necessary staples for you kitchen
Having a well-stocked pantry can be an important tool in executing successful meal planning. Not only is it important to have many ingredients on hand, but having those ingredients organized keeps everything rotating and prevents spoilage.
In our case, we don't really have much space in our
cabinets for food storage, so I purchased a metal 'speed rack' to help keep us organized. It can be purchased at any hardware store, Target, or home improvement store. I also find it helpful to use storage containers and mason jars to organize nuts, dried fruits, sugars, flour, etc. That way I never have hard-as-rock sugar, rancid nuts or dry (dried) fruit. Here is a list of everything I think you need in your pantry. Also, don't just look at your pantry as dry goods. This list also includes fresh and frozen items that you should always have on hand. And as much as you can try to buy organic, all-natural products from companies you feel proud to support.
Fresh
In this category, I am also including anything that needs to be refrigerated once opened.
Anchovies - great for adding a punch to tomato sauces, adds a unique saltiness to dressings and bold flavor to long-cooking greens.
Butter
Capers
Carrots
Celery
Cilantro-great addition for ethnic food; but not everyone's forte
Curry Paste (Red)
Eggs
Garlic (fresh)
Ginger (fresh) can be frozen for up to 6 months
Kaffir Lime Leaves (fresh) Can be frozen in small ziplock bags for up to 4 months
Lemons
Limes
Maple Syrup
Mayonayse
Miso (White)
Mustard-Dijon and Whole Grain
Olives (Kalamata and Picoline)
Onions
Yogurt (plain)
Frozen
Bacon- I know bacon is a fresh ingredient but I always keep it frozen. After I bring it home from the store I dice it into desired pieces for cooking, place in ziplock bags and freeze.
Peas
Dry Goods
Almonds (slivered) Good for adding crunch to rice dishes, coucous and vegetables. I also use almonds as an economical replacement to pine nuts.
Apricots (dried)
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Barley or Farro
Black Beans (dried or canned)
Butter (unsalted)
Cannellini Beans (dried or canned)
Canola Oil
Chick Peas (dried or canned)
Chicken Stock
Coconut Milk
Cornstarch
Currents
Fish sauce
Flour (All Purpose)
Lentils (I enjoy the taste and texture of black lentils the most)
Mirin (sweet rice wine)
Olive Oil (Extra Virgin)
Panko Breadcrumbs
Pasta (dry) Any of your favorite types and shapes
Pecans
Peanut Butter (all natural)
Polenta (ground, dry)
Raisins (dark and golden)
Rice (white and brown) I like Basmati for both.
Rice Vinegar
Risotto-Arborio or Carnaroli
Sambal (or any chili sauce)
Sesame Oil
Soy Sauce
Sugar (White, Brown and Confectoners)
Sunflower Seeds (roasted and unsalted)
Tomatoes (canned, whole plum)
Tomato Paste
Vinegar (white wine and red wine)
Walnuts
Wine (white, inexpensive)
Spices
Buy yourself a spice grinder! You can buy whole spices, keep them longer, save money and get better flavor.
Allspice
Bay Leaves
Black Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Chili Powder
Coriander
Cinnamon
Cumin Seeds
Fennel Seed
Nutmeg (Whole)
Oregano
Paprika (smoked)
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt (Kosher)
Sesame Seeds
Tumeric
Vanilla (Pure extract)
Friday, January 27, 2012
Menus and Utilization of Product
Just because I went to culinary school doesn't mean that I don't struggle just as much as everyone else does to come up with new and interesting ideas for meals. I am constantly looking through cookbooks, magazines and websites to find ideas that I can then tweak for my own personal tastes and budget. I also try and utilize ingredients in multiple dishes so that nothing goes bad in our fridge and I in turn save money. Here is our current menu for this week as an example.
Monday 1/23 - Clay Pot Ginger Chicken with Spicy Broccoli over Brown Rice
Tuesday 1/24 - Kentucky Hot Browns (Open-faced Sandwiches with Roasted Turkey, Bacon and Mornay Sauce) with Green Salad
Wednesday 1/25 - Chicken Cacciatore with Peppers, Olive and Capers over Polenta
Thursday 1/26 - Chicken Cottage Pie
Friday 1/27 - Flank Steak with Swiss Chard Gratin with Walnut Panko Crust and Roasted Tomatoes
Saturday 1/28 - Bowtie Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes, Cream, Peas, and Bacon
Sunday 1/29 - Ramen Noodles with Chinese Sausage, Spinach and Cashews "Momofuku Style"
Here is what I mean when I say utilization of ingredients. Take Tuesdays meal for instance; instead of buying all-natural, organic sliced deli turkey, which is extremely expensive, I buy a whole kosher turkey breast, brine it myself and roast it. What is a brine? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine. I use half the turkey breast for Tuesday's dinner and the other half for sandwiches the rest of the week. Not only have I saved money but I also control the amount of salt and make a somewhat boring ingredient delicious without the use of preservatives, nitrates or nitrites. What are nitrates and nitrites? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrate.
