More About Cooking

There's lots to learn when it comes to food preparation and planning; this post will touch lightly on a few more considerations and suggestions:

USING WHAT'S AVAILABLE
Instead of menu planning and then shopping, try shopping and then menu planning. For example, when you get to the grocery store and you see something on sale such as mangoes that are in season and therefore available more cheaply, plan menus for the week that include a couple of mango preparations. Until more experienced, it may be helpful to keep a list titled "What to do with...". And for those who don't like grocery shopping, you may prefer to creatively and happily use whatever husband brings home every week! Just open the fridge each evening and jot down tomorrow's menu plan. In other words, plan day to day instead of for the week. With a kitchen well stocked with the basics like flour, sugar, ghee, various dahls and nuts, this should be easy.

MENU SUGGESTIONS
For those days one feels uninspired, it helps to keep a list of preparations to choose from under various categories such as "Rice Dishes", "Breads", "Soups", "Subjis", "Italian Dishes", "Take-out Sandwiches", "Ekadasi", "Fillers", etc. as well as favorite preps for "Breakfast", "Lunch" and "Dinner". These choices can be varied according to the produce available. For example, when the mangoes are on sale rather than apples, the suggestion for "apple crisp" under the heading "Desserts" may still be utilized by using mangoes instead.

SHOPPING TIPS
Use a master bhoga checklist and before going shopping, write down any staples that need to be restocked such as rice, flour, spices, salt, baking powder...

It is handy to have the list written in an orderly fashion, according to where you would find each kind of item in a store, such as dairy products, spices, produce, bulk items and baking supplies.

FOOD SELECTION
With practice and any advice that comes along, choosing first rate produce gets easier. For example, cantaloupes have a sweet aroma around the navel when they are ripened. It should be rather firm with no overly soft spots. Choose coconuts that have a light color, no cracks or mold whatsoever and feel heavy with juice. Avocados are doomed to be squeezed by every passerby in the market, so get them unripe to ripen at home.

FOOD TRANSPORT
Bhoga becomes purified when it is purchased, but it should be transported home thereafter in bags or covered somehow to avoid onlookers thinking about relishing it before it can be offered to Krishna. In other words, Krishna must be the first to enjoy it.

FOOD STORAGE
Proper food storage keeps foods fresh longer. For example:

• Keep spices, dry goods and milk out of light because it destroys vitamins. 
• Keep dry goods sealed in airtight containers to avoid bugs.
• Untie greens like fresh coriander and spinach and then wrap in an absorbent cloth to keep in the refrigerator. Green beans last longer this way, too (unless garden fresh and never refrigerated before) 
• Keep milk very cool, slightly above the freezing point. A smaller refrigerator just for storing dairy products is recommended. 
• Some foods, such as potatoes and sweet potatoes, do well stored in a burlap bag with a zipper on it, such as found in Indian grocers to store rice. If there is no zipper, it can be hung on a wall to not attract any pests into the kitchen.
• Hard, unripe avocados can be stored in a paper bag or drawer and check them every day for the next two to three days. As soon as the feel soft when lightly touched, refrigerate them until ready to use. 
• Tomatoes and mangoes quickly ripen on a sunny windowsill.
• An extra large, empty camping cooler makes good storage for large bags of grain when not in used for camping. Or container buckets with tight fitting lids.

FOOD COMBINATIONS- an Internet search reveals that everyone and his brother have conflicting opinions on food combining and everyone has different bodily constitutions deciding what they can handle or not. One may never have problems eating whatever, including cold milk, nuts and other foods people seem to be allergic to, but for curiosity's sake, here's a few things found that may be worth testing:

