IN PRAISE OF HOME COOKING

In Praise of Home - Cooking.

            My resolution to simplify February and spend less time preparing each meal did not include ‘not thinking about food’. In fact, snowstorms are very conducive to contemplating topics you are passionate about, which in my case includes home cooking.

            Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy good restaurants immensely whether they serve fancy food or just plain food well prepared from fresh ingredients. I recall wonderful meals from a fabulous chili served in a small restaurant in Rangeley Maine, to an incredible 3 hour luncheon at the French Laundry in California, to inspired meals served on the edge of the Mediterranean, while we watched the native fish cruising by at the edge of the deck of our waterside table.  My fond memories include the innumerable small bistros in Europe and elsewhere and I won’t forget the simply delicious lunch served on a large banana leaf in Bangalore India. 

            In all of these, my taste buds and I were the beneficiaries of someone else’s effort and had the pleasure to enjoy and taste the show. But food, like other things in life, can be most fully appreciated only if you have had a chance to get to it close and personal. Home cooking removes the “virtual” aspects of food and gives you an understanding, appreciation and insight in what makes a wonderful meal in its true sense.

            Unfortunately, the saying: ”if I can’t microwave it, I can’t cook it” applies to a large segment of the population. The prepared food industry and take-out businesses  encourage this trend because of significant profits. Of course, the modern pace of  life also encourages such trends and even in retirement I have been known to call the Movie and Pizza shop in Waldoboro at dinner time, when nothing but a pizza will do.

And yet, one can only commend someone like + Jamie Oliver in Los Angeles, who goes around with a kitchen/classroom in a bus with the aim of teaching anyone how to prepare 10 easy meals as a start for home cooking, healthier eating and lifestyle. With vegetable gardens springing up at many schools to teach children the joys of fresh produce, somehow the old school home economics classes no longer seem so obsolete.

Next to stir fries and pancakes, muffins are some of the easiest and quickest to make in the home kitchen. With relatively few ingredients, they are easily mixed and baked and with minor variations are adaptable to different flavors, both sweet and savory. Here is my basic recipe for a batter that will make 8 medium or 12 small muffins depending on the size of the pan.

                        Sweet or savory muffins

Sweet.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl stir together 2 cups flour, 1 Tblsp. baking powder, ¼ cup sugar and ½ tsp. salt, and make a well in the center. In another small bowl beat 2 eggs with ¾ cups milk and 2 Tblsp. melted butter. Pour egg mixture in the flour mix and stir until just blended. At this point stir in 2/3 cups raisins or cranberries or blueberries or a shredded apple. Distribute batter among the cups in your pan sprayed with a baking spray or lined with paper cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, cool on the rack briefly and enjoy any time of the day.

Savory. Prepare the flour mix as above, with only 1 Tblsp. of sugar and added  ¾ cups shredded Parmesan cheese and ½ tsp basil, oregano or rosemary. Use the same egg mixture and omit the fruit. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and serve as you would serve rolls or cornbread. Other variations for savory muffins could include chopped sun dried tomatoes, olives or even crumbled bacon. The variations are only limited by your kitchen supplies and personal taste preferences.

And finally, the other advantages of home cooking are lack of preservatives so prevalent in prepared foods and simply cost. The above batch of 8  muffins prepared in your kitchen will cost you little more than the $1.30 price per muffin at the store. And best of all, the aroma of home cooking or baking is priceless.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)