Real food

[darkemeralds]

As I've been journaling, decluttering my house has led to decluttering my diet. I've been actively working at this phase of Project Empty for a couple of months now.

The trouble and joy of the transition from cooked freight to whole, fresh foods is well summed up by my recent experience with that homeliest of satisfying simple food, chicken noodle soup.



Wednesday morning: I read the meditation by Michael Ruhlman on the power and importance of good stock in The Elements of Cooking. I realize that I've been doing it wrong in several particulars all my life.

Friday evening: avventura1234 calls to say that Safeway has whole fresh local fryers on sale for half price, and do I want her to pick me up one or two? Oh yes, please. I put one in the freezer and leave one in the fridge.

Saturday afternoon: After consulting Ruhlman and Alice Waters, I put one of the whole chickens into a large stockpot, covered with salted water. A few steps, a few vegetables, and a couple of aromatics later, I cover the pot and leave it to simmer at low heat for several hours.

Saturday evening: I remove the vegetables from the pot and discard them. I remove the chicken and set it aside. I eat a tender drumstick. Yum! I strain the stock and put it and the chicken and into the fridge. I wash a LOT of dishes.

Sunday afternoon: I de-fat the chilled stock, then boil it down by half. I remove all the chicken meat from the bones. I do a few more dishes.

Sunday evening: I make egg noodles and put them in the freezer. I clean the counter and wash some more dishes.

Monday evening: I put some of the chicken stock into a saucepan, then cook some egg noodles in it. I add some diced chicken and let it warm up, after which I ladle the result into deep bowls and serve them piping hot with big spoons and a couple of hunks of good bread.



In exchange for the effort and the kitchen aftermath, I get:

• No mystery substances in my soup
• Leftovers galore--six meals, suitable for sharing with loved ones, even kids, for about ten dollars
• Knowing how make my own noodles
• Significant improvement in a basic cooking skill
• Satisfying deliciousness
• The best reason in the world to eat good bread.

So, a big win.

Comments

[vchrusch.livejournal.com]

I see you finally picked up that lovely little culinary tome. Great book isn't it? You should also read Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen if you get the chance. The information in that book is fantastic.

Good food is not hard to accomplish. All that's needed is a bit of planning, some patience, and the willingness to learn basic culinary techniques. Not to mention good natural ingredients. :)

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

It's a marvelous book, and I fully intended to thank you for the recommendation. It was in my amazon.com shopping cart for ages before I was finally able to buy it. It's already proved its worth just in the vast improvement in my chicken stock.

Ruhlman recommends the McGee book too, so now I'm saving up for that one.

Good food is absolutely not hard to accomplish, and I learned to cook early enough in life that it was before everything went artificial in the late 1970s. I know plenty of people who don't have a clue what the kitchen is for, and it's a personal crusade of mine to make sure that the young people in my life know how to cook a few basics.

There's a scene in "Big Night"--perhaps one of my favorite scenes in any movie--where, after the Big Night, the chef wakes up in his kitchen, puts a pan on the stove, scrambles a couple of eggs with some olive oil, and eats them along with a piece of bread. That is the essence of good, simple food, and if people could just start there, the world of cooking would soon open up to them.

[vchrusch.livejournal.com]

You're more than welcome. :)

I think I might need to check out that movie now. I remember reading a review about it several years ago and it sounded interesting.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

"Big Night" is on pretty much everyone's list of great food movies, along with "Babette's Feast," and "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman".

I should watch it again myself...

[str8ontilmornin.livejournal.com]

Enthusiastically seconding McGee! Well, thirding after Ruhlman. Hehe

[str8ontilmornin.livejournal.com]

Hooray! The slow simmering of a chicken with vegetables and then the egg noodles. One of the first meals my dad taught me how to make. Well, not "taught" exactly. I was/am very observant.

I think you and I have had a conversation on the impact of that "Big Night" scene. Methodical movements of a simple menu, eggs. Love it!

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

Yes, you and I did discuss that scene once before, and we agreed that it was an all-time fave. Ruhlman, in The Elements of Cooking, devotes one of his five essays on cooking essentials to The Egg (the others are Salt, Stock, Heat, and Tools, if I recall correctly). I have a LOT to learn yet, but I haven't felt this inspired to learn something new for quite a while.

You're lucky to have grown up around a real cook. I didn't taste garlic or olive oil till I was over 21! Nothing against my parents--they were the product of their own upbringing and the "food science" that arose after WWII.\

But I'll say this for myself: I knew something had been missing, and when I found it, I rejoiced. I still rejoice every time I cook something yummy.

[str8ontilmornin.livejournal.com]

It truly can nourish the soul.

[serenity-valley.livejournal.com]

A little tip from my grandmother, who passed this on to my mother and aunt, and they to me (the women in my family are excellent cooks):

Save some of that stock in an ice cube tray or two and freeze, then save in a freezer bag. You can then use them in any soup, stew, or dish, especially in anything that calls for bouillon.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

Great idea! I almost never keep stock very long because it's so useful, but I'm planning to start making more of it. Stock cubes could go in next to the beurre manié. Sauce-o-rama, baby!

[serenity-valley.livejournal.com]

Yeah, baby!

Also, using stock for some or all of the liquid when you make rice and pasta adds a whole new dimension of flavor to both of those.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

Growing up in Hawaii, I learned to eat plain white sticky rice. My family to this day think I'm the most awful haole rice-eater when I cook my rice in stock (or, heaven forfend) eat it with butter.

Or both. Both is good! :)

[wedjateye.livejournal.com]

I love making chicken soup pretty much the way you describe. I'm craving it right now. I usually use an organic chicken, which is a lot more expensive but I think it is worth it in terms of flavour. I haven't made my own noodles from scratch though.

Damn, I'm hungry now.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

*waves happily at wedjateye*

Nice to see you. And yeah, organic if you can afford it makes perfect sense, since what you're making is reduced essence of whatever's in the stock pot.

Making the noodles was surprisingly easy and fun. Is Kai old enough yet to take an interest in that kind of thing? I think all kids love noodles.