Also, is the meat-eater the one who is happy with soup, or the one who wants more food? If the latter, then baking several pieces of chicken on Sunday and then reheating it to go along with the soup might solve the problem well. You can use those mushroom soup cubes as an easy way to season the chicken decently without having to put a lot of time into it.
The latter. Everyone in my family but me is a meat eater. It seems to me that this should not be a problem, that there are lots of dishes that can be made vegetarian and have the option of adding meat(obviously non-dairy vegetarian dishes, but still, stir fry is a good example, stir up the vegetables in one big wok and then if people want meat they can cook that up in another pot, or alternatively stir up half the vegetables in one pot w/o meat and the other in another pot w/meat)
Seems to be. Or at least, it seemed to be when I asked my mom this afternoon what she did when my brother and I were kids since the answer was some weird comment about meat....I don't know how to explain it, there are times when in practice it's not a problem, ie during the summer when things are being grilled(ie I'll have a veggie burger while the rest eat hamburgers), but when it comes to trying to work out actual recipes and menus for an entire week it seems to be problematic.
I don't know if this makes any sense or if it's just a rant. I appreciate your thoughts though!
two thoughts on spiceswotyfreeJanuary 27 2011, 21:36:04 UTC
There's a lot of flexibility in spaces, and a lot of it is subject to personal taste. So I have two thoughts on how to season things:
1) There's a big difference between improvising with spices you're familiar with and new spices. For something you haven't cooked with much before, it's likely to be a good idea to follow the recipe; for something you're more familiar with, it's better to rely on your own judgement (you probably know how much onion you like in your soup better than someone you've never met, for instance.)
2) For things that can be safely tasted before they are fully cooked, adding spice slowly and tasting as you go is the best way to get a flavor you like.
Well, if you want something to last a whole week, you make copious amounts of it and hope for the best. As for transformation, I think the biggest thing is planning. It's much easier if you draw out a map of what you want to do before you get started, rather than trying to improvise as you go. I use the idea of "building blocks" for a meal. This means that you make a few key things, usually proteins or carbs, which you then dress up differently every night with ingredients already at hand
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A quick reply. First, Thank you!!! For this(ie above), for the recipes you emailed(I bookmarked the website and can't wait to start making some of the recipes!) and for your general good sense about cooking. :)
The irony of my post is that at school when I lived off campus, and the summers that I spent studying abroad, so basically anytime that I've lived independent of my parents, this has been a non-issue, I know in theory how to make one meal last the whole week in variations, it just seems to be an issue here when trying to please everyone. It's so complicated. I need to write you a letter, so I'll tell you about all the ridiculous complications there. :)
I agree, cooking for other people can be stressful and confusing... maybe if you make a plan in advance, and circulate it for comments (ie, post it on the fridge), things would go better? That way, they can't complain that you didn't inform them, and it's their own fault if they don't let you know their opinions. The policy that seems to have emerged with my family is that if somebody makes a meal and you don't like it, you eat a little of it and then go make your own food. It's not a perfect plan by any means, but at least everyone ends up being reasonably satisfied.
My problem when cooking for other people is that I have very little idea of what constitutes reasonable portion sizes, so I never know how much to make. This is especially true because I have no idea how much I'm going to eat at any given situation, since so much of it depends on external variables like activity levels and whatnot.
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I don't know if this makes any sense or if it's just a rant. I appreciate your thoughts though!
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1) There's a big difference between improvising with spices you're familiar with and new spices. For something you haven't cooked with much before, it's likely to be a good idea to follow the recipe; for something you're more familiar with, it's better to rely on your own judgement (you probably know how much onion you like in your soup better than someone you've never met, for instance.)
2) For things that can be safely tasted before they are fully cooked, adding spice slowly and tasting as you go is the best way to get a flavor you like.
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The irony of my post is that at school when I lived off campus, and the summers that I spent studying abroad, so basically anytime that I've lived independent of my parents, this has been a non-issue, I know in theory how to make one meal last the whole week in variations, it just seems to be an issue here when trying to please everyone. It's so complicated. I need to write you a letter, so I'll tell you about all the ridiculous complications there. :)
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My problem when cooking for other people is that I have very little idea of what constitutes reasonable portion sizes, so I never know how much to make. This is especially true because I have no idea how much I'm going to eat at any given situation, since so much of it depends on external variables like activity levels and whatnot.
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