Foodista Blog

Archive for the ‘tools’ Category

5 Ways to Get Out of a Food Rut

October 8th, 2009

Lets face it, we all get stuck in food ruts. Seared salmon on top of mixed greens has been my fast and healthy go-to dinner for far too long. Time to shake things up! Of course like anyone, saying one thing and doing another can be challenging when you work full time, have a family or planning within a budget.

1. Make it Easy on Yourself
You don’t have to get all Martha on everyone and make every single meal from scratch, complete with hand-sewn napkins. Obviously, that would be pretty cool, but maybe you should work up to that. You can still buy a pre-made roasted chicken at the store on the way home, but instead of serving rotisserie chicken as is, cut off the meat and put it in a panini or toss it with a vegetable-packed salad.

2. But I Love Spaghetti Every Night…
Really? Okay, no one is going to blame you, but you might want to mix it up a little bit- what about adding some sauteed peppers or throw in some olive and capers for a little puttanesca inspiration? Try a different sauce or put that irresistable tomato sauce on a grilled chicken breast or roasted eggplant.

3. Plan Ahead
Doesn’t someone telling you to plan ahead sound super bossy and for some of us, unrealistic? I get that. Honestly though, doing one thing like throwing flank steak into a quick marinade the night before or prepping one thing for tomorrow’s dinner while you are throwing tonight’s dinner together doesn’t add up the hours, 15 minutes maybe. Have an office refrigerator? Cooler in your car? If you get a long lunch break, you can save a trip to the grocery store after work, by going on your lunch break.

4. Buy a New Kitchen Tool to Experiment and Force Yourself to Try Something New
Nothing makes you think outside the box more than purchasing a fun new kitchen tool. You don’t even need to splurge on a Vitamix to stir things up. Even buying something as cheap as a potato peeler that has fun ridges on the sides or even purchasing a panini press from the Goodwill will help inspire you to write up a different shopping list.

5. Use Resources Right Around You
If you are grabbing lunch at a restaurant, don’t just read the menu for what you are eating now, see what else looks appetizing and try and replicate it yourself for dinner later on in the week. Ask all your friends, your mom and your co-workers what they are making for dinner, sometimes the simplest ideas are buried underneath all your creative brainstorming. And lastly, nothing is more inspiring for getting you out of your food rut by reading food blogs. They are overflowing with ideas and they are all cooked by real people who are not trying to sell you something!

Here are a just a couple of food blogs to check out:

Steamy Kitchen
Roots and Grubs
Cooking with Amy

Above Photo by: Gudlyf

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Categories:	Cooking tips • Salads • Technique • Uncategorized • kitchen equipment • quick and easy • tools	6 Comments
Tags:	cooking inspiration • food blog • food rut • quick and easy

Back to College Means Creative Dorm Food Creations

August 25th, 2009

Melissa. 2 Comments

The most creative cooking usually happens when you have to make do with what you’ve got and nothing could be more true then the endless recipes made with instant ramen noodles. When I was in college I won a plastic spray-painted gold spatula for making Pad Thai, using a package of instant ramen noodles, ketchup, peanut butter and a couple other ingredients; but I wasn’t always that creative, nor did I always have time.

As Labor Day draws closer, students are heading back or already back to college and that means many meals made in the microwave, toaster or simply with hot water. It’s nice to have a quick resource for instant recipe ideas, especially if eating dinner means 2:00 a.m. in the common area of a dorm room. Here are 10 quick and easy meals that can be made with minimal ingredients and require few kitchen tools and little effort.

10 Easy College Meals

Other Great Resources for College Recipe Ideas

Beer and Pancakes.com

Yum Yum.com

Surviving College.com

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Categories:	Cooking tips • quick and easy • tools	2 Comments
Tags:	Back to school • Cheap and easy meals • College food • dorm food

Great Graters

June 10th, 2009

Melissa. 2 Comments

I have a variety of graters in my “er” drawer and whenever I cook, I find that I am always reaching for one tool over and over again; my Microplane grater. The one I use is a simple, long and slender grater with a sturdy handle. Call me resourceful, call my lazy, but I use a grater for so many things beyond cheese grating. If I need feathery light lemon, orange or lime zest without taking the white pith off, it works wonders. Fresh grated nutmeg or delicate ribbons of chocolate, I’m on it!

The Microplane is also a good tool for finely minced garlic and ginger, but I prefer another tool for juicer grating, the Kyocera Ceramic Grater. This nifty thing is a small disk the size of a sand dollar with sharp points like teeth on the top and a well at the bottom for catching juices. For finely grated ginger, without the stringy fibers but all the ginger juices, it’s a great tool.

Let’s not forget the classic box cheese grater can be used far beyond cheese grating! Instead of chopping, try shredding. To me, there is something so satisfying about seeing the quick transformation of the shape and texture of a carrot turned into confetti or sturdy potatoes pulverized for potato cakes or even cucumbers shredded for a fresh twist on coleslaw. Like shredding paper or pushing Playdough through a machine, some kitchen tools can make cooking fun and so satisfying. Here is a recipe from Foodista that uses the magic of a fine grater as well as the magic of a ceramic grater.