Cooking Is Too Much Work!

About the author:

Patrick Dunn is the Proprietor of InterCourse Chef Services.  He specializes in customized private, public and corporate cooking classes and runs Calgary Market Tours. 

Learn more about him at www.inter-course.ca

Cooking is so much work!!

  Many people don't cook for themselves because they believe they don't have the time.    What many don't realize is they're adding many unnecessary steps, making the process longer.  

Like any other pursuit, you need to learn the basics.  I'm going to show you where time is wasted, and how you can get it back with simple tips, tricks and techniques that make cooking quicker, easier and more fun to try. Some of which may surprise you.

1.Cookbooks:

Cooking CAN take a long time.  There are plenty of cookbooks out there with 2-3 page long recipes.  If you're starting out or getting re-acquainted with cooking, seek out recipes online and in books that are no more than a page in length.  You're going to figure out quickly which recipes scare you, and which make you say:"Hey, I think I could make that!"  

2. Kitchen Gadgets and Gizmos:

There are definitely time-saving gadgets out there, and I have a few of my own, from my monkey-shaped vegetable peeler, my Rastafarian potato masher, microplanes© and mandolins.  Keeping basic food sanitation in mind, I'll use my hands to get the job done. Hands are quicker and easier to clean, and don't take up space on your counter top and dishwasher. 

    3. Cutting Boards: I find it handy to have two or more cutting boards in the kitchen:  one for raw meats and other proteins, the other for everything else.  This way you will drastically reduce the risk of cross contamination. 

There are light weight, dishwasher friendly cutting boards made of many layers of recycled paper and resin that make clean-up a snap.  Even having cutting boards of different sizes for smaller and larger jobs is handy!  Plastic cutting boards are falling out of favor due to bacteria being able to reside in the cut marks left behind from sharp knives.  Also, stay away from glass and marble cutting boards, as these surfaces are the quickest way to dull your knives.

4. Knives:  I'm frequently asked:"Which knife brand is the best?"  My typical response is:"Which (insert popular sport equipment) brand is the best, and why?  My point is this: The best knife is the one that feels the most comfortable in your hand and gets the job done.  A Chef knife, a bread knife and a paring knife are all you really need to get started cooking.

A heavier, thicker Henkel knife may be a better choice for a wrestler. A lighter, shorter Japanese style knife would be suitable for a ballerina.  A good knife shop will provide you with produce to try knives out on.  It's an intuitive decision.  You'll find a knife "just feels comfortable".  You'll know it when other knives don't feel right. 

Food Safety and the over-sanitization/washing of food

1. Does washing meat remove bacteria? I once got in a big debate with a friend of mine over this subject.  We had two beautiful pieces of trout.  I was excited to season mine and put it on the grill.  She insisted that it needed to be washed to remove bacteria from its surface.  She ended up drowning her piece under water, much to my chagrin. 

I tried to explain to her that there is no scientific evidence to support her claim.  Rinsing proteins will not remove or kill bacteria, and splashing water around the sink can spread the bacteria found in raw meats.  It also adds moisture, which makes it much more difficult to get nice distinctive grill marks or color from searing.

2. Mushrooms.  To Wash or not to Wash! 

Contrary to popular hyperbole, mushrooms are NOT grown in a steaming pile fresh out of the cow's behind. Commercially grown mushrooms are grown in treated, often organic compost.  Compost takes a long time to be produced, and goes through multiple steps before fungal cultures are added. 

Solution:  If your mushrooms have black specs on them after purchase, just take a damp cloth or mushroom brush and wipe it off. Alternatively, you can pull off the mushroom stem, flip the mushroom over, and peel the cap "skin" off with your fingers or a paring knife.

3. Wild Mushrooms:

Wild mushroom are, well...wild!  They are going to have much more dirt on them than button mushrooms.  For example, morels are very cavernous.  Add to that the fact that they are harvested wild and not farmed, and you have plenty of places for dirt to hide.  In this case, YES, let morels soak in a big bowl of cold water, giving them the occasional stir.  You'll begin seeing dirt settle to the bottom of the bowl after about 20 minutes.  Squeeze excess water from the mushrooms and dry them in a salad spinner or on a big kitchen cloth before preparing them for the recipe.

4. Salad Greens:

I'm still working on my green thumb, so I salute those of you who have beautiful crops.  If you grow crops yourself, rinse the dirt off them and spin them dry.  Store-bought salad blends can be hit and miss as far as cleanliness goes, so I use a very simple method to determine their cleanliness:

Solution:  Place your greens in bowl big enough for both of your hands to move around in.  Pick up a handful of the greens, and rub them gently together, feeling them with your fingers.  If you feel anything dirty or gritty, wash them.  If not, don't bother.   

            Herbs and Spices

I am an herb and spice freak! A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root or bark substance used as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative.  Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are leafy, green plant parts used for flavoring and color.  Basically the same use, but from different parts of the plant or different source.  Both require very little to showcase their great color and flavor.  Purchasing spices in seed form and toasting them yield a far superior tasting result. 

