Everyday Food fairy

Last month we received a copy of Everyday Food magazine in the mail. You know how much I love that mag, but I had let my subscription expire many months ago. I can't remember renewing it.

So unless I was sleep walking and my over-productive mind logged on to the computer and renewed my subscription, someone else bought this for us. The question is: Was it you??? I've been asking around and can't figure it out.

Fess up, Everyday Food fairy! And, thank you! Now I have a number of new recipes to add to the recipe notebook, which has been hungry for some new dishes.

Tip 8: Best food magazines

I am not from a family of chefs. There are no recipes passed along from generation to generation, except for maybe Grandma's potato salad recipe. As a young adult, I've struggled with trying to find new items to cook. Enter, food magazines: a cheap source for inspiration, and a way to encourage recipe organization. I recommend you...

Tip 8: Subscribe to several food magazines for at least a year.

As I read my food magazines, I rip out recipes and organize them into my recipe notebook. I know that if I don't do it immediately, it will never get done, and why waste time reading the same magazine twice?

Here are my favorites, in order:

1. Everyday Food -- I cannot sing its praises enough. This magazine is made for people like me -- people with limited cooking skills, limited time and limited funds. Many recipes are healthy, too. And, the magazine is perfectly organized into segments with recurring features. Here's one of my favorite recipes: chocolate pecan pie bars.
   
2. Cooking Light -- As the name implies, all recipes are geared toward healthy living. Recipes are more complicated than Everyday Food recipes because they usually require more time and ingredients, but it's a useful resource for helping you get out of your routines and become a more advanced cook. Here's a good weekday dinner: chicken souvlaki.
   
3. Martha Stewart Living -- This magazine is my overall favorite magazine, but it only ranks third in my list because many recipes are just more advanced versions of what I find in Everyday Food. But, I have to highly recommend this chicken enchiladas verdes recipe.
4. Wegmans' Menu magazine -- Here you'll find the ingredients list and step-by-step instructions for repeating many of the items you'll find in the prepared foods section. I look at this magazine because I get it for free in the mail. One observation: you can get the same information by asking the people who work in the prepared foods section of Wegmans or any other grocery store to give you an ingredients list for the foods you like. We did this at Wegmans for our favorite Greek pasta salad (which also happens to have its full ingredients list online!).
   

If you can only afford or only have time for one food magazine, stick with Everyday Food. It's by far the most practical. And, if you have the time to browse online, you'll find almost all the same recipes. I just like reading magazines!

Next up....canisters.

Tip 7: Organizing your recipes

Maybe you're one of those people who can whip up a recipe out of thin air. A little of this, a little of that, presto! I, on the other hand, cannot, and I have found this effective means of organizing my recipes...

Tip 7: Make your own recipe notebook.

Here's what you need:

• a three-ring notebook, at least 1.5 inches thick
• a box of plastic sheet protectors (I got this box of 200 sheets at Office Depot)
  
• tabs or notebook dividers for dividing into sections (I am partial to these Post-It Durable tabs. You can also get a free sample in the mail and a dollar off coupon here. I found mine at Office Depot for $3.50)

Next, you need an organizational system that makes sense for you. My notebook sections are:

• Drinks
• Appetizers
• Soup and salad
• Sauces and dressings
• Side dishes
• Main dishes
• Pasta
• Desserts
• Breakfast
• Cooking class (for recipes collected at cooking classes...I've taken them at Sur la Table and L'Academie de Cuisine and 2941)
• Take-out menus

To maximize space and minimize cost, don't forget to put at least two recipes in each sheet protector.

Finally, you have to stay on top of your recipes. Anytime I see anything I like in a magazine or online, or I get a recipe from a friend, I file it away in a little plastic sheet inside my binder. This organizational system works well also when you're trying to plan a weekly dinner menu or you're bringing food to a potluck. Need a dessert? No problem, check the Dessert section!

Next up....food magazine recommendations.

Tip 6: Grocery lists and pantry items

First of all, a follow up on yesterday: the French onion soup was a major success! I am so pleased because we tried a different recipe about a year ago and it totally flopped. So, if you have about an hour to make a soup, this is the way to go. It's not an hour of actual labor. The most difficult task is caramelizing the onions, and that just requires some occasional stirring. Thankfully, the recipe calls for few ingredients, some of which I already had on hand because I've learned to follow...

Tip 6: Keep a pantry stocked with staples from several food genres.

We make a decent amount of Asian food, a decent amount of pasta and homemade pizza, and we sometimes make a dessert. So, I've learned to keep the following items on hand so that when I actually make the grocery list, it usually just involves fruits, vegetables, dairy and proteins.

Basic supplies:

• oils: olive, canola
  
• vinegars: balsamic, white wine, red wine, apple cider, white
• flour
• sugars: regular, brown, confectioner's
• salt: table, kosher
• peppercorns
• spices: allspice, ancho chile, basil, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, ground coriander seed, crushed red pepper, cumin, curry powder, dill, garlic powder, garlic salt, ground ginger, nutmeg. oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, turmeric
• vanilla
• yeast
• honey
  
• Texas Pete (a staple in our house, at least)
  

Baking items:

• light corn syrup
• cocoa powder
• espresso powder
• baking powder
• corn starch
• semisweet chocolate chips

Asian-inspired items:

• soy sauce
• rice vinegar
• Sriracha hot chili sauce
• fish sauce
• sesame oil
• Asian noodles

Other dry or canned goods:

• a couple types of pasta
• crushed tomatoes
• rice: brown and jasmine
• beans: black, pinto, kidney

In our freezer you'll often find:

• ginger (this is how you make your ginger last for a long time)
• bread (for turning into bread crumbs)
• shrimp
• chicken
• fruit (for smoothies)

And we try to always have these items in our fridge:

• milk
• eggs
• unsalted butter
• lemons/limes
• dijon mustard
• pizza sauce
• cream cheese
• maple syrup
• red onion
• bell peppers (they last so long!)

 By knowing what we have in our freezer, fridge and pantry, we minimize our grocery list.

Speaking of grocery lists....my shopping experiences have been revolutionized since purchasing a Droid phone. I downloaded the free application called OurGroceries (also available for iPhone and iTouch) and now I can make a list and buy all the items on the list in record time. Here are the great things about this program:

1. You cross off items as you go, and they get sent to the bottom of your screen. There's maybe nothing more satisfying than electronically crossing something off.
   
2. You can change the quantities of each items you need. So, type apples, and then increased the number needed to six, and a little 6 appears next to apples.
   
3. You can share it with another phone. So, Matt and I walk around the grocery store and we can both look at the same list AND check off items simultaneously. I was about to get some apples, but looks like Matt just got them. How do you like them apples?
4. It saves your data, so next week when you need to type up a new list and you type A, it brings up all the items you've bought that start with A (and yes, I am type A).
5. You can have multiple lists going at once. So, I'll make my standard Wegmans grocery list, and I'll have a separate one running for Costco or Target or Bed Bath and Beyond....whatever! I even made a "Wish List" of more expensive items I'd like to eventually purchase, and of course Matt has access to that one...hint, hint.

Now I'm inspired to make next week technology week!

But for now....food week!

Next up....organizing your recipes.