(Chat) "A good cook " ?

[Wimpy]

Almost anyone can make something taste good by doctoring it up with sugar, cream, fat or other stuff that's really not so good for you.
But a good cook can make a dish or recipe mostly good by the use of healthful ingredients. And that may be the difference between a good cook and a bad one. ?

Hey ever wonder what a baked potato really tastes like ? Well leave off the sour cream , butter and junk and eat it like it is. ( perhaps however a small amount of salt.) You will find out what a baked potato really tastes like. (man o man is it good) However if you must cover the taste, try putting some butter buds and a teaspoon of popcorn butter oil into a 6 oz cup of plain yogurt. (tastes like the sour cream and butter route.) Now watch some yogurt co put this one out . ha.
Probably not many of the younger generation remembers, but we used to let our cream sour sometimes and then churn it into butter . Ymmmm. But we know better now and don use that cream stuff. The yogurt formula above replicates it somewhat and guess what: ? Ya can use all you want fur it is good for ya. It is delicious on vegetables, and etc also. That is if you have to hide the flavor of what you are eating. Ha. note: don try on popcorn for the water in it will shrink it.
Wimpy has little use for a lot of red meat nowadays since he grew up and started eating right, but I remember when ones used to pour steak sauce all over their steak. I guess they really didn’t like the taste of steak so they had to cover it up. ? Or all those recipes on how to make wild meat like venison taste like beef. Ha. I say if you don’t want meat to taste like venison then don kill it and eat it. Eat Beef in the first place.
Hey ones: Are we people not funny ?

 

[jeannie]

Hey Wimpy!

Always looking for natural fat replacements!

I quit using low/non fat *anything* a few months ago. I went to a women's wellness seminar hosted by a woman physician and part of the discussion focused on the dairy industry.

Lots of eye opening information about the actual processing of non fat/low fat foods. These plastic fats will build up plaque in your arteries faster than you can say 'cheese'.

As a result, I haven't noticed any weight gain and probably eat a lot less, as food containing the right kind of fats fills me up. Enjoy everything in moderation!

As far as cooking, I've tried cooking in a variety of non fat alternatives. Food just isn't the same since you don't get the same chemical reactions. (It took me over 30 years, but I discovered that my kitchen is the chemistry set I always wanted)

This physician gave her recipe for a *better butter*

Whip together:
7T of olive oil per stick of butter

Use extra-extra virgin oil (or sesame oil), as the first press has the most nutrients.

Refridgerate in glass container.

Blessings,
Jeannie

 

[Wimpy]

No offense Jennie but I don swallow that stuff. ha

First thing that works when you want to lower yr cholesterol is to eliminate red meat and eggs and oil, and dairy products. The best way to lower yr weight is to eliminate the above plus sugar and sweets .
It’s the calories guy/gal.
I get a kick out of people (probably not in yr case Jennie however) they protect and make excuses for what they are: For instance my mothers favorite saying ( who used to be over weight ) used to be; " You have to eat a lot and get a lot of food to get the proper nourishment. " Well now since I and my wife have been doing her cooking for a4 years she has lost down to normal. she walks normal now and feels better than she has for years. Now of course she says: "it is bad for one to be obese . ha.
Of course If we are talking about using yogurt instead of butter and sour cream. Yogart is indeed a dairy product (full of useful yeast) but is not a synthesized excuse or substitute for fat. Nor could we call it a plastic fat. I would probably agree with you on some of the new substitutes.

It is all a matter of how we want us to be . Fat or not-fat. Smoker or non smoker, doper or dope free. Adictive to alcahol or non. good or bad, clean or dirty, Feel good about ourselves (in honesty) or feel disgusted at ourselves for lack of will power.

Good to talk to you Jennie. Happy living

Like a friend told me once that had a heart attack: "I used to live to eat , now I eat to live>"

 

[Cassie]

Great topic, Wimpy!

My mom and I were talking the other day about the meals we used to have when I was a kid. She can't remember this, but when the grocery budget got really low, she would feed us kids bread and gravy. To this day I can't eat white bread, or gravy. I do remember that we didn't have a lot to eat at one time. And since there were 7 of us, the portions were smaller, which was better for us in the long run.

We didn't have a TV so we weren't couch potatoes. My grandmother used to make fried noodles with bread cubes, and the best fried potatoes made in a cast iron skillet. Never had pop or junk food. Times have changed. We have too much of the wrong stuff these days. ("We" meaning me and my immediate family.)

We had a large garden and grew nearly all of our vegetables for the year. Mom and I stayed up till midnight many summer nights canning and freezing. I know I would be much healthier if I went back to eating like we did in the 50s.

I have made some changes this summer, like eating less meat per serving, eating more fruits and veggies, drinking purified water, getting more exercise and adequate sleep. Sweets and chocolate are my downfall, but I am working on that one, too!!

Looks like this is a good place to get encouragement. Thanks!!

