Cook Separates

One easy way to get a meal on that table is to treat each part of it separately - the starch, the vegetable, the meat - all independent of each other. It's easy to cook this way for several reasons.

• You already know how to make at least one part. For example, steaming rice (starch), sauteing brussel sprouts (vegetable), or sauteing pork tenderloin (meat, obviously) are each an easy technique.
  
• It's simpler to think in terms of separates and not a whole unified dish. A unified dish requires melding and balancing flavors and therefore takes more effort to plan. Thinking in terms of separates helps you make food for dinner quickly.
  
• Each part is just itself and easier to prepare. One simple technique (steaming, blanching, sauteing, etc.) and some salt and pepper is all you need to do. Knowing how to make food simply is knowing how to cook. "Fancier" food is often just composing each element together artfully through plating.
  
• It's healthier. Whenever you stick with simple, straightforward preparation, you need to respect the food itself in order to end up with a tasty, finished product. The better the food, the better the finished product. Sauteing beautiful, fresh salmon or chicken breasts is all you should need to do if they are of great quality. The same goes for any fresh, high quality food.

To cook every day, for yourself and your family, structure your thinking about food. Categorize it and then pick and choose from those categories. Here are some categories to get you started.

Starches/Carbohydrates

• Potatoes - boiled, mashed, oven roasted, fried, or baked
• Rice - steamed
• Pasta - boiled
• Bread
• Grains - boiled

Vegetables

• Root vegetables (carrots, turnips, beets, etc.) - roasted, blanched, glazed
• Summer squashes (zucchini, pattypan, banana, etc.) - roasted, sauteed
• Lettuces - raw in salad
• Peppers - roasted, sauteed, raw
• Cabbage family (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts) - roasted, blanched, sauteed

Proteins - Poultry, Meat, Fish, Shellfish, Eggs, Beans

• Soft tender texture, lean (chicken breasts, pork tenderloin or chops, beef tenderloin or strip steaks, rack of lamb, lamb chops, veal scallopini, etc.) - grilled, sauteed, browned and finished in a hot 400F oven
• Medium texture, more fat and connective tissue (chicken legs, flank steak, shoulder chops) - braised, slow, low heat roasting, grilling
• Tough texture, lean or fatty (stew meat) - braised
• Fish and shellfish - sauteed, steamed, grilled, baked, boiled
• Eggs - sauteed (fried, scrambled, omelet), hard boiled, coddled (boiled)
• Beans - soaked then boiled until tender

Once prepared, each element just needs a little dressing up. Your favorite condiment or a little butter and some herbs will do the trick.

Susan