Foundations - Not Recipes

I want you to build up a foundation of skill making a few core dishes that can be tweaked, transformed, and spread into multiple meals. Clean, simple proteins, greens, vegetables, and grains can be prepared in a variety of ways that are time efficient, cost effective, and delicious. Below, I share some of my go-to, flexible dishes that I am always incorporating into my weekly plan. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I encourage you to adapt to whatever diet you follow, and whatever tastes you may have. You’ll notice I don’t have hyper-specific measurements; this is intentional. Find recipes YOU like. Make food your own. Taste your food as you go. Write your own recipe. 

Before you start

In cooking, there is a concept called mise en place, which literally means to put in place, or everything in its place. Mise en place is the process of reading and understanding the recipe, gathering ingredients, prepping your station, getting your necessary tools, preparing ingredients, such as dicing up veggies, slicing or preparing meats, soaking beans overnight, making or defrosting stocks, and generally getting everything ready for cooking. Read up on it. Learn how do do it. Practice it. If your mise is in order, everything will be so much easier.

What you’ll read below are rough guides to certain recipes. Go out and get a cookbook. A good starting point is Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat. It is accessible and great at explaining the foundations. You also cannot go wrong with Mastering The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. It’s a classic for a reason. 

Simple Proteins

I’m a HUGE fan of buying whole chickens as a go-to protein source. It’s going to be a lot cheaper than boneless skinless breasts or thighs. They go on sale. You can learn to break them down into parts, you can save the carcasses and bones for stock, and you can roast them whole. In my opinion, being able to properly roast a chicken is one of those things that sets you apart from the rabble. It says to the world, “I have made it”. 

It’s really not hard to make a proper roast chicken. Get high quality chicken, 3.5-4.5lbs, season inside with kosher salt and pepper, generously salt the outside, roast in a pan at 400-450F for about 45 minutes until the white meat registers 150F on a thermometer. If you want to get creative and stuff it with herbs and garlic, have at it! Like lemon chicken? Stick a lemon in there. Get creative! Check out chef Thomas Keller’s video on the subject and see for yourself. I’ll serve a roasted chicken with sautéed greens and roasted root vegetables in the fall or winter. It also goes well with salads. Homemade caesar salad with freshly roasted chicken is unbelievably good.

If you’re hellbent on boneless, skinless chicken breast, bake it in the oven with seasoning of your choice and a little olive oil at 450F for about 15 minutes. You can make big batches this way, and I really like it for tacos or if I’m going to be having a lot of salad with chicken breast. For taco seasoning, I’ll go with about a tablespoon of chili powder and ground cumin, a teaspoon of kosher salt and smoked paprika, half that amount of freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and a pinch of cayenne. Again, experiment, there are no hard and fast rules, find something you like. Slather those babies with honey and mustard. It’s your dinner...

Ground turkey and turkey burgers are another go-to. I’ll get a pound of ground turkey, brown it in a pan, add in taco seasoning, diced peppers, and onions, and some canned tomato to make taco meat that I can throw in salads, wraps, or add to rice and beans as a hit of protein. It’s simple to make, you can scale it up if you want a lot of it, doesn’t cost all that much, and can really be spread out. I’ve been on a big turkey burger kick lately too. Good quality pre-made patties go right into a 400F oven and are cooked in less than 20 minutes. I like to add some tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil for turkey burger pizza style. 

Steak is another winner in my book. I’m not saying to sit down to a porterhouse every night, but if you like it, eat it. You can cook it ahead of time, it goes a long way, it’s high in protein, and I love the way it tastes. Get a high quality, grass fed variety, 1-1.5 inches thick. Let the steak sit outside of the fridge for about an hour until it reaches room temp. Heat a cast iron pan on high; you’re going to want it as hot as possible. Pat the steak dry, as dry as you can get it, and salt one side generously with kosher salt before placing it into the hot pan. Let sizzle for a minute, then salt the other side generously and flip. After 30 seconds, flip again, and keep flipping every 30 seconds until the steak has cooked for a total of 4 minutes. Both sides should have a deep brown crust. Use a meat thermometer and test for doneness; for medium rare you’re looking for 120-125F in the middle. If you’re using a thicker steak, you’ll need to cook a little longer. Once you reach desired doneness you can take it off heat and let it rest at least 8 minutes before slicing. Sprinkle with some chopped herbs, grind some fresh pepper and drizzle some good olive oil to kick it up.

