The 30-Minute Vegan - Mark Reinfeld [10]
2. Before beginning any preparation, create a clean work area. Gather the ingredients in the recipe before you start. This ensures that you have everything you need, that you will know what you will be using as a substitute (if necessary), and eliminates time spent searching through cabinets. Gather your measuring spoons and cups, tools, and appliances. Preparing food in a clean and organized space is always easier.
3. Having the proper tools is essential to being able to whip food up quickly. It may increase your cooking time if you don’t have tools such as a garlic press, zester, citrus juicer, or blender. Work up to a fully stocked kitchen.
4. Although the recipes are designed to taste their best by your following the exact measurements, eventually you will learn to discover acceptable approximations. At some point you will be able to look at two different cloves of garlic and know that one is about one teaspoon, and the other is about one tablespoon. In cases like these, don’t worry too much about measuring everything with ultimate precision. With baking, however, measurements need to be precise, since leavening is involved.
5. Some herbs, such as parsley, cilantro, or fennel, don’t need to be plucked from the thin part of their stems before mincing or chopping. Just keep them bundled together and chop into the whole bunch at once. The thin parts of the stems generally have the same flavor and, once minced, basically taste the same.
6. Cut stacks of veggies rather than each individual piece. Don’t separate celery stalks when you can cut into the whole bunch at once. The same goes for heads of lettuce and cabbage. Stack tomato, potato, or onion slices and cut them simultaneously.
7. The easiest way to sift flour is with a fine-mesh strainer. For accuracy, always sift baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and any spices that have lumps.
8. You don’t need to peel carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, zucchini, or beets unless specified; just wash them well. This is not only quicker but also helps preserve the nutritional content of the food.
9. Most blenders have cup and fluid ounce measurements right on the pitcher; no need to dirty more measuring cups.
10. One of the most important tips to help cut down on preparation time is to set aside an hour or so on one of your least busy days for advance prepping. Having prepped ingredients on hand makes it easier to create meals on the go. Here you can cut vegetables and store them in a glass container in the fridge. You can also cook a squash, grain, or pot of beans. You can then use these foods in recipes over the next few days. Consider preparing a pot of rice in the morning and using it for the evening meal.
CHAPTER 2
Preparation Basics
This chapter is our Vegan Prep 101. These techniques, tips, and tricks are referred to throughout The 30-Minute Vegan and are included here to give you a basic understanding of everything you need to know to create world-class vegan cuisine. The three most important things to remember are practice, practice, and practice. Once you become more adept in the kitchen, you’ll find it’s a snap to create healthy, delicious dishes in under thirty minutes. If you are patient and persistent, you will succeed.
Knife Work
Working with a knife is one of the most basic skills to cultivate in the kitchen. Expertise comes with practice. To help you along the way, you can check out the Food Network’s educational online video demonstrations of various knife techniques, at www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_dm_knife_skills.
Here is a brief description of the most common cuts:
Mince: cut into tiny pieces, the finest cut that can be cut by hand.
Dice: slightly larger than minced, usually ¼-inch uniform pieces.
Chop: larger than diced, can be various sizes. Typically ½ inch in diameter and larger.
Slice: many types are possible—thin or thick, half-moon shaped, rings, or diagonal.
Cube: