A Cook's Best Friend. . .

So I've blogged a little before about organizing and how to best prepare foods and make it easier on yourself and your busy schedules.  I stand by my statement that a freezer is a busy cook's best friend.  In this blog I'll try to outline the best ways to use a standard freezer/fridge combo and a chest freezer, for those of us lucky enough to have one.  I highly recommend buying one for anyone looking to save money in the long run - you can usually find them in estate sales and at dent and ding stores for much cheaper.  We bought ours as a floor model at Lowe's and ended up paying at least 100 dollars less than original price.
  To start I will talk to the average home freezer.  The best trick to efficiently using your home freezer is to freeze things like soups, sauces, veggies and other small things in flat sheets. Notice the bottom shelf . . .

My personal freezer is a little sparse at the moment because we have it all in our chest freezer but think of how many servings of split-pea soup, corn chowder and marinara sauces I could stack up on the top shelf as well.  The trick to freezing things flat are good sturdy freezer safe ziplocs: with a sharpie label the ziploc with the contents and the date the food will expire (things always look the same when they're frozen so you can never tell what's in that bag!) place the cooled prepared food into the bag laying flat on your counter (enough for one night's meal)  and seal trying to expel as much air as possible.  Lay the ziploc flat on the bottom of your freezer (or on a cookie sheet if you have no flat surface) things like soups and sauces can usually stay for up to 6 months in the freezer! 
  For storing these ziplocs in a chest freezer it's good to get a plastic file crate and put it in the bottom of your freezer then place the ziplocs upright in the crate (the frozen ziplocs can be sifted through like file folders and you can easily find whatever you need).  I also recommend, as I have before, to double or triple your recipes on those nights that you do cook to quickly get your freezer stocked with extra meals.

My chest freezer may look a little crazy but everything is assorted into its requisite bin.  I chose this freezer because it had hanging and sliding baskets so things won't get buried beneath everything else.  Since we buy beef in large quantities our freezer is mostly meats, stocks, and lots of frozen summer corn.  I have bins for steaks, roasts, offal, and ground beef.  The stocks are all labeled in freezer safe containers and placed on the bottom of the freezer.

To further help me in my meal planning I create a list that I stick on the outside of the freezer that lists what's in the freezer and how many servings there are.  When something is used I just strike it off the list or reduce the number of servings listed.

This helps when I sit down on Sunday and make my grocery shopping list.  I know what I already have on hand and this way I don't buy so much at the store and spend less money in the long run.  To further help me save money I always keep my eye out for any special deals on organic meat that I can stock up on and put in the freezer - like the organic pork sausages that I bought last week for half price!  You may spend more money on a certain trip to the store one week but it will be a lot cheaper in the long run.  Happy organizing!

Chicken Bouilliabaisse with Garlicky Beans

This is a much simpler bouilliabaise than the classic bouilliabaise and the beans give it a heartiness that's homey and satisfying.  I recently found in my favorite book store a book on braises and stews by Tori Ritchie.  Braises and stews are great because they give you lots of flavor with little effort - most of the time just pop it in the oven or crock-pot and let it be.

 

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

  - 4 Chicken legs, split into drumsticks and thighs (you can choose to leave skin on or off but I think it adds flavor)

  - Kosher salt

  - 6 tbsp olive oil

  - 1 yellow onion, sliced

  - 1/2 cup dry white wine - I used Pinot Grigio

  - 4-inch strip of orange zest (don't zest it into little pieces you'll want to remove it later)

  - 1 tsp dried thyme

  - Generous pinch of saffron threads

  - 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

  - 1 cup chicken broth (preferably homemade)
  - 2 cans (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  - 4 garlic cloves, minced
  - 3/4 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicier)
  - 4 oz crumbled feta cheese

 Preheat an oven to 375.
 Rinse the chicken and pat dry with a paper towel.  Sprinkle with salt.  Heat 3 tbsp of the oil in a 5-7 quart dutch oven over med-high heat.  Add the onion, sprinkle with salt to taste and cook, stirring until softened - about 3-6 minutes.  Add the wine, zest, thyme and saffron and let come to a boil.  Add the tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil again.  Put chicken in pot, pushing it down in the sauce.  Cover and transfer to the oven.  Cook until chicken is opaque at the bone, about 45 minutes. 

  Meanwhile, in a baking dish, stir together the beans, remaining 3 tbsp of oil, garlic and red pepper flakes.  Put in oven alongside the chicken for the last 15 minutes of cooking time.  Remove the beans from oven and stir in the feta, season with salt and pepper.  Spoon beans into bowls and top with chicken and sauce.  Serve with crusty bread to sop up the extra juice!

My apologies and new thoughts. . .

So I've committed the ultimate blogger sin - falling behind in posts which leads to lack of interest and general apathy in my readership - for shame!  I do apologize and I blame it on my lack of focus on food in general in the past few months (lots of travel to Missouri, working out of town during the week where there is no place to buy organic or healthy foods of any quantity or quality, worried about finding a real job, etc.).  It has been possible for me with the new job, where I live in a house at a winery helping my brother-in-law manage construction on the site, to eat organically by going to Whole Foods on Sundays and stocking up and planning for the week.  I cook for myself and one other person that works and lives with me at the winery who also subscribes to my food philosphy.  So generally my breakfasts and dinners are good organic food but here's the problem - lunch!
  My lunches are now revolving around the work place and construction work environment.  The owner of the winery buys us lunch most days and other days I go out and get the crew lunch.  It's great to not have to worry about paying for lunches but I have felt my heath issues returning and feeling less well and lethargic these days because of it.  Maybe that's why I have felt less like blogging . . . maybe a little bit of a hypocritical dilemma running through my brain.  I did, however, on recommendation from a new friend just watch a new documentary that may have just changed my outlook on food all over again.
  This documentary is called "Fork Over Knives" and it follows two doctors that over the course of their practice and in-depth research have proven that animal based foods are the cause of most cancers and heart diseases.  Not only is the corn fed beef and industrial meat substances bad for us but meat in general.  Of course it is MUCH better to consume grass-fed and pasture raised animals in reasonable quantities but their extensive studies prove that we should probably be eating only grains, fruits and veggies without dairy, meat or added oils in our diet.
  Their studies are very convincing - people who had had multiple bypass surgerys or extensive cancers throughout their bodies have gone on to live decades after their illnesses and have made complete recoverys, sometimes without chemo and radiation or even surgery - biologically I have one qualm.  If humans were not meant to eat meat then why do we have "meat tearing" canine teeth?  Is this just a hold over from our evolutionary make-up, which we have evolved away from but no longer need (like our tail bone with no tail?) or do those canine teeth have a different purpose now?  Do we need the canine teeth for tearing into fibrous veggies like celery and broccoli?  Next time I eat I am definitely going to pay more attention ;-) but for now I think I will just significantly reduce the amount of meat I consume. 
  Until next time your thoughts and opinions are definitely welcome.  Happy eating!