I like to add steak to green salads as a protein, especially the day after a heavy lifting session. I’m also really into making skillets, which I’ll explain in the next section. Steak is an excellent accompaniment to a skillet of mushrooms, carrots, and parsnips, or a skillet of sautéed greens, peppers, and onions. And remember from my first post, the meat does not have to be the focal point. One 16 ounce steak can last you four meals if you portion it out properly. 

The same concept applies to any kind of steak, be it beef, bison, pork chop. If it’s thinner, cook for less time. 

For fish and seafood, I’m a big fan, but not really for prepping. I have a weird thing with seafood as leftovers, which is entirely a personal preference; there is certainly nothing wrong about prepping with fish. It can get really expensive though, if you’re going for high quality, responsibly caught fish. With that said, baked salmon makes an excellent fish for prepping. It is easy to make, takes seasoning and sauces really well, and can be added to a salad or eaten on its own with steamed veggies. I absolutely love the NY Times Cooking Miso Glazed Salmon and make this as often as I can accompanied by a salad of mixed lettuces with bell pepper, carrot, and avocado. I make a ginger miso dressing to go with it, also from NY Times Cooking. I’m eating less and less fish these days, as I find it is becoming extremely expensive to get responsibly sourced, wild fish of good quality, but as a treat once in a while, I enjoy it. 

Finally, you have eggs. Eggs are the best! Affordable, easy, and fast. Do yourself a huge favor and get the best quality eggs you can. Free range, local, from the farmer’s market if possible. Frittatas are one of my go-to egg dishes, especially with spinach or other sautéed greens. You can even bake them in muffin tins for grab and go breakfasts. For a 12 muffin pan, crack 10 eggs, add in 1-2 cups of whatever veggies you like, a half cup of cheese if you want, a half teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of milk. Whisk together and pour into a muffin pan that you’ve greased with either melted butter, olive oil, or spray. Bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes, or until the muffins begin to take on a golden brown color. 

Also, a note on scrambled eggs and omelettes; cook them low and slow, and keep them moving. This is a great example of how to cook an omelette. You’ll thank me later. Please don’t cook the crap out of them on high, they should not cook in 20 seconds.

Greens and Veggies

Eat salad. Just do it. It’s so easy. It’s affordable. It’s healthy. You can make it however you like. You need to eat veggies, and eating a salad is an easy way to get veggies and nutrients that you need. Find greens that you like, find a few veggies you like, add in a protein source that you like, add in a carb if you like, and make a simple dressing. Lemon and oil, oil and vinegar, a dijonette, Cesar, green goddess, carrot-ginger-miso; all good! Just stay away from the bottled stuff with all the processed garbage in it. Make dressing from scratch at home, it’s cheaper, healthier, and it’s easy. Search online for a recipe, there are a million out there. 

Now that we’re past that, when it comes to prep, I usually roast, steam, and sauté veggies in batches for the week. 

In the fall and winter, I roast a lot of root vegetables. Potatoes, squash, beets, carrots, parsnips, celery root. What’s fresh, local, and in season? If they have something that looks good and can hold up to a roast at the farmer’s market, like root veggies, squashes, broccoli, cauliflower, I’ll go for it. You cube the stuff up into 1-2 inch pieces, season with a little salt and pepper, rub with olive oil, spread out on baking sheets (being sure to leave a little room between the veggies) and roast at 400F until tender. Particularly with roasted root veggies, or broccoli, If I start to get tired of eating the stuff, I’ll add some stock, simmer on the stove, and blitz with an immersion blender to make soup. Turn it into something else!

Steaming is stupid easy. Get a steam basket for one of your pots. Fill the pot with water until it just about touches the bottom of the steam basket. Add broccoli, zucchini, carrots, whatever, and cook until tender. Season with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. Are you trying to cut weight like a maniac? That boneless, skinless baked chicken breast and steamed veggies will be your best friend. 

If you like flavor and good health, I’m a huge fan of greens. Chard, spinach, kale, beet greens, broccoli rabe all make me happy. A simple sauté with a little olive oil, a couple of crushed garlic cloves, and a pinch of salt and pepper flakes until the leaves just begin to wilt is my favorite. 

I like to make what I’ll call a “skillet” of sautéed onions, peppers, and greens. Sometimes I’ll add mushrooms. Another combo I love is mushroom ragout with roughly diced carrots, parsnips, and celery, (1 cup each) sautéed until soft and caramelized, (about 10 minutes). I add in 2 pints of quartered mushrooms, and cook for another 10. Then I add in a tablespoon of white miso paste and a half tablespoon of tomato paste to the vegetable mixture, cook for a few minutes, and add approximately a cup and a half of stock to deglaze and create a very flavorful sauce. Pair this with polenta. I’ve also done skillets with butternut squash and greens; brussel sprouts and sweet potato; ground bison, sweet potato and chard. There are tons of combinations you can make. Go ahead and experiment. 

