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  WOODEN SPOON SETS

  These are very inexpensive and effective. Usually these sets come with several wooden spoons and a few wooden spatulas. I use them all the time. It’s handy to keep them in a pitcher or vase by the stove for easy grabbing. Keep some whisks, tongs, and other frequently used items in there as well.

  RUBBER SPATULAS

  They’re cheap, so get a few of various dimensions. Invest in heatproof ones, which cost a bit more but won’t melt into your scrambled eggs.

  THIN-BLADED METAL SPATULA

  This tool is indispensable for when you want to loosen and then flip a burger or other skillet food and don’t want to leave any of the crisp parts in the pan.

  WHISKS

  Get yourself a set of whisks—small, medium, and large—and you’ll be able to handle anything from whipping cream to whipping up a salad dressing.

  TONGS

  Spring-loaded tongs that you can use with one hand are indispensable. Watch any professional cook in action, and you’ll see why.

  SCISSORS

  Buy a pair to use just for food and keep them in your kitchen drawer. You will be surprised at how much these will get used—from snipping chives and other herbs to cutting fish and poultry. Like your knives, your kitchen scissors will last longer and perform better if you have them professionally sharpened from time to time.

  LADLE

  Get a 4-to 6-ounce ladle for soups and stews and for ladling pasta water from the pot into a sauce.

  GARLIC PRESS

  When you see a recipe that calls for minced garlic in this book, you can either mince it with a knife or press it through a garlic press, which saves time.

  BOX GRATER

  A good, heavy-duty box grater is indispensable for grating everything from vegetables and potatoes to cheese.

  MICROPLANE GRATER

  These ultrasharp graters, sold in cookware stores, are fabulous for fine-grating citrus zest and ginger, hard cheeses like Parmesan, and chocolate (for sprinkling on desserts or drinks as a garnish).

  PASTRY BRUSH

  Useful for spreading olive oil on baking trays or brushing food with oil or melted butter.

  VEGETABLE PEELER

  Look for a good, sturdy one, either Y-shaped or straight. A cheap, flimsy peeler will slow you down and won’t do as thorough a job.

  INSTANT-READ THERMOMETER

  If you will be cooking meat or chicken, this is your “when is it done?” insurance policy (see Chapter 6: Chicken, Fish, and Meat).

  MEASURING SPOONS

  Treat yourself to a nice, heavy-duty set. Actually, treat yourself to two. I find that having two sets really helps when you are measuring both dry and wet ingredients in one go-round and you want to keep them separate.

  DRY MEASURING CUPS

  These are used to measure dry ingredients, such as flour, and have flat edges, so that you can fill them and then scrape the excess off with the back of a knife blade. This gives you a more accurate measure for dry ingredients than a liquid measuring cup (see below).

  LIQUID MEASURING CUPS

  These are usually made of glass with measurement lines on the side. Get two heatproof glass ones with spouts for pouring—one 2-cup and one 4-cup capacity. These can be used both for measuring and for heating/melting ingredients (like milk or butter) in the microwave.

  OTHER HELPFUL TOOLS AND GADGETS

  Salad spinner

  Dish towels

  A heavy-duty apron or two

  Citrus juicer or reamer

  A hardworking peppermill

  ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES

  Blender and/or immersion blender (see Chapter 1: Soups)

  Hand-held electric mixer

  Toaster oven

  Microwave

  FOR STORAGE

  Containers: Collect food containers with tight-fitting lids in various sizes (store them stacked, with covers in a shoebox on the side). This is better for the environment than using plastic bags and plastic wrap. Also, save those plastic tubs with tight-fitting lids—the ones left over from when you binged on a bulk cookie purchase at the club store. They’re great for storing grains, beans, nuts, and dried fruit, and they stack well for space-saving.

  Jars with lids: Wash and save jars. Small ones are great for storing all your brilliant homemade salad dressings. Larger ones are perfect for keeping dried fruit and nuts, or beans, lentils, and grains.

  Resealable plastic bags: Lay in a supply of freezer-weight and regular-weight bags in various sizes. (If this goes against your environmental values, just stick with the leftover containers, above.)

  Plastic bags: If the ones you brought home from the produce section or the farmers’ market are clean and dry, keep them for further use.

  Large coffee cans: Clean them out when the coffee is gone, and use them to store those plastic bags you saved.

  Permanent markers: Keep a few around for labeling whatever you are storing, with both the item name and the date. You might think this is overkill, but you will later thank yourself for doing this, I promise.

  Aluminum foil and plastic wrap: These take turns being indispensable.

  Shoeboxes: These are great for storing small bags of spices bought in bulk (which reminds me to recommend that you look for specialty food stores that sell spices in bulk, by the ounce, which will save you lots of money over time).

  SPECIALTY FOODS

  I will often suggest small touches of certain special ingredients—often as get creative additions to the recipes. Note that these are “special” and not “essential.” Here’s some useful information about them, so you can stock up to the degree that your wallet allows.

  But first, before we get to the fun part, a few words about oil.