• Milk is best taken alone or with sweet tasting (madhura rasa) foods. And it's an ambrosial best taken before bedtime. Other forms of milk, such as yogurt or paneer can be used in a meal with sour or salty foods or foods containing salt. Not everyone agrees on this, but I remember accidentally including salt in a sweet bread and eating it with milk poured over it. I distinctly noticed a very fine but physical change in the milk because I'd not take any foods with added salt along with milk for a long time, as an experiment. The experience makes me at least cautious. Otherwise, I was a long time eater of milk with my lunchtime prasada or poured over cereals containing salt, but fairly comfortable without the salt today. Some say to avoid Serving Milk With Salty Preparations , while others insist this rule means simply do not mix salt directly into fresh milk,  like how most hard cheeses are made today (and why i no longer buy them but use only paneer for offerings.
• Avoid combining milk and fermented milk products such as yogurt.
• Milk should be boiled first and taken hot with a sweetener and preferably sweet spices added too, to aid digestion. Makes a nice before bedtime snack. Can add things like nuts, dates, honey, coconut, unsalted oatmeal or rice... too. Do not take bananas and milk together. Bananas are actually sour and sour is not a good idea with fresh milk.
• Banana, mango, papaya or dried fruits can be eaten with a meal containing vegetables. Otherwise fruits and vegetables should be taken separately. 
• Eat fruits first and wait 30 minutes before eating other foods. 
• "Citrus in the morning acts like gold, at noon it acts like silver and in the evening it acts like lead."
• "Sweeter fruits are good for the afternoon and or evening."
• "Eat melons alone or leave them alone!"
• Avoid serving heating foods at night such as tomato or chilies or sour yogurt. Also heavy foods such as paneer, chick peas or peanut butter or sugary desserts which are more difficult to digest, are bad for brahmacarya or can cause much dreaming. 
• An ideal meal plan is a moderate breakfast, a little more at lunch, and taking before dark some fruits and then some milk a little before bedtime or other light foods. This is because digestion is best at noon, so biggest meal then. Breakfast helps you get to that point and also because last meal of the day is light. Younger folks may need a little something like unsalted cooked cereals or breads with their milk. Subji and puri is also a classic. Milk can be before bed,
• Do not eat yogurt at night or without other foods. Or every day.

SATTVIC RECIPE SUBSTITUTES

Often successfully (but not in all cases):

• Lemon can replace vinegar.
• Yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream or arrowroot can replace eggs.
• Yogurt can replace buttermilk in baking. Dilute a little if extra thick. 
• Hing can be used instead of garlic and or onions.
• Carob can be used instead of chocolate
• Grind sugar finely in a spice grinder for powdered sugar. 
• Add a little molasses to sugar for brown sugar
• Use paneer to replace chicken or turkey
• Use jackfruit, gluten, pinto beans, lentils or chickpeas to replace darker meats
• Use urad dahl vadas to replace fish

To use this sattvic recipe conversion theory:
Find a recipe online that is decent and look at the ingredients and how it was all put together.
Think about any possibilities using sattvic ingredients only.

For example, the idea for urad dahl vadas in spicy yogurt sauce rather than the fish soup or other horrors that pop up when randomly viewing online for ideas may arise.  Any recipe might be used this way, as a springboard for better ideas, skipping anything undesirable

Looking at recipes, it may be noted that meat eaters go over the top to increase very rajasic and tamasic flavors for stimulating themselves, and how, overall, the same most basic preparations are being made in seemingly unlimited varieties of ingredient combinations- pies, salads, soups, sauces, casseroles, etc. but with fancier names like "salsa", "tetrazinni",  "bistro" and "satay". Simply chewing the chewed. So the idea here is to get to the essence and make it pure for Krishna's satisfaction.

An easier ingredient to convert would be chicken by using paneer. For example, the recipe called "Chicken Breasts with Tomatoes and Olives". Just the title sparks an idea what to serve with chunks of paneer, stir- fried in ghee and hing: olives and chopped tomatoes. Also some salt and pepper and vah!

Again, for the sake of example, the found recipe might also call for crumbled feta and vinegar. Some lemon juice might be added although tomato seems good enough, but the feta is unnecessary because  there's already paneer to use.

So hopefully this made sense. One can use almost any recipe (when stuck with wondering what to make, and often just a photo or title will do) as a model to invoke better ones or just to figure out what to make.

COOKING QUANTITY

For quantity cooking, one suggestion is to estimate how much one person could eat. For example- one potato per person, 2 T butter per potato, 2 dashes of black pepper per potato, 2 T of sour cream...Then multiply (with the exception of pungent flavorings such as chilies which do not need to be multiplied much but should go according to taste). Also take into consideration how many other preps will be served. If many other preps, 1/2 potato per person may be fine.
After calculating, add a little extra to allow guests taking seconds, such as another potato or two
Keep in mind that many vegetables tend to shrink when cooked, especially after salt is added.
Another way to calculate is multiplying your usual amount. Say you use 1/2 cup dahl for 2-3 people regularly, then you will want to double the amount if there will be double the amount of guests.
It all can be very tricky though. Expect this to never come out the way planned and be prepared, therefore, with extra rice and other fillers just in case.

OUTDOOR COOKING
A very useful way to expand cooking ability is to know how to prepare foodstuffs while camping and traveling. This is too lengthy to get into here, but worth mentioning.