Grains and Legumes

Grains and legumes are great for prepping and for saving money, particularly when you buy them in bulk at a local food co-op or health food store. They are easy to make in large batches and can provide a ton of flexibility. 

Rice, quinoa, and polenta are my go to grains for meal prep. Other great options are farro, millet, and couscous. All of these grains can be kicked up in a really big way by cooking them in a broth or stock, whether it’s vegetable, or chicken. I’ve never really been a huge fan of brown rice for example, but brown rice cooked in chicken stock as opposed to water really works for me. Likewise, polenta cooked in chicken stock serves as a delicious and filling base to even the simplest veggie based dish. Polenta is a great, often overlooked grain that is easy to make, affordable, and can be made in milk, water, broth, whatever you like!

Amy Chapin’s book At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen is a terrific resource if you are interested in learning how to cook with and incorporate a wide range of whole grains and legumes. I highly recommend picking up a copy. 

Legumes, such as lentils and beans, make for excellent sources of protein and minerals. If you’re a vegan or are trying to cut out meat, you’re going to want to get comfortable with these guys. Buy dried beans and soak them overnight before cooking. Or buy canned beans, they’re fine too, especially if you get the organic low sodium kind. Beans are great if you’re on a budget and you’re looking for something healthy. One of the easiest, cheapest, fastest healthy dinners is what I’ll call greens and beans. For two people, if you want to have lunch and dinner covered, get two cans of cannellini or white beans, a few cloves of garlic, and a couple of heads of kale or a bunch of broccoli rabe. Wash the greens and rip into bite sized pieces, remove the kale stalk. Rinse and drain the beans. Add about a tablespoon of oil to a pan set on medium heat. Crush and roughly chop 3 cloves of garlic and add to the oil, and add a pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste. Don’t let the garlic burn; just before it starts to go golden brown, add in the greens, cook until they just start to wilt. Add in your beans. Turn off the heat. Serve. It’s really good, it takes all of 10 minutes, and you can get 4 meals out of it for about $8. 

Soups, Stews, and Stocks

It’s hard to beat a good soup or stew. They’re healthy, they go a long way, they’re affordable, you can freeze batches for later, and they’re pretty much set and forget. Start with stock, add veggies, legumes, meat, whatever you like, and cook together. Boom, done. 

Here are some of my go to, favorites:

Broccoli and Potato Soup: Filling, healthy, delicious. I like to roast around 2 pounds of broccoli, lightly oiled, in the oven at 400F for about 20 minutes. With 10 minutes left, heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven and add in 1 chopped sweet onion, at least 5 crushed garlic cloves, and a pinch of red pepper flakes and salt. Soften the veggies, about 10 minutes on medium heat, then add about 1/2 pound of potato that has been peeled and cut into 2 inch cubes. Add in 1 quart of stock or water, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook the potato until you can easily pierce with a fork or knife, (about 10 minutes) then add in the broccoli, cook another 10. After, use an immersion blender to puree. You can add in salt and pepper to taste at this point, and a little squeeze of lemon goes a long way to brighten the dish. 

Roasted Root Vegetable Soup: Good way to use up winter leftovers. If I make a big batch of roasted root vegetables (carrots, fennel, celery root) and squash, but get sick of eating them after a few days, I’ll heat some butter an oil in a pot, throw some diced onion and smashed garlic into the pot, cook for 5 minutes, then throw in the veggies and just barely cover with stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 to heat, and then hit it with an immersion blender. It’s good as it is, or add cream. You can even add in some apples for a little sweetness. Hit it with the immersion blender and you’ve got a delicious and healthy lunch or light dinner to stretch out leftovers. 

Beef Stew: Just go use this recipe. It’s stupid how good it is.

Lentil Soup: Filling, hearty, cheap, healthy. This is a great call when you’re trying to stretch your budget. Check out the rest of her youtube channel, this nonna has it going on! I love so many of her recipes, and they’re largely super economical, go a long way, and can feed an entire village. Plus there’s something magical about listening to her talk, it’s like witchcraft; she’s just talking the food into being delicious. Enjoy!

Don’t be afraid to try this stuff out. Don’t be afraid to experiment. The whole point here is to find things that taste good, that can be replicated, and that aren’t difficult for you to make regularly. If you want to control what you eat, eat really well while staying on or under budget, or if you enjoy the process, go get in the kitchen, do your research, and take your time.