Sondahl's creative stuff

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Brad Sondahl's Cooking from scratch by dead reckoning "I reckon it's dead, so's we can cook it..." or "Nobody's dead yet, so's I reckon I'll try some..." For Grandma Rosenwald's Pfefferneusse recipe, click on the picture above. My philosophy of cooking is that cooking should be fun, simple, and trivialities like recipes and measuring cups shouldn't get in the way of getting good food produced quickly. The main purpose for measuring is to control the size of the final product. Most family meals take about 15 minutes to eat-- I figure an hour is the maximum anyone ought to spend on preparing a meal, or there's a lot of serious time waste happening. Also, I believe in cooking from scratch--no mixes, because the results are usually tastier and more economical. This is a guide for the beginning cook who wants to stop buying all those packaged foods at the store. If you already know the basics, skip them and you'll still find a few interesting ideas... So here's my basic cookery. There's nothing fancy here, nothing that you wouldn't want to eat once a week for life... Also, I've revisited to reduce cholesterol. Meat We got a lot of "Jack Spratt's" in the family, so it's easiest to trim off most of the fat before cooking. More than that, stir frying in oil after slicing up and soaking in a bit of soy sauce is a great way to produce a great topping that goes with potatoes, rice, or noodles. To make sure it's cooked thoroughly, I usually pour some water on and steam it a while with the lid on, too. If the meat is tough or greasy, I prefer simmering it in water for a longer time, which softens it and gives the grease a chance to go into the water, where it can be poured off and fed to the dog or chickens. I'm not too partial to broiling 'cause it messes up the oven, and I've never cared to barbecue, so you're on your own if you want to do those things to meat. Potatoes The staff of life, particularly for us Idahoans. Here's the regular ways to cook them that aren't too hard: Baked Potatoes: Wash them and pop them in a 400-425 degree oven, about an hour. Prick them with a fork first to keep them from exploding. They're done when you can squeeze them with a hot pad and they break open. And yes, you can microwave them, but the results are noticeably different in taste and texture. Make a lot at at time, and you can reheat them in the microwave, or make-- Fried Potatoes: Leftover baked potatoes make good fried potatoes. Cut the peels off them with a knife, and cut them into chunks. Fry them in some margarine or butter. Mashed Potatoes: Peel them and cut them in chunks, boil them for half an hour in more water than you might think you'd need. If they're tender when poked with a fork, pour off the water and add some soft margarine or butter, salt (to taste), and milk, and mash with masher. If it's a pretty big pot, I use half a stick of margarine, and a teaspoon or so of salt, and milk is added a little at a time till the consistency is creamy. Serve with grated cheese, or meat or vegetable toppings.

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