....and how to overcome it.
You may find yourself saying, "Zhara, you're a belly-dancing goddess, a Goth Chick who doesn't have "issues", an independant career woman who doesn't hate men, AND you cook, too? WOW!"
Yes, dears, this girlish figure you see before you wasn't built on cheetoes and Burger King. No way. Only the finest fresh ingredients and gourmet culinary skills went into this project. I acheived my girth the hard way:
I cooked for it!
So for all my friends who have been asking me for cooking tips: here it is.
A reader's question answered.
Let's test drive the car analogy. You have several options, some are obviously bad choices and need no further explaination (driving your car into a tree). Some leave you in doubt because both choices have their merits (should I take the interstate which is a longer drive but without stoplights, or drive through town which is a shorter route, but with traffic?). Some choices are fun, but bad for you (speeding and getting a ticket).
So we have with cooking similar situations: choices to always avoid (cooking your salad in a crock pot), some choices with equal value but different merits (broiling or steaming), and the devilish temptation to do something bad for you (deep frying ).
So, get familiar with your METHODS:
Frying
Deep or Shallow, frying is usually a very tasty way to go, but not a very healthy way to get heat to your food. ALSO, deep fried stuff doesn't taste good for long, as any cold french fry will tell you. I generally avoid frying, but there is one freindly exception:
Stir Frying
Stir Frying is based on the idea of cooking the food QUICKLY!! You have a pan, either a nice, curved Wok, or a big flat fry pan, and you have a LOT of heat. LOTS of heat. Get that pan and that little bit of oil hot first, then toss in your food, let it sizzle a while, then stir it around, let it sizzle some more, stir it around, add a splash of liquid if it seems to bee sticking or getting too dry, but remember, a little bit of burning is tasty! it makes those nice brown flecks of flavor goodness!
The sinful French cousin of the Stir Fry:
Sautee
Sautee is much like stir frying, except that you use more oil (or butter), and near the end of cooking, you will probably add a splash of flavourful liquid (like cooking sherry) to de-glaze the pan (to get all that tasty brown goodness that stuck to the pan loose and back into your food!). Since there's more oil, there's more fat, but oh, the flavor! NEVER saute in plain ole' Wesson oil: use real butter, or olive oil! It matters!!