Tips and Tricks for Vegetarian Cooking
(www.vegcooking.com)
Here are some secrets for saving time while jazzing and lightening up
your recipes:
• Use vegetable oil instead of animal fat for frying and sautéing.
• Use vegetable stock or broth or wine instead of animal-based stocks
in soups, sauces, and stews.
• To liven up your rice, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a pot
and sauté one tablespoon of garlic for two minutes. Add the rice and
sauté until lightly browned. Cook the rice according to package
directions, adding vegetable broth instead of water for flavor.
• Use only the freshest ingredients in your recipes.
• To perk up wilted lettuce, add lemon juice to a bowl of cold water
and soak lettuce for an hour in the refrigerator.
• If a soup or stew is too salty, add chunks of raw potatoes. Discard
them after they have cooked—they will have absorbed the salt. If a soup
or stew is too sweet, add salt. If a main dish or vegetable is too
sweet, add one teaspoon of cider vinegar.
• When sautéing zucchini, potatoes, carrots, and squash, use a fork
to stir. Spoons often break up the vegetables.
• To thicken sauces: Try using cornstarch mixed with cold water (in a
one-to-one ratio), brown rice flour (approximately 1 2/3 teaspoonfuls
per 1/2 cup of liquid), potato starch or flour (2/3 teaspoon per 1/2 cup
of liquid), tapioca flour mixed with cold water (in a one-to-one ratio),
or ground nuts.
• Save time by reading a new recipe all the way through first and
making sure you have all the ingredients and tools. Try mastering six to
eight recipes and using them in rotation—a trick gourmet chefs use.
• Brown rice syrup can be used in place of sugar, honey, and other
sweeteners. To substitute for sugar, use 1 1/4 cups of brown rice syrup
for 1 cup of sugar and use 1/4 cup less of a liquid called for in the
recipe.
Your question and comments are welcome