Cooking!

Let's begin with a comparison. Ground beef. There are many types of ground beef; ground sirloin, ground chuck, ground miscellanous meats, and so on. But another distinction apart from cut is the diet of the animal. There are largely two types of ground beef with respect to diet: grass-fed and feed-fed. Grass fed beef is largely from cows allowed to graze, and sustained by a diet natural to their biology -- it is no secret that different animals are built to digest different types of foods. Feed-fed beef comes from factory farms. The cows are not fed their natural diet of things like grass, but instead are fed high-energy meal like feed corn. This produces not only unhealthier cows that must be sustained with probiotics and such implanted into their foods, but also produces a much different, inferior meat.

So what is the relevancy here? Well, let's take a look at an example of a univerally-accepted processed food: Doritos. The ingredients largely break down into a few categories. Firstly, processed foods usually begin with a very high energy-density grain -- usually rice, potato, flour, and in this case, corn. Then there are oils and emulsifiers, often soy lecithin, and corn oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil, soybean oil, and so on. Then, various chemicals and additives specifically tailored to stimulate flavor receptors and the brain chemistry, such as MSG, dextrose, aspartame, sucralose, esters of fatty acids, various dyes, and preservatives.

And what is the relevancy here? Well, let's begin slowly. Yes, things like monosodium glutamate do exist in nature, but the way it is produced and introduced into foods is not natural. Take for example aspirin. Aspirin naturally occurs in willow tree bark, but an aspirin pill is by no means natural. Similarly, many of these additives, especially the label 'natural flavors', are produced industrially in chemical plants, not by natural processes. Additionally, many oils like palm oil and vegetable oil did not exist in foods prior to large conglomerates like Pepsico-Frito-Lays. And the processes in which these oils are extracted and refined are very different from natural oils. Olive oil is created by squeezing the olives. Canola oil is made by heating crushed rapeseed in hexane, refined with acids, filtered and deodorized. Finally, grains like flours are often made with simply the endosperm; the bran and germ of the wheat kernel contain many vital vitamins, antioxidants, protein, and minerals. But whole wheat flour is much less energy dense than flour made with just the endosperm.

What is the point of this? Let's connect these tangents. A cow has a natural diet which its body is adapted to, but are often subjected to diets that are very energy dense, lacking many nutrients that must be supplemented otherwise, and generally produce unhealthy cattle. Similarly, much of the highly processed food we consume is unnatural and foreign to our biology, lacking in many nutrients, and filled with many additives and enrichers to compensate. But unlike animals, we have taste. So our food is also packed with flavor enhancers, meant to stimulate our minds just right to promote continued consumption of the foods. In other words, processed food is designed to be addictive. Why else do you see people with eating addictions always eating snack cakes, fast food, etc. and never are addicted to things like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains? The eating disorder is a product of the food itself that they consume. Processed food is animal feed covered with perfume and drugs to take advantage of our biology and get us hooked on it.

Now what can we then say? Processed foods should be avoided at all times. Instead, we should make our meals out of whole foods, quality ingredients, and traditional diets. Often it will be discovered that it is actually much cheaper to eat healthily, as compared to processed foods. I will give examples later. But for now, consider the previous words and evaluate whether a diet high in processed foods is truly beneficial.

The items here will be from mostly WalMart listings. While WalMart is a reprehensible brand, it is one most people are familiar with and most have access to in some regard. Additionally, all items will be either steel, stone, or wood. No plastics will be used, nor nonstick, as these are very harmful to the body. Every time you scratch a plastic bowl or plate, microplastics are put into the foods, posing numerous risks to individuals' health. The initial cost is high, but many of these items can be bought incrementally. For example, not buying the wooden spoons or meat thermometers or baking sheets until they are actually required for use.

• $25 Stainless Steel Cookware and Utensil Set
• $06 Wooden Utensils
• $10 Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons
• $07 Steel Mixing Bowl
• $10 Wooden Cutting Board
• $13 Baking Sheet
• $06 Meat Thermometer
• $08 Chef's Knife
• $01 Paring Knife
• $01 Bread Knife

Total: $87

Below are more niche items but still highly convenient and useful. These are mostly optional, and only really for the sake of saving some time.

