After all we don’t want to end up like this guy.

Safety in the kitchen

The kitchen is fun but dangerous place. Not only are you working with hot surfaces, boiling liquid, you’re handling sharp knives and utensils that can easily cause injury and harm others. So please follow these requirements  to stay safe in the kitchen.

  1.Wear shoes and safe clothing

Make sure you are wearing safe clothes. Sleeves should not be long and flowy. Do not wear loose clothing or anything flammable, and avoid synthetic clothing, which can melt onto your skin if it catches on fire. Please use an apron, a full bib apron to cover your good clothes and fully enclosed non slip shoes, long pants and sleeves that do not expose your skin if your learning new skills. Please keep hair if long tied up and clean nails.

  2.Personal hygiene

Personal hygiene is another aspect of safety. Our bodies carry bacteria therefore its important to stick to the following:

• Don’t chew gum in a food preparation area
• Don’t smoke or pick your nose
• Clean your work area as you go
• Avoid coughing or sneezing over food
• Don’t bite nails or lick your fingers
• Taste only with clean utensils, then discard or wash at correct temperature
• Do not touch any part of your or another persons body
• Wash your hands before starting new tasks
• Cover cut lesions with food safe band aids
• Don’t use fingers to taste food, use dedicated sterilized cutlery
• Regularly launder clothes worn during food preparation

3. Avoid rushing

Rushing around the kitchen will almost guarantee accidents. Even amongst professionals. Cut food slowly, do not run in any circumstance, take your time when moving hot pots and pans, make sure you check behind you to see if there are any obstructions or people before moving.

Give the kitchen a miss if you are under the influence of alcohol on medications, or are tired.

4.Always use folded tea towels

Keep a good selection of dry tea towels (A wet cloth will easily transfer heat to your hand).

Fold in half lengthwise and then into 2 folds widthwise. Always use them for any bowl, pot, or pan that has been in or on an appliance. It’s especially important to use these items when moving hot pots from the stove or oven, or bowls you are pulling out of the microwave oven. A wet pad or cloth will easily transmit heat.

5.Keep dangers away from your body

Peel, cut, stir, pour, sweep, mop, mix, cream, many actions should be done  away from your body to avoid injury.

When removing lids from hot pots ensure you lift them towards you allowing hot steam to escape away from you.

6.Learn how to use knives safely

I show you how to use a knife later in the course. Knives should always be sharp. A dull knife can slip and cut. Learn how to chop and slice as chefs do, holding the food with your non-dominant hand, fingers curled under. Go slow until you are confident, and always pay attention. Watch the videos for visual demonstrations.

7.Know Your Equipment

Read up on your kitchen equipment and understand how to use it. Never use any appliance that has a frayed cord, if you find something like this please do not use it, have it repaired or replaced. Keep small appliances dry and away from water. Never use your fingers or a knife to release something caught in food  processor , toaster, mixer or any other appliance.

Use the right piece of equipment for the right job. Do not attempt to clean any equipment while they are hot especially fryers , anything with hot water, elements or oil.

8.Clean Spills

Cleaning up straight away   this will help prevent accidents. water, food, and grease on the floor will almost guarantee a fall. Wipe or mop it up whichever is faster. Apply salt to the floor if it is a fat substance to stop slipping from occurring if you cant get to it quickly, test it carefully, warn others until you can get a mop and soapy water to clean it up.

9.Take Care when Lifting

Lifting anything large and heavy is a hazard, stock pots and hot pots of boiling pasta are one of the most dangerous of kitchen tasks. Ask for help and be aware of other people around you. Lift using your knees and back.

10.Food Safety

There is some basic food safety factors included here. Please follow these guidelines you can kill more people with contaminated food in one sitting than in a plane crash if you are cooking for  your loved ones at home with careless or un-hygienic food standards.

Keep up to date with food safety info here so we can remain having fun.

https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/publications

Fast easy cooking equipment to help nourish you

Get a great start with these basics and add to the list as your confidence grows.

Expand where your interest takes you to cook with friends and family.

These are the mere basics I recommend to start with;

There are a whole plethora of kitchen gidgets and gadgets out there to swallow up your spare dollars, if there is something extra your interested in, shoot me a message and I can help to guide you on what I think is best for your needs right here: https://www.facebook.com/casstronomy/

My recommended cookery methods to nourish with nutrition and master easily with a little practice.

Any questions do not for a moment hesitate to contact me on the Facebook support page.

https://www.facebook.com/casstronomy/

SO, now to add heat!

