Autumn always brings warming foods to life. Soups, casseroles, stews, roasts. Anything that is going to warm the cockles after a blustery rainy or cold day, and anything that is cooked in one pot is great. Not only is it a simple cooking method, but it can be really nutritious and healthy. Even the most inexperienced cook can make a wonderful meal for the family or for one, with lots of leftovers that can re-heated the following days for either lunches or evening meals.
The main excuse people make for not cooking for themselves is lack of time. Is this a perceived lack of time or an actuality? I do not for one moment believe that the majority of people are continuously busy for 16-18 hours per day. Lack of time is often about perception. Cooking is viewed as a chore, rather than a relaxing pastime.
Due to the chef fronted cooking programmes the bar has been raised. If you’re not a kitchen sex pot a la Nigella, a firebrand like Gordon to bish bash bosh a meal in seconds or a easy geezer like Jamie popping in a glug of this and a pinch of that to make a sumptuous feast for your mates then you’re no damn good.
Quite frankly, I feel that, rather than helping people back into the kitchen, in some respects it has alienated them. I don’t make curries as I’m daunted by the complexity, accordingly one of my best friends won’t cook fish for the same reason. Cooking can create performance anxiety as thanks to the TV chefs, it has to taste amazing, look beautiful, and be original. Well, that’s what our heads say anyway.
One-Pot Cooking
One-pot cooking does solve many of these dilemmas. You take a protein base, such as chicken, lamb or beef. (If you’re vegetarian then think pulses as the base.) Pick three root vegetables and an onion. Chuck ‘em in a pot, add some stock or some water and a stock cube with some fresh herbs and Bob’s your uncle.
The beauty of the one-pot is that you can cook them conventionally in the oven, or these days a slow cooker can be a preferred option. The thinking is simple. Pop all your ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning, and turn it on a low heat whilst your out at work. By the time you return you have a beautifully created meal that you can serve with minimal effort and fuss. The added bonus is that the slower and longer you cook a meal, the more nutritional value is preserved in the food.
Soups
Soups are the same, you can take the most basic of ingredients such as leek and potato, onion and celeriac; onion, beetroot and cauliflower. Chop them up, fry them in a little olive oil in the base of a large saucepan for few minutes and then add some stock – anything from homemade chicken stock or a stock cube dissolved in hot water. Just make sure that the liquid is higher than the vegetables and leave to simmer for about 40 minutes. You can either leave as is, mash with a potato masher for a slightly lumpy soup or zap with a liquidiser. If you want some bulk, add in a can of chickpeas or other beans giving you some protein without the meat.
It is pretty hard to go wrong with winter foods such as these, it's just about trying different ingredients and not over-complicating the ingredients and therefore the tastes. Big batches can be kept fresh for a few days and re-heated for lunch or dinner. Alternatively any excess can be frozen very easily. Pop a freezer bag into a jug, pour a portion into the bag, freeze and then take the bag out and secure when solid. You will be left with a cylindrical block that will be easily stackable in any freezer drawer.
Check out fellow BitchBuzz writer, Liz Abinante’s post on How to be a Slow Cooker Goddess for her tips and tricks on the perfect slow cooked food.
Image by Little Blue Hen 's Flickr