Intuitivekitchenbylizzy

Listening to a commercial about how oatmeal is heart healthy led me to write this post. How an ad campaign can take something so basic, and turn it in to an exploration of how the body processes cholesterol (all in the confines of a 30 second commercial) is entirely depressing! Here is the skinny, pun intended. Oatmeal tastes good! Hot oatmeal in the morning is a hearty comfort food, mostly avoided because it takes time...which concept is true, but wait, Intuitive Cooking can help you here! There is a trend on Pinterest to putting raw oats in a jar with some fruit and sweetener overnight. This IS a great idea for meals on the go, but does NOTHING for the experience of actually sitting down (yes, taking time to sit down) to a hot bowl of warm oatmeal! TO make oatmeal you and others will want to eat, learn how to do more than one thing at once in the kitchen! Oatmeal is a great way to practice! Try this first on a day you are not headed out the door . Keep in mind that there ARE...

There was a time in my life when I had time, and an abundance of energy. Also I was broke. I mean, REALLY broke, as in applying for food stamps(didn't get them), going hungry, no money for nothin' broke.  My kitchen was short on gadgets of any kind, not to mention short on food,too.  As things got better, I was able to get my own car, and shopping for food bargains got easier, too. I started my own garden, a habit I kept up until this year (fourty years later!) . One of my frugalities that I never gave up is baking bread. When I started, I saw it as a way to have healthier bread for a fraction of the cost. I learned to love the whole process,too. Now, for most people, bread baking is a luxury, because it is time consuming, and time is at a premium for working adults! I began my bread journey with James' Beards' bread book. https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0679755047/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1501618008&sr=8-1&keywords=james+beard+on+bread T...

How to pick a knife! TO really pick a knife, you have to hold it. So go to a store in person, and pick one up. The first knife type you should buy is called a chef’s knife, or utility knife. It usually looks like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KLMJJPS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The chef’s knife is designed to be used in many ways, and if you keep yours clean and sharp, you may not need another one at all. I picked this one, because I have a fairly small hand, and I like the somewhat shorter blade because of that. If you can afford it, buy a carbon steel knife like this one. You will notice some things about a knife if you pick one up. Knives have a vocabulary around them that get a bit technical, but all it really is , is a way to name the important parts so you know what you are looking at. For a really helpful guide to the terminology, go  to this excellent site here: https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Identify-the-Parts-of-Your-Kni...

Despite my long experiences in all kinds of professional kitchen, I am not a knife expert. I see those cooking shows on tv, with the cooks whipping through cutting veggies, and sigh, I will never be that efficient! But, there ARE some things I know about knives, that I feel I should pass on. Not at all original to me, these are well known by cooks and chefs. RULE ONE: By the best knife you can afford. In my opinion, one good knife is better than a whole set of lousy ones.  Tune in tomorrow for how to buy one. RULE TWO: A Sharp knife is SAFER than a dull one. This is the most counter intuitive think to a beginning cook. People instinctively associate sharpness with getting cut by other things . like sharp edges to glass, sharp corners on furniture, and so on. The difference is, of course, that a knife is designed to cut. A dull knife will cause you to press down in order to cut. This means you cannot count on your knife cutting with the same effort every time. You will never ...

My blessed mother in law cooked almost every dinner for her family for her whole married life. She had favorite things to cook for dinner, and her famous pineapple upside down cake & thanksgiving corn pudding are now passed down to her grateful grandchildren. Dad Baker did cook when mom was at her other job; he is infamous in the family for serving potatoes and onions for dinner...served with mustard. Mom ALWAYS referred to her recipes when she cooked, written down in her tiny handwriting. Her kitchen was tiny too, with just enough room for the table that sat them all (four kids & two adults). I think she liked it that way...there was no room for another cook in HER kitchen! I was thinking about her careful ways, almost the exact opposite of the way I cook. My point is, use recipes if it makes you comfortable in the kitchen. It's alright. BUT, if, like me, you would rather leave concentrated efforts for special occasions, then cook intuitively. Often, recipes are seen...

As a former restaurant cook, I am very aware of the cleanliness rules that apply to a commercial kitchen.  As a home cook, we all need to understand some basics...I hate to clean my house, but I have some habits from my past that have become intuitive. You will find these little tricks can really help to cook cleanly. 1) Tuck a clean towel in your waist or sling it over your shoulder.  You can see many TV cooks do this, and there is a good reason! You should use your hands when you cook. Just get in the habit of wiping your hands well between touching different types of food (meat-wipe-eggs-wipe-veggies-wipe ect) 2) Wash hands, everyone. This is essential! Use soap, and rub your hands together long enough to sing the ABC's. Then rinse. This goes for anyone eating, or cooking, or snacking. 3) Switch cutting boards & knives This is another essential.. EVERY time you cut raw beef on there, WASH your cutting board with soap & rinse before cutting anything else on ...