College Vegetarian Cooking_ Feed Yourself and Your Friends - Megan Carle [3]
Fruits and vegetables: Organic or not organic—that is the question. Whether ’tis better to suffer the slings and arrows of nasty pesticides or to blow six bucks on two peaches.… Oh, sorry. They made us take a Shakespeare class freshman year. But really, what is a broke vegetarian supposed to do? We know the benefits of organics (better for the environment, better for your health, taste better), but they can be totally beyond reach, price-wise. The truth is, some conventionally grown (that is, nonorganic) fruits and vegetables are grown with lots of chemicals, some with hardly any. If this is really important to you, and you can afford some organics, go for organic apples, cherries, spinach, celery, and berries. Fruits or vegetables you peel (like carrots or bananas or peas) and broccoli and cauliflower don’t expose you to as many chemicals, so buy those organic if cost is no object (yeah, right). Likewise, farmer’s markets, which happen in most towns at least once a week (closing for the winter in cold climates), can be really inspiring but really expensive places to shop for produce. It’s great to be able to give your food money right to the people who grew it, and you should definitely check out your local farmer’s market if you haven’t already. The vendors will entice you with samples, and in the height of the growing season, prices can be really competitive. For bargains, try going near the end of the market day and asking for a discount—growers would often rather sell their stuff for cheap than pack it back up and take it home.
For those times when fresh fruits and vegetables aren’t available or you just don’t have the time to deal with them, the canned or frozen versions are generally good alternatives. Whether you use frozen or canned is up to you. In these recipes we used the one we felt worked best in each situation, but feel free to use whichever one you prefer.
Herbs and spices: We use dried herbs more often than fresh herbs in our recipes simply because they’re cheaper and easier to have on hand. When we use fresh herbs, it’s because the dish needs the slightly different flavor that the fresh herb provides. Dried herbs are usually more potent than their fresh counterparts. That said, now we’ll tell you why it isn’t always true. In general, dried herbs are more potent than fresh for the first three months. Once that time has passed they begin to lose their potency, and after six months their flavoring power drops dramatically. The same holds true with spices. Manufacturers recommend replacing dried herbs and spices every six months. Since that isn’t feasible on our budget, we just taste each dish and add more if it seems like the herb or spice has lost its punch.
Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice has a fresher flavor than the bottled version, but we still always keep a bottle of lemon juice in the refrigerator. If we plan ahead, we buy fresh lemons. But if we don’t have fresh ones on hand, we aren’t likely to go to the store just to get them.
Margarine: see Butter.
Mayonnaise, yogurt, and sour cream: Generally, we use light or low-fat versions, because we are all for saving a few calories when we can’t taste the difference. Just keep in mind that low-fat versions tend to get watery when they are mixed with other ingredients. So, if you are making something to eat right away, the low-fat mayo is fine, but if you want to serve it later, mix in the mayo right before serving. (And by the way, we say mayonnaise,