The cheese in Tuesday nights Mornay sauce and the cheese in Friday nights Swiss chard gratin was Gruyere, which tends to be quite expensive. In fact cheese in general always throws my budget for a spin. I buy one cheese for two dishes and make sure no one in the house snacks on it. If you buy cheeses with big flavor you'll get the most for your money. I also always keep Pecorino in the house. It tends to be less expensive than Parmesan and you'd never know the difference in taste.
Ok, next lets look at the chicken in Wednesday and Thursday nights dinner. I almost always buy whole chickens. Why pay someone else to cut a chicken apart? Rephrase why pay a lot for someone else to cut a chicken apart, when you can do it yourself in five minutes. I will post a video shortly of how to correctly and efficiently break down a chicken, but in the case of these two meals I roasted the chicken whole. A whole organic chicken runs me about $2.29/lb X 5lb chicken = around $12.00. $12.00/ 2 meals $6.00 for organic chicken meat per meal. You can't beat that. You'd be surprised how much meat is on a whole chicken and the addition of other ingredients makes using organic possible. Don't always make protein the star. In many cases it can be a great side-note.
Both Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays meal contains about 4 tablespoons each of heavy cream. Group meals together with similar ingredients. What are you gonna do with heavy cream once you've used 4 tablespoons of it. This is where people waste money. They buy one ingredient for one meal and then have no idea what to do with the rest of it. Always have a plan!
Tuesday and Saturdays meal each have bacon. Bacon bought, bacon used.
Use inexpensive ingredients to boost flavor. Example: The ginger in Monday nights meal. Ginger has huge flavor, lasts FOREVER in your freezer and is cheap. Or the olives and capers in Wednesday nights dinner. Olives and capers have such a unique flavor, last almost forever in your fridge, tend to be pretty affordable and a little goes a long way. Have a picky eater...? add these ingredients at the end.
Last but not least check out ethnic markets. Practically all the ingredients for Sunday nights dinner were from an Asian grocery store. Real, authentic Ramen noodles, dried Chinese sausage even the cashews were a bargain. Soy sauce that actually tastes like...well soy sauce. Sesame oil that tastes like...well sesame. Spend money on ingredients that will last a long time. Keep a well stocked pantry...which I will go into detail about in my next post.
Monday 1/23 - Clay Pot Ginger Chicken with Spicy Broccoli over Brown Rice
Tuesday 1/24 - Kentucky Hot Browns (Open-faced Sandwiches with Roasted Turkey, Bacon and Mornay Sauce) with Green Salad
Wednesday 1/25 - Chicken Cacciatore with Peppers, Olive and Capers over Polenta
Thursday 1/26 - Chicken Cottage Pie
Friday 1/27 - Flank Steak with Swiss Chard Gratin with Walnut Panko Crust and Roasted Tomatoes
Saturday 1/28 - Bowtie Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes, Cream, Peas, and Bacon
Sunday 1/29 - Ramen Noodles with Chinese Sausage, Spinach and Cashews "Momofuku Style"
Here is what I mean when I say utilization of ingredients. Take Tuesdays meal for instance; instead of buying all-natural, organic sliced deli turkey, which is extremely expensive, I buy a whole kosher turkey breast, brine it myself and roast it. What is a brine? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine. I use half the turkey breast for Tuesday's dinner and the other half for sandwiches the rest of the week. Not only have I saved money but I also control the amount of salt and make a somewhat boring ingredient delicious without the use of preservatives, nitrates or nitrites. What are nitrates and nitrites? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrate.
The cheese in Tuesday nights Mornay sauce and the cheese in Friday nights Swiss chard gratin was Gruyere, which tends to be quite expensive. In fact cheese in general always throws my budget for a spin. I buy one cheese for two dishes and make sure no one in the house snacks on it. If you buy cheeses with big flavor you'll get the most for your money. I also always keep Pecorino in the house. It tends to be less expensive than Parmesan and you'd never know the difference in taste.
Ok, next lets look at the chicken in Wednesday and Thursday nights dinner. I almost always buy whole chickens. Why pay someone else to cut a chicken apart? Rephrase why pay a lot for someone else to cut a chicken apart, when you can do it yourself in five minutes. I will post a video shortly of how to correctly and efficiently break down a chicken, but in the case of these two meals I roasted the chicken whole. A whole organic chicken runs me about $2.29/lb X 5lb chicken = around $12.00. $12.00/ 2 meals $6.00 for organic chicken meat per meal. You can't beat that. You'd be surprised how much meat is on a whole chicken and the addition of other ingredients makes using organic possible. Don't always make protein the star. In many cases it can be a great side-note.
