Amateur Cook

 

Jamie Oliver is a celebrity chef from Great Britain, and I believe, if I recall correctly, that I discovered him on cable.  

When I left cable, I lost sight of him but rediscovered him on ROKU with his own channel.  What I remember from cable were his 30-minutes meals, now he is doing 15-minute meals.

The key to his time limit, is having all your food ready, all your spices ready, and all your pans as hot as you need them to be.  Then it is just a matter of quick preparation and quick cooking.

So, if you want to cook a small steak medium, you can do that in 15 minutes but if you want it well done, then that is going to move you into the 30-minute meal.

The last time I watched his 15-minute meal program, he was added Basmati rice to tomato soup instead of cream to thicken it.  I had never thought about that.  However, I have been using diced potatoes to achieve the same type of consistency once you have mixed them up with a submersible blender.  

Blending is the key to thickening which is what I learned on my own.

Why am I cooking???

When my wife and I retired in 2015, one of her rules was that she was only cooking a Thanksgiving and/or Christmas dinner along with maybe an occasional dessert and batch of cookies.  If I wanted to eat, I had to cook my own meals.

I am not a chef and don't pretend to be.  I am simply an amateur cook who seldom follows recipes and tries to cook everything in one pan (if I can) to minimize clean up.

I have cooked cakes, pies, casseroles, omelets, spaghetti, lasagna, breads, soups, a full turkey & chicken, quiche along with baked, fried, air-fried fish.

My focus is on turkey, chicken, lamb, fish, beans, and vegetables.  I like to always include, if I can, bell peppers, onions of some sort, garlic, and mushrooms.  I use a lot of sea salt, black pepper, oregano, parsley, basil, and rosemary.

I have used the oven, a gas stove, an electric stove top, a microwave, and a pressure cooker.

None of this would have happened had my wife not informed me of her desire to stop cooking