So Saucy!

I can’t cook!

I don’t have time!

STOP.

Cooking at home doesn’t have to take all day, and the benefits you will reap are priceless. It is SO worth it. It will feel so good, just try it!

You don’t need detailed recipes or lengthy instructions to cook, just think about what you and your family or friends like to eat. Why do you like it? What are the elements? Break it down to the basics: sweet, savory, spicy—all of the above? Do you really like Italian food, Mexican food, Middle Eastern, Asian?

Rather than scouring the internet or cookbooks for ideas or recipes that you may or may not like, think about something you’ve eaten that you loved. How could you re-create it?

I love stir-fry.

It is fast and easy, and satisfying. You choose the protein (or not) and the veggies you like (adding some chunks of ginger is awesome), boil some rice, and DONE. I’ve made it several times using spices I like (cumin, Cajun all-seasoning) and dousing everything in soy sauce. It is always good. Not fancy, but good.

But lately I felt it wasn’t as “Asian” tasting as I wanted it to be. I looked at some recipes, and started using Toasted Sesame oil instead of my usual Canola.

Improvement. Smelled better, but not quite there. I wondered, “What sauce do they use to give it such flavor?” I looked at more recipes.

Several of them used oyster sauce or some kind of fish sauce that I don’t have. They also used some weird vinegars that I also don’t have. But I knew that my Worcestershire sauce is made from anchovies, and that I really like (and have) balsamic vinegar. So I mixed those guys up with some soy sauce and brown sugar—which all the recipes used, and…

VOILA!

Super rich aroma, and tasted really authentic. I may have cheated a bit, but it was great.

So easy, and didn’t have to go to some specialty store. Win, win.

Which brings me to this point:

SAUCES.

The flavor of so many dishes centers around the sauces used: tomato-based, butter or cream-based, soy-sauce-based, etc..

Once you get a handle on sauces, the sky is the limit with what you can put together. Be creative, be flexible, and use ingredients that you like—especially because those are the things you probably already have in your kitchen right now. Who wants to go to the store every day to get that one thing the recipe calls for? Not me. Improvise. Make substitutions. Cooking is an art, not a science, so create!