If I hear this one more time ...

[Tracy K.]

Of course, you need quality to put up food.

Oh you have no idea how nauseating it is to pitch so many (formerly) lovely raspberries that are overrun with botrytis so I can make my four jars of jam....

[andiesenji]

Of course, you need quality to put up food.

Oh you have no idea how nauseating it is to pitch so many (formerly) lovely raspberries that are overrun with botrytis so I can make my four jars of jam....

I just bought 6 of the large clamshell packs at Sam's Club and there was not a bad berry in the bunch. They are now being turned into raspberry syrup in a steam extractor.

[saltedgreens]

And there is a vast range of fermented or pickled or cured foods that one would not "fresh".

True. Quality is not the same as fresh, as you point out.

Your points are still based on having quality ingredients as bad grapes make bad wine, bad water makes bad beer, bad koji makes bad miso, bad daikon akes bad pickles (although dried and aged daikon makes excellent pickles), etc...

[Tracy K.]

My berries were from the farmer's market...they'd been sitting in the refrigerator waiting for me for three days...so the lack of freshness is sort of my fault (althought I don't know when the berries were picked).

It is interesting how your supplier--whether it be a Sam's Club/Costco, large grocery store chain, small grocery, farmer's market or simply mother nature--has a great influence on how one can use ingredients. I agree with others here that the admonition to use fresh ingredients is probably for less-experienced cooks.

Gauging what is fresh, and what is in season, when you go to buy is a task in itself.

[lala]

I know that I use some 'convenience' foods - I live alone, and sometimes, after working all day, after work appointments, and getting home late I just want to eat and be done with it. So I do have some bottled sauces (teriyaki, bbq) and premade rubs (from Tom Douglas, a local chef here in Seattle). Makes things easy. Put the rub/sauce on the meat/fish, set aside. Chop a pile of veggies, start to saute. Shove mostly done veggies aside in the pan, drop protein in. Cook, stir, done.

Of course, when I have time, on weekends I cook 'real' food, but there's nothing wrong with a little help now and then!

I do, however use the freshest of possible fruits and veg - now that I think about it, in time crunched weeks, I spend almost as much time at the store picking good ingredients as I do actually cooking! Nothings as good as excellent melon slices draped with prosciutto and aged balsamic! (Is aged balsamic a 'convenience food?)

Edited July 22, 2004 by lala (log)

[saltedgreens]

Canned tomato paste...

My integrity is broken. (smile)

[mrsadm]

if someone grabs a bag of frozen chopped onions and a can of soup, some veggies and throws it with some protein, thats at least a meal, and better than feeding their family Mickey Dees. So I try not to look down my nose too hard, different folks, different standards and circumstances I guess.

Very good point, I think you are right on that one. Oh I hope I am not turning into that dreaded species, the Food Snob.

I grew up on eastern Long Island among farms that had wonderful fresh food, and nearly everyone fished and went clamming. My mother would take me along to farm stands and she'd insist on corn that was picked *that morning*. Uncles would bring over fresh fish nearly every weekend in the summer. I guess I take for granted this upbringing that taught me to appreciate how wonderful fresh food is. In fact, I think the whole Alice-Waters-invented-freshness thing is just ridiculous.

On the other hand, my husband, who grew up in Wyoming, had a mother who subscribed to the convenience-in-a-can way of cooking that was so popular in the 1950's. He still cooks Hamburger Pie now and then!

[mrsadm]

Hamburger Pie (it's not all that bad!):

1. Make some mashed potatoes

2. Brown some hamburger and onions in a skillet.

3. Open a can of green beans and mix them up with the meat.

4. Open a small can of tomato sauce and add it to the meat mixture.

5. Put the meat mixture in the middle of a shallow casserole dish.

6. Put the mashed potatoes around the perimeter of the dish.

7. Bake in the oven until done; the mashed potatoes should have a nice crisp slightly browned top.

[fifi]

I often have people ask me for my recipe for Mac 'n Cheese.  I unabashadly tell them my "secret". 

First I cook the Creamettes brand elbow macaroni, if that is not available then it is Barilla.

It is then cooked aldente, then drained, tossed back in the pot with butter and a can (or two, depending on the amount of macaroni) of Campbell's Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup, undiluted.

Stir, pour in a casserole, sprinkle the top with parmesan or asiago, freshly grated and run under the broiler for a couple of minutes. 

It is alway creamy, never gets gummy or hard and tastes good. 

If we want spicy it is the Nacho Soup I use.

I just made this for lunch. I have to say, this is the best mac and cheese I have ever made. I used the Nacho Cheese soup. I have to admit to adding a couple of spoons of Cheese Whiz. I topped it with aseinto because that is what I had. Wowser.

[andiesenji]

I often have people ask me for my recipe for Mac 'n Cheese.  I unabashadly tell them my "secret". 

First I cook the Creamettes brand elbow macaroni, if that is not available then it is Barilla.

It is then cooked aldente, then drained, tossed back in the pot with butter and a can (or two, depending on the amount of macaroni) of Campbell's Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup, undiluted.

Stir, pour in a casserole, sprinkle the top with parmesan or asiago, freshly grated and run under the broiler for a couple of minutes. 

It is alway creamy, never gets gummy or hard and tastes good. 

If we want spicy it is the Nacho Soup I use.

I just made this for lunch. I have to say, this is the best mac and cheese I have ever made. I used the Nacho Cheese soup. I have to admit to adding a couple of spoons of Cheese Whiz. I topped it with aseinto because that is what I had. Wowser.

For heartier appetites who want meat, you can brown some hamburger, add onions and tomato sauce (or stewed tomatoes) and mix it in with the mac 'n cheese.

My stepson, who would never touch a "casserole" of any kind, loved this and it was the first thing he learned to cook for himself while he was still in high school.

His being able to cook something besides hot dogs, that looked like a "real" dish, was astounding to his friends whom he would invite for a dinner of his own making.

I used to eavesdrop and listen to them ask him what he was doing as he prepared the food, then when they tasted it would say. "Wow, this is really good!"

As Rich became more comfortable with cooking, he would add little touches, such as a small can of diced green chiles or sliced black olives.

[fifi]

So, what you are saying is that this is a base recipe that can be added to with abandon. Sort of like that Jiffy corn muffin mix "corn souffle" thing. I can dig that.

BTW... The addition of a couple of teaspoons of Cheez Whiz to anything that is supposed to taste cheesy is a guilty secret.

[beans]

Canned tomato paste...

My integrity is broken. (smile)

What's wrong with that? I mean I do have a recipe for canning my own tomato paste, I don't have the interest or the garden fresh tomatoes from my yard this year. I have found that most tomato paste is added for some body and not as a main ingredient.

Is that really a sin?