digitS'
Garden Master
I think I'm an okay cook but kind of go for the lowest common denominator. My list of ingredients is usually pretty short but there are quite a few garden veggies 
.
Stocks are a big, BIG part of my cooking. A bone never makes it out of the kitchen unless it has been boiled. I collect them from steaks, for example, right off the dinner plates and they go back on the stove in a pot of water.
That frugalness is also a part of the treatment for veggies. Anything that doesn't quite meet the standards for something else, often ends up in with the bone in the stock pot. One part of the carrot may be in the pot, another part of the same carrot may be on the table. After simmering for 90 minutes or so, what is solid in the pot gets tossed and the stock goes in a zip lock bag and the freezer. With a steady supply of stock, I'm in business!
Nice fresh veggies and meat, maybe with some pasta or rice, go in 5 or 6 cups of stock and there will be soup on the table in about 30 minutes!
Nice veggies and cooked meat, maybe with some pasta or rice, will go in 2 or 3 cups of stock and a can of "cream of something" soup. There will be a casserole on the table in about 30 minutes!
You see, the ingredients are all the same except for that can of condensed soup. What varies is whether I cook them first and put in a little stock and a casserole dish or cook them together in a lot of stock in a pot on the stove. I may put various kinds of cheese in the casserole but I may also put cheese in the soup!
The family seems to think I'm a good cook but am I just a cheat?
Steve :/
.Stocks are a big, BIG part of my cooking. A bone never makes it out of the kitchen unless it has been boiled. I collect them from steaks, for example, right off the dinner plates and they go back on the stove in a pot of water.
That frugalness is also a part of the treatment for veggies. Anything that doesn't quite meet the standards for something else, often ends up in with the bone in the stock pot. One part of the carrot may be in the pot, another part of the same carrot may be on the table. After simmering for 90 minutes or so, what is solid in the pot gets tossed and the stock goes in a zip lock bag and the freezer. With a steady supply of stock, I'm in business!
Nice fresh veggies and meat, maybe with some pasta or rice, go in 5 or 6 cups of stock and there will be soup on the table in about 30 minutes!
Nice veggies and cooked meat, maybe with some pasta or rice, will go in 2 or 3 cups of stock and a can of "cream of something" soup. There will be a casserole on the table in about 30 minutes!
You see, the ingredients are all the same except for that can of condensed soup. What varies is whether I cook them first and put in a little stock and a casserole dish or cook them together in a lot of stock in a pot on the stove. I may put various kinds of cheese in the casserole but I may also put cheese in the soup!
The family seems to think I'm a good cook but am I just a cheat?
Steve :/
Everything sounds fresh and delicious. TFS the great tips. 