Basically we pop cookery methods into 2 categories

1.Moist and wet cookery methods

Poaching

Fully immersed in stock and liquid between 60 to 75c, a great fast cookery methods for lean, low fat foods.

e.g. eggs. fruits and vegetables, fish, chicken breast and beef fillet.

Braising

Brown food first in your heavy based saucepan, add liquid of your choice, cover and slowly simmer. a great method for tenderising tougher cuts of meat.

e.g. Ox tail, beef cheeks, lamb shanks.

Simmering

Is cooking food in liquid higher than 80 c just under boiling point, can be a gentle simmer or more rapid depending on the desired outcome you want.

e.g. Stocks and soups are often simmered.

Steaming

Cooking foods over boiling liquids using the steam, there are various methods.

e.g. steamed vegetables.

Stewing

Cooking food in liquid over 80c but not boiled in an uncovered pot where the flavours can blend.

e.g. Goulash, Moroccan vegetable stew.

Boiling

Cooking immersed in liquid around 100c (varies at different altitudes).

e.g. boiled eggs, sweet potato for mashing.

Wilting, Blanching

Is to pour or immerse boiled water over food to cook to desired level.

e.g. wilted spinach, blanched vegetables, par cooked foods to al dente (still with a little crunch or texture).

2.Dry Cookery Methods

Baking

Usually cooking with dry heat without the use of fat, there are varying methods.

e.g. bread, potatoes.

En Paupillote

Ingredients are placed in parchment paper (greaseproof baking paper) folded to seal before placing in  the oven and cooked in their own or healthy added liquids to steam.

e.g. Salmon fillets cooked in mirin, ginger and chilli with Japanese vegetables.

Sautéeing

 Is to cook without colour it is usually with a relatively low amount of fat or oil in a heavy based  shallow pan.

e.g.- Sautee mushrooms and garlic.

Grilling

Usually cooking over a rack under a high heat source allowing excess fat and oil to drain away.

e.g. Warm Grilled vegetables with pomegranate molasses and olive oil.

BBQing

Is a special type of grill that food is placed on, often used for marinated meats and a great way to get flavour into vegetables.

e.g. Barbequed asparagus spears, pumpkin, red capsicum.

Cooking on a Griddle

is a flat grill with a broad flat surface, often metal heated by gas. It is a great way to cook foods with limited oil and fat. You can mimic this simply in a heavy based frypan.

e.g. Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes).

Stir-frying

Ingredients are fried in a small amount of hot oil , small pieces moved quickly originating in China using a wok but can be replicated in a heavy based shallow frypan.

Microwaving

Heats and cooks food by electromagnetic radiation, great for reheating pre prepared meals or fast, easy dishes.

e.g. 2 minute coddled eggs in the microwave.

As your confidence increases you can then invest in some more equipment and tackle this awesome cookery method, that tenderizes and seals in the nutrition and flavour of foods.

Once you have mastered the above methods. An easy and popular method in Commercial kitchens as you can prepare in advance, tenderise tougher cuts of meat and all sealed in an airtight bag. Sealing in nutrition, moisture and flavour. You will also need a food saver with bags to and the cooking apparatus below to perform this method.

Sous vide- A long slow cooking method where food is cooked in a temperature controlled environment in a plastic pouch or glass jar (usually from 1 to 7 hours up to 72 hours).

e.g. Sous vide lamb shoulder in yoghurt sauce.

By tweaking the PH level in food, you hit the sensory receptors in the brain which makes food taste good to hit that sweet spot taking you on a tour of your palate!

 1.Sour

Acid is a fast flavour enhancer for your dish, you will increase taste and nutrition quickly.

Most dishes you add acid to at the end of your dish for quick flavour as it can change the structure of certian foods if added to early.

• Keep a stash of healthy acid in your pantry, fridge and freezer to add flavour and nutrition.

• Finish bland dishes with a little citrus juice or favorite vinegar etc. 

• Dressings simple home made ones can be pre made and kept in the fridge until needed use some healthy fats. 
• Many fermented foods produce health acids such as lactic and acetic acid, adding extra flavour and probiotics for a healthy gut, for e.g. yoghurt, kimchi, sauerkraut and miso paste.

    2.Salt

We all know that traditional salt and pepper enhance the flavour of food but most of us need to reduce our salt intake.

