In It Together #7: Easy Tips to Cook A Great Meal When You Don't Have All the Desired Ingredients
Man, everyday life in quarantine is filled with an array of unexpected daily challenges that seem small, but add up quickly. The In It Together Series will make your day to day easier thanks to expert advice from female business owners in Seattle. As a personal stylist for women in Seattle, I’m fortunate to be a part of a community of bright, generous, resourceful women who have the power to improve our situations. Today’s post is from the Chef Owner of Miri’s Golden Gardens, Miri Plowman. This is sure to be a post you bookmark and come back to repeatedly. Enjoy!
Miri and her partner, Gabe, at Miri’s Golden Gardens.
First, I want to acknowledge that everyone is approaching this time in the kitchen differently. I think some find it a time to dive into cooking projects that maybe otherwise they would never dare to take on, others are looking at their kitchen with dread and overwhelm and for some, cooking is business as usual, just more of it.
For me personally, running a business and a restaurant means that my partner and I end up eating at odd hours, and not very consistently. I have enjoyed this time for reinstating important habits that have fallen to the wayside-like eating three square meals a day all at reasonable hours and mostly at the table. I’ve been really enjoying having a big delicious lunch followed by a smaller, more leftover-y or salad-y dinner.
All this to say, if I could offer one suggestion in this weird time, listen to what your body wants and needs! Try to relish in the slow down and savor mealtime if you can!
The other thing that typically dominates my home cooking style lately is to make do with the ingredients I have. The other day I was looking to make Prad Pri King. A Thai dish with red curry paste, green beans and a protein- typically pork or beef. I had maybe half the ingredients and zero interest in braving the grocery store. 😱
In lieu of the red curry paste I blended some chili pepper flakes, shallot (an onion would have also been fine), a squeeze of 1/2 a lime and some fish sauce. I added some chicken broth for some extra umami. It wasn’t perfect, but it also wasn’t bad. Learning to make do with the ingredients you have means wasting less and also saves time and energy. Over time, you will find that doing this will help you to be more creative in the kitchen. Recipes will only get you so far! I want to be clear this is far more helpful for cooking than it is for baking!
Some of Miri’s tasty cooking.
Tips and Tricks to adding ingredients or making a recipe when you don’t have everything on the list.
What is your missing ingredient’s purpose in the dish? Is it a staple component? (Vegetable, Protein, Starch) Or is it a flavoring?
If it’s a staple do you have a different one that will make do? Easy subs: Carrots for beets, any green vegetable for any other green vegetable. Ground pork for chicken breast. Quinoa for Couscous. Rice for pasta. Diced up cauliflower for rice. This part is likely straight forward and you’ve likely already made such subs in the past.
If it is a flavoring, is it sweet? Acidic? Does it add richness or brighten the dish? Here is a super duper basic list of categories that flavorings fall into. (This is from my mind, not from a textbook, so you may disagree with my categories or feel I have missed something. I most certainly have!)
Umami: bone broth/stock (chicken, beef, fish, or veggie) boullion, fish sauce, soy sauce, tamari, onions, garlic, celery, mushrooms.
Sweet: Sugar, Brown Sugar, Maple Syrup, Canned fruit, fruit preserves, dried fruit, juice, the one jelly or preserve that Aunt Mildred gave you in 2014 but you can’t bring yourself to throw away. Use it to marinate or braise!)
Acid: Lemon, Lime, Vinegars, Cooking wine, not cooking wine, the last of last night's bottle of wine, pickles, pickling liquid-yes I have straight up used the pickling liquid from a jar of pickles before in vinaigrette.
Salty/briny: Soy Sauce, Salt, Anchovies, Fish sauce, Olives, Capers
Bitter: Lemon/lime zest, dandelion and chicories, ginger
Earthy bitter/tanic: coffee, chocolate, chiies, Red wine
Aromatics: garlic, basil, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, ginger, lemon/lime zest, coriander, cumin, bay.
Spicy: Jalapeños, Dried Chili Flakes, Cayenne, Kimchee, Pickled Peppers, any dried peppers, Tapatio, Sriracha, the weird hot sauce that has been in your refrigerator door for a year.
4. Is it a texture?
Crunchy textures: Nuts, Seeds, Croutons, Crispy Onions, Tortilla Chips, Fresh Vegetables, bread crumbs.
Thickening agents: Bone Broth, Flour or Roux, Cream, Corn Starch, Potato Starch (or just water from boiled potatoes!) bread crumbs, Mayo-if used to finish something like a soup.
When you start to categorize ingredients in this way, it becomes easier to substitute this thing out for that thing. You will of course through trial and error have to remember that substitutes are often not 1:1 replacements. For example, if you use Soy Sauce instead of chicken broth to add some rich umami to your dish, you will be really sad when you realize the 2 cups of salty soy sauce is NOT equal to 2 cups of unseasoned chicken broth. So keep this in mind! But allow yourself to play. And most importantly to taste along the way.
Play this game with yourself. Think of a dish that you would like to eat. Maybe a dish you get from your favorite restaurant, or something you haven’t made at home before. See if the internet can’t offer you a recipe. Go through the recipe ingredient list, and try to find the closest ingredients you have on hand and try to make it anyway. I’d love to hear what your learn!
Some of my favorite small food businesses doing excellent amazing pivots right now:
Salmonberry Goods a baking company that is passionate about using local ingredients has taken it upon themselves to start a CSA in order to continue to support our local growers during the loss of our Seattle Farmers Markets. The CSA can also include their radical baked goods. (Best chocolate chip cookies and a to die for potato scone)
Instagram @Salmonberrygoods
Porkchop & Co The restaurant with the bestest brunch in the city, has recently taken up making the bestest bagels in the city. They are still open through their window for their bomb sandwiches and breakfasts. But call a day ahead, order a dozen everything bagels, slice them and stick ‘em in your freezer. They never last longer than a week around here.
Ph: 206-257-5761
Instagram @porkchopandco
Brothers & Co. Brothers Seth and Zach Pacleb have been offering their scrumptious ramen at farmers markets around the city for years. In order to keep their employees working, they have been making amazing meal kits for home delivery or pickup. These guys make EVERYTHING from scratch including the most delicious ramen noodles I’ve ever had.
Instagram @brothers.and.co
Foraged and Found Edibles, a wild foods company is hosting open shop at their warehouse in Georgetown. I highly recommend pre ordering from their website and getting your hands on all the marvelous treats the spring has to offer. Wild Ramps, Fiddlehead Ferns, Minor’s Lettuce OHMY! I know they are also putting together a spring CSA of strictly wild foods, and boy wouldn’t that be a fun way to get to play with new ingredients this spring.
www.foragedandfoundedibles.com
Instagram @foragedandfoundedibles
How to Find Us
Just behind the playground at Golden Gardens, you’ll find Miri’s. You can’t miss it!
We are open at Golden Gardens with some fun caveats.
The parking lot is locked at Golden Gardens, but we will still be open as long as the weather is dry, and warmer than 60 degrees. If you are feeling up for it, on a nice day, get on your bicycle, pack yourself some hand sanitizer, a mask and a nice bottle of wine and join us for sunset. From our service window, I’ve mostly observed socially distanced families enjoying fresh air and beach vibes responsibly.
While we don’t have an official option for online cooking lessons right now, I would be happy to connect with you if you’d like some help.
Want more stellar advice from local small business owners? Check out other installments of the In It Together Series with new posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Next up: How to Tackle Your Roots at Home with Natural Products, Keeping Your Kids Safe Online and How to Find Gems in your Jewelry Collection and more. As always, thanks very much for being a member of the Poplin community!