Sunday, August 8.

This afternoon for lunch, I had some of Mrs T's mini pierogies (that is, raviolis stuffed with mostly potato (it's a polish thing)) that I sauteed (with the onion) with a plop of meijer Chunky Garden tomato sauce accompanied by peas (from the freezer), and sauteed onion. On top of it was a sprinkling of that wonderfully authentic sargento cheese. :\

A guy has got to eat, right? When I'm more hungry than snobby (which is most of the time), I like the convenience of throwing things together and having a good 'light'* meal. Although I know that frozen isn't as good as fresh...and yada yada yada; frozen veggies are a crutch for dinners for one. They keep for months at a time, you can buy them for cheap, and it's better than not eating veggies at all.

Canned pasta sauce is completely suitable for college students and the general public. Blanching, seeding, skinning, stewing, and reducing tomatoes just for the sauce of one evening is definitely more than a bit taxing. Oh yeah, and making a butt-load of sauce requires that you have a place to put it all! My family used to can our own tomato sauce, make our own pickles etc. We still have some jars. They're at least 15 years old. xP

Today's Tips for Cooking:

 1. If you can use butter for sauteing, use butter. Butter, although it has a much lower smoke point (the temperature at which the fat breaks down and starts to...duh, smoke. The heat will also cause the fat to eventually start on fire if it's hot enough. Also duh.) than vegetable oil, is much tastier than vegetable oil.

2. Don't walk out of the kitchen when you cook. Especially while sauteing. You want your pan relatively hot for foods to brown and get tasty, so if you leave, things can go south quickly.

3. If you can't do flippy tricks like a pro, just use a wooden spoon (or silicon spatula). Your ego can take a couple hits, right?

4. Season your food! A small pinch of salt and pepper (lovingly termed S&P for those out there that enjoy acronyms) goes a long way. I have a mug filled with a salt and pepper mix right next to the stove with a little spoon that I can use to season things with on the fly without scrambling around looking for the S&P shakers.

*A light meal for me would be a regular-large meal for the normal person. A large meal for me would feed a family of four.