• $01 Potato Peeler
• $01 Potato Masher
• $01 Tongs
• $03 Can Opener
• $05 Rolling Pin
• $01 Whisk
• $20 Muffin Tin
• $14 Lemon Juicer
• $05 Cheese Grater
• $11 Baster
• $09 Egg Boiler
• $10 Toaster
• $09 Kettle

Below is the silverware, dishes, etc. Note that placemats are optional, but are still highly encouraged. It makes it feel more homely, more comfortable. And it makes cleaning easier.

• $1.25 Stone Plates
• $1.25 Stoneware Bowls
• $4.00 Sets of 4 Stamped Steel Forks, Knives, and Spoons
• $1.50 Drinking Glasses

Touch your index finger to the bottom of a saucepan. Fill the dish with rice up to your first knuckle. Then, rinse and drain the rice repeatedly with water until the water runs clear. This removes the starch, yielding far superior rice. Then, fill the dish with water up to your second knuckle. Bring the water to a rolling boil, then cover and turn off the heat. Do not remove the lid until all the water has been absorbed, or until fifteen minutes or so have passed.

Snap the ends off of the green beans. Next, slice them crosswise into pieces about as thick as your thumb. Then finally, put them in room temperature water and heat it until the water begins to steam.

Take an ear of corn and peel off the leaves, as well as removing as much of the strings as you can. Then hold each ear vertically, and slice downwards with a knife to separate the kernels from the cobs. Att corn to room temperature water and cook until the water begins to steam. For corn-on-the-cob, just don't slice the cobs.

Pierce the bottom of the eggs with a decently thick sewing needle. Do not pierce the thin membrane inside the egg, or egg will begin to leak as it cooks. This allows water to enter and separate the membrane from the shell, making peeling much easier. Next, place the eggs into a pot and cover with water at least an inch over the tops, or the distance to the first knuckle of your index finger. Bring water to a rolling boil and then cover, turning off the heat and letting rest for 10 minutes for softer yolks, 12 minutes for hard yolks. Finally, use tongs to drop the eggs into ice water to shock them, stopping cooking.

Slice the top and bottom ends of the pineapple off. Then hold the pineapple vertically and slice the knife down, separating the skin from the meat. Then slice the center into quarters. For each quarter, slide the knife along to remove the core, before slicing into chunks as big as preferred

Fill a pot with water, about a full finger's length. Add salt and stir until the water begins to appear cloudy. Bring to a rolling boil. Add pasta, stirring occasionally to ensure all pasta remains under the water and does not stick to the bottom. Cook until the pasta is edible without a crunch, then drain either using a lid or a colander.

Snap the stalks off of the asparagus, holding both ends and bringing them together. Place the tips on a greased baking sheet, cover with oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic. Cook until browned, about 12 minutes. Alternatievly, pan fry in shallow oil with garlic, and cover with salt and pepper when removed.

Long

Ingredients

• 5 cup of Flour
• 2 cup of Water
• 2 tsp of Yeast
• 1 tsp of Salt

1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water, either whisking or by moving the bowl in a circle to stir the water
2. When yeast is dissolved, add the remaining water and the salt, again dissolving by whisking or spinning
3. With a spoon or fork, work two cups of flour into the bowl until fairly evenly combined
4. Add the rest of the flour, and work it in with your hands until the flour is worked into the dough
5. Fold the dough over itself and press it down, then spin the bowl a quarter turn, repeat until well combined into a steady ball
6. Cover the bowl with a warm, damp towel, and let rest somewhere warm for one to two hours, or until doubled in size
7. Remove towel, punch down and briefly reknead the dough, before either covering again and letting rise again, or continuing
8. Shape dough into desired shapes -- sticks, rolls, loaves, braids, etc. -- and place onto greased pans or tins. Again cover with warm towel and let rise about a half-hour
9. Optionally brush bread with melted butter -- Bread brushed by butter bakes better
10. Allow oven to preheat to around 350*F, and then cook for about an hour.