Both Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays meal contains about 4 tablespoons each of heavy cream. Group meals together with similar ingredients. What are you gonna do with heavy cream once you've used 4 tablespoons of it. This is where people waste money. They buy one ingredient for one meal and then have no idea what to do with the rest of it. Always have a plan!
Tuesday and Saturdays meal each have bacon. Bacon bought, bacon used.
Use inexpensive ingredients to boost flavor. Example: The ginger in Monday nights meal. Ginger has huge flavor, lasts FOREVER in your freezer and is cheap. Or the olives and capers in Wednesday nights dinner. Olives and capers have such a unique flavor, last almost forever in your fridge, tend to be pretty affordable and a little goes a long way. Have a picky eater...? add these ingredients at the end.
Last but not least check out ethnic markets. Practically all the ingredients for Sunday nights dinner were from an Asian grocery store. Real, authentic Ramen noodles, dried Chinese sausage even the cashews were a bargain. Soy sauce that actually tastes like...well soy sauce. Sesame oil that tastes like...well sesame. Spend money on ingredients that will last a long time. Keep a well stocked pantry...which I will go into detail about in my next post.
Getting Started continued...
I think the biggest mistake people make when going grocery shopping is going to the store unprepared. Going to the store, at least for me, is the highlight of my week. Mind you I am a food geek. It's easy to get excited by all the new products and ingredients and before you know it you've blown your budget. So not only do I come to the store with a strict list, but I also spend at least an hour per week planning my menu. Some weeks it takes less time than others but this is a fool-proof way of maintaining my weekly budget. I go shopping only once a week and I always make a menu for a seven-day rotating schedule. Our groceries feed 3 adults (we live with my dad) and 1 child (the baby is just now starting to eat solids) so we don't really factor her into the food equation. 90% of the food we buy is fresh and organic. Breakfast and lunch are also factored into our budget due to the fact that...well I'm at home with the girls and have to eat during the day. Our 7 day weekly food budget is between $110 - $130. I never spend over $140. EVER!! Now mind you I said food budget of course paper products, toiletries, home necessities, etc. will cause us to spend more.
I'll take the highest amount we spend just to prove my spending point. So lets assume I spend $140 for 7 days worth of food. And remember for all of you that think $140 is pricey; this amount is for organic, fresh food. Ok, so I'll attribute $2.00 per day for breakfast and $3.00 per day for lunch. $5.00 per day X 7 days is $30.00. $140.00 - $30.00 = $110.00/ 7 = $15.71. $15.71 is the average cost for dinner to feed 3 adults and 1 child. Which means the cost per person ($15.71/ 4) is $3.92. Even for those skeptical few who say well your two year old probably doesn't eat very much (which she does) but just for conversation purposes we'll take her out of the equation and do $15.71/ 3 is $5.23. Can you buy a meal from any fast food chain or restaurant for $5.23? And for those of you who say you can, will that said meal be fresh, healthy and organic? In the next few blogs I will highlight my suggestions for healthy eating on a budget. Additionally I will include recipes, ingredient substitutions and answer any questions pertaining to diet restrictions.
I'll take the highest amount we spend just to prove my spending point. So lets assume I spend $140 for 7 days worth of food. And remember for all of you that think $140 is pricey; this amount is for organic, fresh food. Ok, so I'll attribute $2.00 per day for breakfast and $3.00 per day for lunch. $5.00 per day X 7 days is $30.00. $140.00 - $30.00 = $110.00/ 7 = $15.71. $15.71 is the average cost for dinner to feed 3 adults and 1 child. Which means the cost per person ($15.71/ 4) is $3.92. Even for those skeptical few who say well your two year old probably doesn't eat very much (which she does) but just for conversation purposes we'll take her out of the equation and do $15.71/ 3 is $5.23. Can you buy a meal from any fast food chain or restaurant for $5.23? And for those of you who say you can, will that said meal be fresh, healthy and organic? In the next few blogs I will highlight my suggestions for healthy eating on a budget. Additionally I will include recipes, ingredient substitutions and answer any questions pertaining to diet restrictions.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
How do I get started?
A few of the phrases I constantly hear from other moms and parents alike when it comes to cooking fresh and healthy food for their families are: "I don't have the time to cook meals from scratch." or "Isn't cooking healthy, fresh, organic food expensive?" or "My husband eats meat but I'm a vegetarian. How do I make dishes that are equally nutritious and delicious for both our palates?" or "Someone in my family has an intolerance to gluten or lactose or maybe even a special diet, how do I cook for the whole family without having to make a special meal for just one person?" It is possible to eat nutritious, delicious, cost-effective, time-sensitive, even organic meals; you just have to make cooking them a priority.
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