Getting tired of cooking at home? Out of Inspiration? Well who better than icon, muse and Lee’s Obsession, Ina Garten to motivate and inspire you with some kitchen tips.
Read on for Lee’s take on Ina’s tips.
Have breakfast for dinner
What is time anyway? Ina has further simplified this idea by making some favorite homemade breakfast items and freezing them for just this sort of thing.
Looking for Recipe Ideas. Check out Eating Well’s recent compilation Our Favorite Breakfast for Dinner Ideas.
Experiment with pantry staples
There perhaps has never been a better time than now to experiment like a mad scientist. Why not? If you are more comfortable start with a recipe then actively look for substitutions. You will be surprised what this leads to…confidence and daring. Some of Ina’s favorite substitutions are:
- Swapping out different pasta shapes and veggies for a noodle dish
- Using more dried herbs and spices, or even
- Making your own buttermilk with milk and an acid (like lemon juice or vinegar)
Celebrate special occasions
This can be birthdays, holidays or some other random milestone. When life gets put on hold, it’s easy to forget about these milestones. Connect with others for a virtual dinner party.
For the perfect celebration cake…. please see Ina’s amazing Beatty’s Chocolate Cake in Lee’s earlier blog post.
Waste not want not
This is the perfect time to cook soups with whatever is left in the fridge before you venture out for more. You can even freeze individual portions for later.
Comfort food is king
Indulge because damn it, it taste good. Some of Lee’s and Ina’s favorites are
Penne with Five Cheeses
Grilled Cheese
Italian Wedding Soup
Baking is math… teach the kids
Want to get your kids truly interested in learning math. Bring out the measuring cups and spoons. Who knows, by the end of quarantine, you may have just created your own personal chef!
Check out these ideas to get teach your kids math through cooking from Stanford Education
Become best friends with your freezer
This is key! Because sometimes you want something amazing and you simply don’t have the bandwidth to cook! Double or even triple the recipe and you will be so glad you did.
Ina Garten’s Freezer Tips
- Cool your food to room temperature before freezing
- Leave room because liquids expand as they freeze
- Label your containers with the date and what’s inside
Learn how to make adult beverages
“During a crisis, cocktail hour can be almost any hour.” ~ Ina Garten
Cosmopolitans
2 cups (16 ounces) good vodka, such as Grey Goose or Finlandia
1 cup (8 ounces) Triple Sec or Cointreau
1 cup (8 ounces) bottled cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)
Pour the vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice, and lime juice into pitcher. Fill a cocktail shaker 1/2 full with ice. Pour the cosmopolitan mixture into the cocktail shaker until it’s 3/4 full and shake for 30 seconds. Pour the mixture into the martini glasses and serve immediately.
Notes: If you have time, it’s nice to freeze the martini glasses. For regular sized cosmopolitans, mix the ingredients in a pitcher and then shake with ice in a cocktail shaker and pour into 6 martini glasses.
Ina’s latest cookbook Modern Comfort Food is now available for pre-order.
The market is moving. Sounds surprising but it’s not. There is activity and plenty of virtual showings ending in happy buyers and sellers. Please contact Lee for any and all your real estate needs. He can deliver solutions and he also makes a killer Cosmo.