Typical

Ingredients

• 2 cup Flour
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tbs Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 8 tbs Butter or other saturated fat; shortening, tallow, lard, etc.
• 3/4 cup Milk

1. Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl
2. Add butter or fat, and work lightly into the batter
3. Add milk and thoroughly mix
4. Roll dough into a sheet as thick as your thumb
5. Use a cup or mug to make rounds, consolidate and roll remaining dough to make more rounds until all dough used
6. Bake on a greased sheet at 425*F for about 15 minutes

Quick

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Potatoes -- 6 medium russets
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3 tbs Butter
• 1/3 cup Milk

1. Peel and dice potatoes -- finer dice leads to faster cooking
2. Boil potatoes in a pot until soft enough for a fork to easily pierce
3. Drain pot and mash potatoes
4. Add salt, milk, and butter, stir on low heat until butter fully integrated -- less butter and milk yields thicker potatoes, and vice versa

Typical

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Flour
• 3/4 cup Milk
• 5 Eggs

1. Add whisked eggs to flour, whisk while adding milk
2. Pour into greased cupcake tins
3. Bake at 450*F for about 20 minutes or until puffed and brown

Quick

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cup Flour
• 1-1/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 cup Buttermilk -- or put 1tbs acid (lemon juice, white vinegar) into cup measure, and fill rest with milk; twice
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Egg, separated

1. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl well
2. Form a small well in the center, and place the egg yolk, stir loosely
3. Beat the egg white until white and stir into the mix
4. Add wet ingredients, stir till homogenous
5. Cook a large spoon's worth of batter on a greased pan, flip when bubbly on one side

Quick

Ingredients

• 4 slc White Bread
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Cinnamon

1. Whisk ingredients well in a bowl
2. Soak both sides of all bread slices
3. Cook in greased pan until browned
4. Serve optionally with syrup and powdered sugar

Typical

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs Chicken
• 5 Oranges
• 1 Onion
• 2 Red Bell Peppers
• 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
• 2 tbs Honey -- More makes a sweeter sauce
• Flour

1. Chop onion and red pepper finely, and saute in a pan with butter until translucent
2. Chop chicken into thumb-sized cubes, and add to dish
3. Squeeze the juice of five oranges into a bowl
4. When chicken cooked to temperature, add orange juice, honey, and soy sauce
5. Cook on low for a few minutes, before adding flour to thicken to preference

Typical

Ingredients

• 1 lb Penne
• 3 clv Garlic, crushed
• 800 grm Crushed Tomato
• Parmigiano Reggiano
• Chili Flakes
• Parsley
• Oil

1. Set pasta to cook in boiling water
2. Heat some oil in pan, add garlic and chili; heat until fragrant
3. Add tomato, along with salt and pepper, and simmer about 10 to 15 minutes to thicken
4. Add parsley and pasta to the sauce
5. Cover with finely grated parmigiano reggiano

Typical

Ingredients

• 1 jar Red Sauce
• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 1 lb Pasta
• 1 Onion
• 750 ml Red Wine, cheap

1. Set pasta to cook in boiling water
2. Finely chop onion and cook in a pan until fragrant
3. Add ground beef, break up into decent sized chunks and cook until browned
4. Add tomato sauce and wine, and cook until half has boiled away
5. Combine pasta with sauce, serve

Typical

Ingredients

Crust

• 1-1/2 cup Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1-1/2 tsp Sugar
• 3/4 cup Butter
• 5 tbs Water

Filling

• 4 tbs Flour
• 6 Apples, peeled and sliced to eighths
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tbs Lemon Juice
• 2 tbs Butter
• 1 tbs Milk

Crust

1. Combine dry ingredients, and work in butter until mealy.
2. Add water bit by bit, just enough to make the dough stick together.
3. Chill in fridge about an hour, before rolling on a floured worksurface to desired thickness.
4. Lay on pie tin, and press in lightly until bottom and sides are covered.
5. Remove excess, combine and roll into a round big enough to cover the top of the pie

Pie

1. Sprinkle a tablespoon of flour over the bottom crust
2. Mix apples, sugars, cinnamon, lemon, and remaining flour, before pouring into pie crust
3. Add top crust, brush with melted butter and milk. Sprinkle with some sugar
4. Bake at 425*F for 30 minutes, before reducing to 325*F for the final 30 minutes