By adding these items and investing in good quality blends saving time and your health. Making your own is more beneficial if you have time, when adding salt use nutritious salt that has not been refined such as Himalayan, river or sea salt flakes, they contain important nutrients such as magnesium which the body needs among others and add them to the following blends to make the salt go further on your palette.

• Pesto’s using different herbs to add flavour, I am giving you my E book for more tips and base recipes to get you started you can find it here https://casstronomy.info/
• Dukkha spice mix to coat meats.
• Zaatar (middle eastern spice mix).
• Other great ingredients include, nutritional yeast, garlic, smoked paprika, roasted cumin powder, powdered ginger, powdered cinnamon.
• Herbs-fresh and home grown if you can.

     3. Sweet

A little sugar in our diet is helpful to wet the appetite but we need to add sugars that are unrefined and nutrient dense, some suggestions are below;

• Rice malt syrup
• Honey
• Coconut sugar
• Rapardsa sugar
• Maple syrup 
• Stevia

4. Bitter

Bitter can enhance your dish but use these in careful quantities examples are;

• Coffee
• Citrus zest
• Grapefruit
• Bitter greens
• Radicchio lettuce
• Brussel sprouts

  5. Umami

Known as the 5th taste, these are the powerhouse of taste and can enhance flavour and the presence of salt with awesome nutrients through fermented foods and fungi such as;

• Truffle
• Mushrooms
• Dried tomato’s
• Aged cheeses
• Seaweeds
• Bonito flakes
• Fermented foods such as 
• Kimchi

Others include oyster sauce, vegemite, fish sauce, soy sauce, miso, green peas, corn, lotus root, potato’s, green peas and beverages  Soju and green tea.

There are many ways to add extra nutrition into your meals, with a little thought you can really jazz up the flavour.

• Use seaweed or buckwheat pasta in your mac and cheese. add cauliflower and extra vegetables.
• Slip oats into your meatloaf and finely chopped onion, garlic, grate extra vegetables like carrot, zucchini and herbs.
• Add soaked drained lentils to homemade pie mixes.
• Slip beans lentils and legumes into your soups (I presoak, cook and freeze them so they are ready to add).
• Blend vegetables and mix into your bolognaise, meatballs, braises, sauces, shepherds pies, cottage pies, tomato sauce base, curries etc.;
• Add cooked white beans into your potato mash or instead of potato for extra low GI fibre and nutrients.
• Spread pesto’s, tapenade on crackers, wraps and sandwiches for extra nutrients.
• Click here to access my  E book with lots of pesto blend ideas and uses. They really are endless!

There are a Gizillion alternatives to high GI Carbohydrates, these suggestions can be inexpensive, healthy, filling and loaded with nutrition.

Cook and freeze some of these suggested dishes on a day off and have them ready for slow sustainable release to stop those sugar highs and lows, high GI foods that are not used up turn into sugar in the body and lead to the sugar highs and lows, if not burned these turn into fat. So easy to stop with some planning.

Swap the usual carbohydrate fillers and comfort foods like white pasta, bread, noodles and rice with these delicious slow release alternatives:

• Pearl barley risottos.
• Bean smashes.
• Braised bean dishes.
• Split pea fritters.
• Buckwheat grouts.
• Slow cooked polenta in bone broth.
• Quinoa porridge.
• Cooked Black, red or brown rice.
• Steel cut oats.
• Sweet potato and coconut gratin.
• Bulgar in tabouli. 

These are some suggestions to get your creative juices flowing. I would love to hear of your low GI culinary comfort food designs.

Here is my favorite Low GI pizza base recipe for you.

Chickpea and chai seed pizza base-recipe

Why?

Good bones with marrow are a real no brainer way to add nourishment and nutrition to your diet. Replacing many things like collagen supplements that could contain pesky powders here are some reasons why you should bother and with some base recipes and cooking times. 

The main benefits are:

Gut health

Easy to digest and gelatin binds with water in the gut making it easy to move through and glutamine helps maintain the health of the gut intestinal wall.

Healthy hormones

Helpful in detoxifying the body of excess hormones that can cause and  infertility due to amino acids, easy for the body to absorb which can help nourish unborn babies.

Hydration

With essential minerals this is a way healthier way to hydrate than sugar laden sports drinks.

Immune health

Containing very important vitamins and minerals calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, trace elements. Marrow has Vitamin A. K, Minerals zinc, iron, boron, manganese and selenium along with omega 3 fatty acids. Fish bones also contain iodine.

Mood food

Glycine that is found in bone broth has been shown through improved gut health can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. 