  You will be cooking with oil a lot throughout this book. Your standard, everyday workhorse oils will, in most cases, be olive oil (choose a not-too-expensive extra-virgin) plus a second, more neutral-tasting oil, to use when olive flavor is incompatible with the dish. For this second oil, I recommend canola, soy, or peanut oil. Occasionally, but not often, I will also include some butter (which vegans can simply omit). So these are your daily heavy lifters. Onward to the flavoring ones.

  High-quality olive oil: There are many, many imported and domestic olive oils on the market these days, ranging from “pure” to “extra-virgin.” As I mentioned above, I recommend using a not-too-expensive extra-virgin for everyday cooking and salad dressings, and keeping an extra-extra special one around for special-occasion finishing and drizzling (recommended throughout the book). A small drizzle can have a large and good effect, so you can use this economically.

  Toasted sesame oil: This dark Chinese flavoring oil is sold in the Asian foods section of supermarkets. All I want to say is “please get some”—it’s that good, and that important an ingredient.

  Other roasted nut and seed oils: These profoundly flavorful seasoning oils (which include walnut, almond, hazelnut, pistachio, and pumpkin seed oils) are not for cooking, but rather for drizzling onto your cooked food as a “flavor finish” or to supplement the olive oil in salad dressings. You can also use them as a dunk for fresh bread to create an exquisite appetizer, soup accompaniment, or quick snack.

  Keep all oils stored in a cool, dark place—or in the refrigerator. This is especially true for the “gourmet” ones, so they will stay good over the period of time you are parceling them out.

  Pure maple syrup: No imitations, now or ever, or you will go to culinary jail. Actually, I’m only somewhat kidding. If you love maple syrup impersonators on your pancakes, I won’t tell you to stop using them there. But please don’t cook or bake with them.

  Vinegars: Store these in your cupboard (they keep indefinitely): cider vinegar; a decent, moderately priced balsamic; red wine vinegar; seasoned rice vinegar (make sure the label says “seasoned”). From there, you can experiment with fancier varieties, such as sherry, raspberry, and so on.

  Pomegranate molasses: This sweet-tart-tangy syrup made from reduced pomegr
anate juice is available at Middle Eastern food shops and in the imported foods section of many grocery stores. It keeps forever in your cupboard, and a little bit goes a long way, adding flavor and bright color to Middle Eastern dishes and all kinds of other foods, from salads and grilled chicken to yogurt and cheese.

  Dried fruit: Keep a supply of dried apricots, prunes, figs, dates, cherries, cranberries, and blueberries (as well as other, more exotic dried fruit, such as pears, papayas, and chili-dusted mango) on hand to liven up salads, grains, entrées, and desserts.

  “Designer” salts: Fancy salts harvested from the sea and mined from the land are becoming more popular all the time. As an alternative to ordinary table salt, kosher salt has a pure, clean flavor and somewhat coarse grains, and it’s a great multipurpose choice that goes anywhere, including the rim of a margarita glass. Sea salt tends to have a more assertive flavor than kosher salt and can be fine or coarse. Specialty salts, like fleur de sel, gray salt, black salt, and pink salt, tend to have a coarse, crunchy texture, which makes them a good choice for “finishing”—that is, sprinkling on dishes like salads or vegetables at the very last minute, so their texture and intense hit of saltiness stand out. Then there are flavor-infused options, like smoked salts and truffle salts. And of course, there’s only one way to know which of any of these you’ll like: buy a few and start experimenting.

  Get Preppy

  Most cooking involves an initial preparation phase, in which you cut stuff up. Check out the prep videos at get-cooking.com for quick lessons in the best way to handle most vegetables. And in the meantime, on Get Cooking is a quick reference guide to basic prep techniques you’ll be using to make the recipes in this book.

  VEGETABLE CHOPPING GUIDE

  As you become increasingly comfortable and adept at chopping, cooking will feel more and more fluid, like a dance. (Go ahead and put on some music!) Be sure to use a very sharp knife (see Get Cooking), go slow, and pay careful attention while you work. (Don’t try to motor your way through at the speed of light, as some of the cool chefs seem to do on TV. Please!) Always maneuver whatever item you are cutting into the most stable position on the cutting board (for example, flat side down after an initial cut—or just plain hold it very steady with your noncutting hand), in order to keep things safe. (An escaping morsel can lead to your slicing your hand instead!) For vegetables not covered in this guide, use the same principles as those on the following pages. This process will become familiar to you soon enough. Have fun!