To toast spices follow these simple steps:

a)      Place a wide frying pan on your stove over medium high heat and add your whole spices.  No oil is required for this process.

b)      Periodically shake or stir the spices, just like you would if you were toasting nuts in order to evenly toast the seeds. 

c)       You'll know you're getting close when the spices start darkening in color, aroma starts filling the air, and a little bit of smoke begins to emanate from them. 

d)      Transfer the spices to a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle. 

e)      Grind the spices until they're powdered.  Store away from your stove and oven, ideally in a glass jar till required.  Continuous exposure to heat will dry out the spices sooner, rendering them odorless and flavorless.

Solution/Preparation:

Delicate herbs such as basil, cilantro, chives, and parsley will release their flavor by simply tearing apart their leaves with your hands before adding them to your dish.  If they're being added to a hot dish, be sure to add them at the very end of the cooking process to retain their color and flavor.

Stronger, more savory herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage, bay leaves can handle heat for longer periods of time, and cooking alters their flavor by mellowing their robust personalities.  There is a thyme and place to pluck the leaves off of rosemary and thyme stems (sauces, rubs, dressings) especially when their stalks and stems are tough and woody.   If you're cooking a roast, a stew, or prepping ingredients for a slow cooker recipe, just throw the whole stalks of herbs in or better yet, tie a few stalks together with a twist tie or string.  (The French call this a bouquet garni) This way you get the flavor you want, and you then have the option of tossing it afterwards in one easy-to-dispose package. 

Storage:  This is the best trick ever!!  Wash and pat dry your herbs.  Place your herbs in a              rectangular storage container with a raw egg still in it shell. Seal the container and keep it in                 your fridge.  You'll have fresh, crisp herbs for up to two weeks.  The semi-permeable membrane of the egg shell allows excess moisture to be absorbed into the egg.  Eventually, built-up         pressure inside the egg will cause it to crack.   Up to that point the egg is totally edible; it will                 merely take on some of the herbs' color and fragrance.

               Ginger:  To put it simply, as long as the ginger root is clean, you don't have to peel it.   You can easily freeze ginger root in a small Ziploc bag.  When you need some, remove it from the freezer and immediately grate it on a fine grater side. The result is very fluffy, snowflaked ginger.  Just be sure to return any unused ginger to the freezer, otherwise you end up with a ginger sponge.

             Alternative:   If you don't want ginger skin in your dish, rub off any dirt with a damp cloth  if it seems dusty or dirty.  Using a teaspoon or a chopstick with square sides, scrape away the ginger skin.  This is a far better tool to use instead of a vegetable peeler.  Only the bare      minimum amount of skin is removed, and you're left with more of the ginger "meat" intact. 

             Garlic: People love the flavor, but not the labor that goes into removing the skin.  There is a much easier, and cooler way to peel garlic.

             Solution: Pull off a clove of garlic.  Snip off a bit of the rounded bottom.   Lay your chef knife on top of the clove, and with intention give it a good smash.  The skin should then come off easily. 

               Searing, Frying and Grilling/Barbecuing

                I risk alienating some readers by saying this, but we men like to think this is our domain   when it comes to cooking, earned or not.  We're proud peacocks once in front of our grills and      barbecues, proclaiming:  "Don't worry honey, I've got this one!"

            Guys, here are some tips that'll help you maintain your grill king reputation:

1. Your cooking surface needs to be HOT!! Really hot!  Putting your meat in a cold pan or on a cooler barbecue will cause the meat to stick and tear. 

2. Pat any excess moisture off your meat.  This will help achieve nice, distinct grill marks and searing color. 

3. Some barbecue aficionados recommend wiping your barbecue grill with oil to help prevent sticking.  I put a little oil on the meat instead.  There is less smoke production this way. 

4. For pan searing, the same rules apply: Use a hot pan, and some high smoke point oil (or oil and butter in equal amounts) such as grapeseed, peanut, coconut, or avocado oil. 

5. You'll know your barbecue/pan is hot enough when the meat sears loudly and proudly when it touches it.  No sizzle, not hot enough!

6. Once the meat is sizzling in the pan/barbecue, leave it alone!  If it resists when you try to flip it, it's saying:" I'm not ready!  Go get another beer!"  Over-flipping and turning causes the outer flesh to overcook and can create an impenetrable barrier for the heat to reach the middle of the meat.  What you end up with is a well done exterior and sushi-like rawness on the inside.  

7. You'll know when it's time to flip/turn when you are able to easily lift the meat away from the pan/grill and your grill marks/searing color is visible.

8. Determining meat doneness with your finger tips is a practiced skill that should be used in conjunction with a meat thermometer.  Stick to a real simple one that's accurate and has an easy to read display.  

There are so many more tips, tricks and techniques out there that are time saving, interesting and easy to learn.  Hopefully these ideas have alleviated some concerns and have empowered you to try a few new things in the kitchen. 

Recipes are a great road map to show us how someone else got there, but one of the joys of cooking is to find your own path.  Knowing these techniques is like taking the car out for a spin to a new location.  You're not exactly sure where you'll end up, but you're going to learn a lot along the way.