Healthfully,
Cassie

 

[BillBk]

when the grocery budget got really low, she would feed us kids bread and gravy. To this day I can't eat white bread, or gravy. I do remember that we didn't have a lot to eat at one time. And since there were 7 of us, the portions were smaller, which was

Me too!
Seven kids,dad was paid every two weeks,had bread and gravy two or three days the second week most times.
Grew up thinking fried spam was a special meal! Making sure my kids grow up thinking spam is catfish bait!

 

[5 gallon bucket]

Good flavor w/o high fat

Wimpy,

Your topic was on my mind when I spotted the "stew" thread and thought it might be more helpful there.

I was also raised in a household where money was tight and Mom occasionally fixed what the military called S--- on a shingle. Funny thing is...we all loved it! Mom used herbs and a few spices plus her own technique (rinse the salt, blot, allow to dry, then "frizzle" the beef) and make the gravy as I described on the "stew" thread. Instead of the white, wallpaper paste that some call gravy, hers was brown, flavorful and nutritious. Mine is okay but not as good as hers was, though.

 

[BillBk]

BEEF! What beef? You rich kids just don't know what we're talkin 'bout!

 

[Lady of the Lake]

My grandparents had a large dairy farm. The table literally GROANED with delicious food, all made with butter and cream. There was always more butter and cream in serving dishes on the table. Meat at every meal. They both lived long, healthy lives.

I've mulled this over many times over the years. They broke all the modern dietary "rules" and were healthy anyway. I've come to the conclusion that they could eat what they liked because they were active. I mean ACTIVE. They did hard physical labor long after they were wealthy enough to hire it done. They worked because they were German and it was part of their culture.
I truly believe this. After all, God wouldn't give us all these wonderful foods to enjoy, and then say "If you eat it, I'll kill ya'.
What does everyone else think?

 

[Cassie]

Lady of the Lake .....

I whole heartedly agree!! They probably grew their own fruits and vegetables which were free from pesticides. How about their own meat from animals that weren't fed hormones.

By the time they filled up on the good foods, they didn't have room or the desire to eat all the junk we normally snack on. And because they were *active*, they didn't watch TV to learn all about the happy meals and other such fattening foods awaiting them on every street corner in town. (I live in a big city.)

Probably had well water that wasn't contaminated with chlorine and flouride. Didn't have colors, preservatives and additives in all their food. Grandma baked her own bread and rolls, I'll bet.

I could go on and on. So those are some of the reasons the foods that would be bad for us now, weren't bad for them back then. Plus, what they ate was f-r-e-s-h. Those were the good ole days.

Cassie

 

[Wimpy]

Cassie and Lady of the lake, and ones

You both make good points. My Father ate a lot of fatty meat and his cholesterol was always low, and yes he worked hard.
However I still think just because something is here on earth or at our access that it may not be entirely good for us.
Like for instance: God gave us sex tools , but things can be overdone . ha ha know what I mean ?

Hmmmm no excuses now gals/guys: Just because Chocolate and sugar and fat in here on the earth don mean we should live on them. In case you haven’t noticed: , there are also greens, vegetables, and the like here also. In fact if you are overweight and want to lose some weight the worse thing you can do is eat something you like best of all. Eat what you don like so well and you will probably lose a few pounds. Ha. I do get a kick of out people that say : I don like this or I don like that: The truth is that they do like it and would eat it if they had nothing else to eat, but use that as an excuse to eat what they prefer, and let me tell you/ me: most of the preference is junk food. . Be truthful ones. You may as well be an honest obese person as a dishonest one. Ha.

Ps. I was fed oatmeal. Potatoes and gravy, and beans by the tons for my folks were not very well off either, but today I love oatmeal potatoes , gravy. And beans. In fact I didn’t grow up until I was about 30 and now I eat almost everything. Try to make the rounds . Believe that it is possible that a little bit of everything may be good for ones health.

 

[Cassie]

Wimpy......

The key word here is "moderation." Did you miss my point that things on the dietary front back then were vastly different than they are now? Certainly we cannot eat everything we want or as much as we want and remain healthy.

I got the impression from Lady's post that just because there was plenty on the table, that her grandparents didn't stuff themselves with it. It was just there for the enjoying. Perhaps they lived long healthy lives because they ate those foods in moderation, along with all the other healthy fruits and veggies that they probably grew in their own gardens.
(Read my entire post again, not just the first sentence. )

Today's problem, is that most of us don't have/take the time to cook using fresh, either because it isn't available, or is too expensive compared with canned or frozen.

I also think life styles have a lot to do with weight problems. And you commented that junk food is the preference of Americans -- well, what commercials do we see on TV? Mostly junk food. I can't remember when I last saw a commercial for fresh strawberries or leafy spinach or grain fed beef. A sign of the times, I suspect.

But back to your original question.

And that may be the difference between a good cook and a bad one. ?

Not sure. Is a good cook one who makes healthy meals, or one who cooks meals that taste good? Or is it both? I think the answer to that lies in each person's definition of "good".

Hmmmmmm.

Cassie