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Ask HN: got any food hacks?

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Re: Ask HN: got any food hacks?

#81
I think the ultimate time saver for cooking good tasting food with little effort is a crock pot. Anything that cooks food over low heat over a long period of time.

This method always seems to produce food that has that special "something" where all the ingredients meld into something magic. It's virtually impossible to mess up and it's good for getting rid of odd bits left in your fridge.

It can also be easily adopted to your nutritional requirements, and to any type of cuisine. Basically every single culture on earth has a version of stuff-thrown-in-pot-and-cooked-for-a-long-time.

The secret to success is to begin with similar ingredients. Usually onions and carrots and garlic- then celery for something european, bell pepper for something south american, maybe ginger for something asian.

Then you add some kind of cheap cut of meat, chicken, pork, beef, it doesn't matter, (sausage or ham, leftover meats- doesn't matter if they've been cooked already) then some other appropriate long cooking vegetable (potatoes, corn, anything that won't fall apart during cooking, an hour before eating, you can put in the more delicate vegetables). Then some water. Cover and leave it for like 4 or 5 hours and when you come back it'll be amazing. If it's appropriate, you can also add any kind of dried beans.

Prep is also easy, because you dont really have to worry about cutting the vegetables carefully. Just cut them any way you like and dump them in.

You can make rice or cous cous or quinoa (starch) to go along with it, or you can have it with bread or crackers.

Some specific examples: osso bucco, coq au vin (adding alcohol in really helps make it good) cassoulet, chili, goulash, tangine, gumbo, indian-style curries, etc., you can see how versatile this method is.....

Re: Ask HN: got any food hacks?

#82
post #15

Couscous. It's cheap, cooks really quickly (about 6-7 minutes), makes no mess, and requires no dishes other than the pot it's cooked in. It's also really versatile. I often use it instead of rice in simple rice dishes (rice and beans, etc.), and it can substitute for pasta too.

Yeah, I have to third the couscous option. It's great for tight schedules.

Re: Ask HN: got any food hacks?

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quinoa is great. I have two primary recipes: Breakfast: cook with cinnamon, apples, raisins and honey (and any other dried fruit you care to add). Serve with pecans/walnuts/your favorite nut to add an extra protein boost. Lunch/dinner: cook and cool, add onions, cilantro, black beans, a little tomato, a bit of crushed garlic. Basically a fresh salsa that is mostly quinoa.

Quinoa FTW! My girlfriend likes to make Quinoa salads .. She'll just make a basic quinoa pilaf style, but without the sauteed onions, then add corn, spinach greens, heirloom tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, the super crunchy japanese cucumbers, some apple or jicama slices, and some blood orange (or regular orange). Quinoa also makes a good porridge. I've mixed a cup of cooked qunoa cookd porridge style with a cup of softl…

I love quinoa tabouli. Tabouli is a Middle Eastern salad. You'll find various recipes on the web. I like to use cilantro in place of the usual parsley & mint, scallions, cucumbers, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and a dressing of fresh lemon juice, garlic, salt and extra virgin olive oil. I make a huge batch of that and snack on it for a couple of days.

Re: Ask HN: got any food hacks?

#84
In terms of preparation speed - there's a reason we Americans like sandwiches - if you're preparing food for yourself, a sandwich is about as fast to produce as you can get. Also, can be made just about as healthy as you want, depending on what you put in.

For example, buy a chunk of deli meat, a block of cheese, some lettuce, some tomatoes, and various sauces (mustard, mayo), and you can slice them up and have a meal in about 5-10 minutes. You can do that all week, alternating condiments, meats, and cheeses for variation.

Re: Ask HN: got any food hacks?

#86
post #60

Problem: Vegetables are gross, and hard to prepare such that they taste good. Solution: vegetable smoothie. Ice, a banana, yogurt, milk, and a whole bunch of spinach, in proportions according to taste. This sounds disgusting, but it actually tastes really good. Make sure you have a banana though. Otherwise it will tastes like spinach, and that's not the goal here. After trying to report my discovery to the world, it…

I echo your choice of "green smoothies" - they're an outstanding solution to the cheap, fast, and healthy requirements. Though like you, the reactions I get from people generally involve disgust, even when those same people will happily pay $4 or $5 for essentially the same concept/drink at a health food store, for a quarter of the quantity and quality. Hell, half the drink may be ground-up ice and they only get half…

I love green smoothies. I use other fruit in addition to bananas, also use collards, kale, dandelion and other dark leafy greens, and I don't skip the dairy. They are delicious and very filling.

Re: Ask HN: got any food hacks?

#87

You need the Julia Child Omlette! All you need are eggs, water, butter and a hot pan and it takes 3 minutes and tastes awesome! The water is the trick. When you whisk water and eggs together, as they hit the hot pan the water turns to steam and fluffs the eggs up. I've made this many times and once you get the pan shaking and timing right, you will impress the hell out of your friends every time. http://www.youtube.c…

Wow, I just made the best omelette of my life. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: got any food hacks?

#88
You just can't have all those at the same time. Healthy and cheap almost never go together though healthy and quick can if you prepare for a few days. That said, the best source for cheap healthy food is usually farmer's markets. I get fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, butter, and milk from a couple of different local farmers markets. Fruits are usually much cheaper ($5-$8 for 2 dozen oranges) but meat is usually more expensive because it's much better quality.

Get your ingredients and figure out two days to cook. I do the bulk of everything Wednesday and Sunday. This is a good balance for me with freshness of food and cooking frequency. Also fresh OJ only last 2 to 3 days. Whole milk (preferably raw if you can find good stuff) is a good balanced snack, so is fruit and cheese.

If you're really wanting to be healthy and cheap, and can stomach it, animal parts that people don't usually want are priced pretty well. The Whole Foods here sells grass-fed beef liver at $4/lb and it's incredibly good for you though it tastes terrible (email me for a recipe that makes it tolerable if you're interested). Make broth out of beef ox tails and marrow bones or chicken feet. Eat every 2-3 hours. Eat shellfish once a week.

Anyway, as another poster here said, it's worth it to spend the time on your food. You'll be surprised how much better you feel and work when you're healthy.

Re: Ask HN: got any food hacks?

#89
post #46

What you just asked for is a full-sized SUV that costs $10,000, rides like a Lexus, gets 45mpg city, and never loses the new car smell. If you don't want to cook or clean, that means someone has to cook/package for you. If you don't want processed food (and I don't blame you) where this is done by machine, then you have to pay for something done by real people. This will by-definition be not cheap, since labor is rel…

Amen. Cooking is an investment. The more you cook, the better you get at it; the faster and tastier the results. And the more you cook, the healthier you will eat overall (at least if you're living in North America). As for hacks, here's one. Take semi-prepared food, like macaroni & cheese in-the-box-with-the-faux-cheese-powder-in-the-paper-pouch, and augment it. The basic recipe is written on the box and fool-proof.…

Isn't it strange to talk about cooking being an investment, and healthier eating in one sentence, and then recommend a way to prepare mac & cheese in the next?

Re: Ask HN: got any food hacks?

#90

You need the Julia Child Omlette! All you need are eggs, water, butter and a hot pan and it takes 3 minutes and tastes awesome! The water is the trick. When you whisk water and eggs together, as they hit the hot pan the water turns to steam and fluffs the eggs up. I've made this many times and once you get the pan shaking and timing right, you will impress the hell out of your friends every time. http://www.youtube.c…

I use a drop of milk for my delicious omelette. Maybe it's the same effect. Add a bit of rosemary and curry and it tastes even better.
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