  BELL PEPPER Cut in half lengthwise • Cut out and discard stem, seeds, and inner membranes • Slice lengthwise into strips (thicker for diced; thinner for minced) • Cut across the strips to dice or mince

  BROCCOLI Cut off and discard base (bottom inch or so) • Use peeler to shave tough skin from remainder of stem • Cut on slight diagonal into stalks and florets • For chopped broccoli, cut across stalks and florets into smaller pieces

  CARROT Peel • Cut off and discard stem end • Cut across into 2-inch sections • Slice sections lengthwise into flat, wide pieces • Slice each piece lengthwise into strips • Cut across the strips to dice

  …and this is how to just plain slice one

  GARLIC Separate bulb into cloves • Lay clove on its side and smack with side of knife to loosen skin • Remove and discard skin • Slice into thin strips and then cut across the strips (and/or every which way) to mince

  GINGER Scrape off and discard skin • Slice lengthwise into wide, thin pieces • Cut pieces into thin strips • Cut across the strips (and/or every which way) to mince

  ONION Remove and discard peel and ends • Cut in half from top to bottom • Slice into strips (thicker for chopped; thinner for diced; thinnest for minced) • Cut across the strips to chop, dice, or mince

  PARSLEY/CILANTRO Remove and discard large stems • Chop the rest, picking out and discarding any larger stem remnants as you go (okay to leave in smaller stems)

  SCALLION Remove and discard ends and any limp or damaged greens • Slice the white part lengthwise two or three times • Cut across to mince

  For rounds or ovals, skip the lengthwise cuts, and make thin slices across (diagonal for the greens)

  soups.

  HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

  CARAMELIZED BALSAMIC–RED ONION SOUP WITH CHEESE-TOPPED CROUTONS

  CREAMY TOMATO-BASIL SOUP WITH PARMESAN FRICOS

  CUBAN BLACK BEAN SOUP

  CORN CHOWDER

  WHITE CHEDDAR MASHED POTATO SOUP

  HOT AND SOUR SOUP WITH FRESH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS

  CREAM OF SPINACH AND BROCCOLI SOUP

  NORTH AFRICAN RED LENTIL SOUP

  ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP

  The How of Soup

  If you want to master the art of making a good home-cooked meal for yourself and the people in your life, soup is a perfect place to start.

  Soup fills your home with the welcoming smell of good things simmering, and in most cases it practically cooks itself, once you do a bit of initial ingredient prep. Why not just open a can? Well, when you’re pressed for time, there’s nothing wrong with that. But a little time making soup from scratch is a great investment that beats canned soup hands down.

  Why?

  It’s tastier because you’re in control of the ingredients and the seasonings, and you can choose what’s fresh and in season for the raw materials.

  It’s cheaper, especially when you consider that a big pot of soup can last for several meals or feed a crowd.

  It’s likely to be healthier, because the ingredients are freshly prepared and less chemically “enhanced.”

  It generally freezes and reheats well.

  It’s filling and soul-satisfying.

  And, best of all, it’s something wonderful you can take pride in having created—often from next to nothing.

  Soup is, generally speaking, ingredients simmered with water or broth—sometimes puréed, sometimes not—served hot (or sometimes cold). It’s about that simple. So, if you have a large heavy pot, a ladle, and something to purée with, even the tiniest apartment can be home to a great soup kitchen.

  READ BEFORE YOU LEAP

  There’s no single way to make soup, and some recipes involve a little more advance preparation than others. That’s why it’s important to read through any recipe in this chapter (and really, any recipe at all) before you start cooking—and especially before you decide to make it for the first time. That way, you’ll be able to gauge the timing, check what ingredients you need, and decide if this is one for tonight or something to try next weekend.

  PURÉEING SOUP

  Many soups are made by cooking ingredients like potatoes or vegetables in broth or water until they’re soft, and then puréeing them to achieve a thick, smooth consistency. A regular stand blender works well for the purpose, but an immersion blender is even better. Whichever way you go, before you purée any soup, let it cool down a bit so you don’t get burned if any accidentally spills or splashes.

  Blender Ladle some of the soup into the blender, filling it no more than two-thirds full so the steam doesn’t blow the lid off when you turn on the motor. Put the lid on the blender, and then fold a kitchen towel in half and drape it over the lid (another very helpful safety measure to keep hot soup from splattering you). Put one hand on the towel and hold the lid down firmly before you turn on the motor. With the other hand, turn the blender on, setting it to its lowest speed (cranking it to “high” right away will probably pop the lid). Then increase the speed gradually to the highest setting.

  After a few seconds, turn off the blender and check to see if you’ve reached the consistency you’re looking for. If you want a chunky soup, it’s usually best to purée some of the soup completely and then combine that with the remaining unblended soup. (You can also simply purée all of the soup, “pulsing” the motor on and off a few times so the soup doesn’t get completely liquefied.)

  Because you’re puréeing in batches, you’ll need a large container,
bowl, or a second soup pot to hold the blended soup as you work. When you’re done, pour everything back into the original cooking pot to reheat the soup; or for cold soups or ones you’re making in advance, let the soup cool in the container and then cover it and chill it in the refrigerator.

  Immersion blender Immersion blenders (also known as stick blenders) are among a handful of game-changing kitchen tools. So if you’re liking the idea of making soup a more regular part of your life, I highly recommend you rush out and buy one. They’re not that expensive, and they have several advantages over a conventional blender: There’s no second bowl or pot to dirty up, because the puréeing happens right in the soup pot. They’re easy and fast to use, because you don’t have to work in batches. They allow you to see just how puréed everything is getting, so you can stop the minute you’ve achieved the texture you want. And they’re easy to clean and don’t take up much space. Convinced?