Muscle health

Glutathione in bone broths helps the body repair tissue speeding up recovery time.

Skin health

The collagen in bone broth which creates gelatin when extracted has shown to improve the skins barrier function and hydration reducing the visible signs of aging.

Sleep stress

Glycine helps relax the central nervous system which  can improve sleep.

Teeth and bone health

The calcium and minerals extracted in broth making are also good for our bones and teeth.

Weight management

With low calories and low carbohydrates, this is a great way to get your nutrition.

How?

Always rinse the bones and start with cold water for the maximum extraction benefits.

Different bones require different cooking times. You can add herbs and vegetables to your broths but personally I recommend leaving them plain and freezing them that way so they can lend themselves to any dish you wish to make giving you the possibility of sprucing up the flavour profile however you see fit.

You may used cooked bones (save the left over bones from that roast chicken dinner, rinse and use them) any bacteria will be killed by simmering the broth.

Fish bones

• Rinse well in cold water.
• Bring to a gentle simmer for 20 minutes.
• Strain well through a fine strainer with clean muslin or chux cloth for clarity.
• Date, label and freeze until required.

Crustacean shells

• Rinse well in cold water.
• Bring to a gentle simmer for 2 to 3 hours, add a good dollop of tomato paste for some added lycopene.
• Strain well through a fine strainer with clean muslin or chux cloth for clarity.
• Date, label and freeze until required.

Chicken and game bird bones

• Rinse well in cold water.
• Bring to a gentle simmer for 2 to 3 hours for chicken and 4 to 6 for game birds.
• Strain well through a fine strainer with clean muslin or chux cloth for clarity.

• Date, label and freeze until required.

Pork and Ham bones

• Rinse well in cold water.
• Bring to a gentle simmer for 6 to 8 hours.
• Strain well through a fine strainer with clean muslin or chux cloth for clarity.
• Date, label and freeze until required

Beef and Veal bones

• Rinse well in cold water.
• Bring to a gentle simmer for 12 to 24 hours.
• Strain well through a fine strainer with clean muslin or chux cloth for clarity.
• Date, label and freeze until required.

I love the saying white man food, with our obsession of refining food in the 50’s and new found technologies, its time to make some changes adding the unrefined bits back moving forward. This is a tastier, more nutritious and exciting way to create your own favorites how you want them to be. It can be challenging for some, so I have some ideas for you here that may help the transition.

Swap white rice for quinoa.

Sour cream for Greek style yoghurt.

Tahini or Greek yoghurt mayonnaise for standard mayonnaise.

Ham off the bone for bacon and processed meats.

Colcannon instead of standard mashed potato.

Sweet potato or cassava mash in place of standard potato mash.

Buckwheat, seaweed or brown rice vermicelli noodles instead of white rice vermicelli noodles.

Wholegrain couscous in place of white couscous.

Add oats with grains, seeds and cooked beans (some commercial blends are available) or all bran for processed boxed cereal.

Use alternate flours to bleached white flour like buckwheat, tapioca, cassava, coconut, lentil and many more.

Cauliflower, chickpea flour or bean pizza bases topped with pesto and tomato sauce over white flour dough and processed meats.

Wholegrain pasta for white pasta.

Wholegrain bread for white bread.

ADD

Oats, spices, nuts and seeds to crumbles.

Make a healthier pastry over white flour and butter, I have included a base recipe for you later in this course.

For crumbing use coconut or buckwheat flour, eggs, add sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, desiccated coconut or steel cut oats.

Use lemon zest. lime and orange zest for added flavour along with herbs and spices to reduce salt.

Add a little natural  sweetness with nutrition such as honey to a Char sui.

Read the blog here for the nutritional benefits of honey over the empty calories of refined sugar with virtually no vitamins, minerals, protein, fats and fibre.

So you have followed the recipe but for some reason it has not worked out. Is this a pain point for you that stops you wanting to cook?

I want you to send me a message on one of your cooking dilemmas so I can support you to move forward and stop your culinary pain.

For example, you cooked roasted some roast vegetables and instead of being crispy they are soggy.

This could be because of the following reasons;

There was not enough space between them, they could be spaced out a bit more.

The oven was not hot enough.

Your oven is not fan forced or there is no where for the  steam to escape.

There is too much moisture in the type of potato selected for roasting.

or

How do I get crispy skin on my fish, I have followed a recipe but it did not work?

I am available to help you trouble shoot and find a solution.

Send me a message so I can support you.

https://www.facebook.com/casstronomy/