Tips And Tricks To Delicious And Healthy Home Cooked Meals

Some say cooking is an art form. Others consider it the only way to eat decently, healthily and at low cost. You can’t argue with neither and it is good to know that you don’t have to create ‘wonders’ in order to enjoy a good, hearty meal. All that you need to have in your possession are some general rules to follow and a healthy ambition to master your skill set.

Before we start with the general rules, let’s just emphasize that ‘home cooking’ should not have to be associated with simple meals, like pasta or rice or baked potatoes. Anyone can learn how to prepare a full meal, including more complex things such as stews, which require a mastering the making of that thick broth-like liquid.

Because you can’t ever go wrong with stir-fried vegetables or a veggie stew, here is a way how to prepare this type of meal.

So let’s get started with some pro tips and general guidelines.

Basically, you can make a meal out of any green vegetables. The basic ones are peppers, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, carrots, cabbage and leafy greens such as spinach and collard and beet greens. Any vegetable that can be effortlessly cut with a knife is a vegetable that can be stir-fried or made into a stew.

Because you can’t ever go wrong with stir-fried vegetables or a veggie stew, here is a way how to prepare this type of meal.

So let’s get started with some pro tips and general guidelines.

Vegetable Stir-fry

Stir-frying any of these (or all combined) can be easily done, and virtuously so, if you apply some common sense. Those vegetables with a harder consistence, such as cabbage and carrots, should go first in the fry. They need to soften up before they become thoroughly cooked, so you can cover the pan and even splash just a little bit of water, like one tablespoon. Once you have stir-fried this set of vegetables for two or three minutes, you can add whatever comes next, like peppers, tomatoes and leafy greens.

Vegetable Stew

Potatoes and other rhizomic, that is, root-vegetables, always come in handy when you want to make a stew. The reason for it is, these are starchy and the starch begins to break down and to add thickness to the stew. In order to make a vegetable stew first you need to bring the potatoes to a boil and keep them on the fire until they become very soft. If you want them to get done sooner than later, dice them up well.

Use a cup of water per handful of diced potatoes, or use a cup and a half if you want all of your vegetables to boil and break down into a viscous soup. Then you add your diced or otherwise cut vegetables, and apply the spices of your choosing. Keep it all on the flame until the stew gets a nice hearty texture.

Oil and Salt

We know that salt belongs to one of the ‘white’ killers, along with white sugar, white flower and white oil. There are quantities which are dangerous and that you should not surpass. On the other hand, salt brings out the ‘best’ from the vegetables, as it bonds together the flavours. So you really want to start preparing each meal with a pinch of salt per handful of vegetables. Remember, you can always add more salt, but you can never subtract it.

A rule of thumb on oil is, do not use more than it is enough. You need just half tablespoon of oil when you fry your first set of vegetables (like carrots or cabbage) and add half a tablespoon with the next rounds. If you are cooking on high flame the oil will burn up quickly, so you want to regulate the heat by using more of it in the beginning and less of it as the veggies are evaporating their water.

For departing words this time around, we want to wish you good luck in your attempts. If the first time doesn’t turn out for the best, do try again. The third time will be a charm.