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Recipes
and Ideas for Staples
(Stock,
dressings, sauces, salads)
STOCK
For
a vegetable stock, add the frozen vegetable trimmings to a pot along with some
of your new fresh ones (carrots, onion, celery, parsley). For
meat stock, add to the above chicken/turkey bones, meat bones, chicken necks or
what ever else you may have left over. If you don't have any bones, you can buy
cheap chicken parts or veal bones. Add a tablespoon of coarse sea salt, a few
peppercorns, and bay leaf, and simmer all day. When done, strain the mixture,
pressing out all the juices for flavor and discard the trimmings, meat, and bones.
Cover with plastic wrap and set the stock in the fridge overnight.
By the next day, all the fat will be on the surface and easy to skim off with
a spatula to discard. The stock, which should be jell consistency, can be boiled
once more, cooled, poured into ice cube trays, and placed in the freezer. When
frozen, place the cubes in a freezer bag for use when a recipe calls for stock
or broth. This adds wonderful flavor to sauces, soups, and gravies. SALAD
As
the week goes by, make a big salad each day with lettuce topped with cold steamed
vegetables. You can add grapefruit, apples, nuts, raisins, tuna, cold meats, hard
boiled eggs, cheeses and/or whatever other goodies tempt your imagine. DRESSING
Make
a large jar of dressing with olive oil, vinegar, mustard, a couple of crushed
garlic cloves, salt and pepper. This makes a great base to add a bit more flavored
vinegar, blue cheese, or mayonnaise to change the dressing for a variety of salads. VINEGAR
Using
some inexpensive white vinegar, pour two cups into a jar and add two fruit flavored
tea bags such as orange, raspberry, or mango. Let it sit for a couple of hours
until the vinegar takes on the tea flavor. This is an inexpensive way to have
the "all trendy" raspberry vinegar! PASTA
When
the pasta is almost done cooking, add some vegetables in the pot. If the vegetables
have already been cooked, just add them for a minute or two to heat through. Otherwise,
cook for a few minutes, strain the pasta and vegetables over the serving bowl
(to get the bowl nice and hot), drain the water and add pasta and olive oil, heated
with crushed garlic for a minute...toss and serve! QUICK
TOMATO SAUCE
While the pasta is cooking, peel and chop an onion
and saute in a bit of olive oil with a clove or two of crushed garlic. Place
fresh tomatoes in the pasta water for 10 seconds...remove from the water and
peel with
ease! Chop and add to the onions. Add a cube of stock or a little white wine
to
blend and liquefy. Serve with some fresh basil added at the last minute.
CAROLINA
RED BARBEQUE SAUCE
Unlike sauces from Texas and Kansas
City, this sauce from South Carolina's Piedmont area is thin and vinegary.
Note that it is not cooked. To tone down
the tartness, add more ketchup and brown sugar to taste. Makes about 2 cups. Bon
Appétit, July 1999
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon (packed) brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Stir all ingredients in small bowl until sugar and salt dissolve.
(Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
ROMAINE SALAD WITH PARMESAN DRESSING
1 heart of romaine
2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan (about 2/3 cup)
Separate romaine leaves. In a large bowl whisk together vinegar, oil, half
of Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss romaine with dressing and serve
sprinkled with remaining Parmesan.
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