🧅 TREE 431: Chuck it all in

Food price prices are up and and climbing. Lots of products aren’t available. The foodscape is not a happy place. Yesterday and today, The Intuitive Cook Katerina Pavlakis (as featured in The Guardian!¹) is coming to the rescue with two posts stuffed with super-practical help.

Grow slowly
Jeff

---

One: This is Us.

“Chuck it all in” dishes are great for using up food you have.

Freestyle cooking doesn't have to be random; here’s a method you can use.

Most everyday, one-pot meals follow the same 3-step pattern:

1. Chop and soften chopped onion in cooking fat. This base layer adds important depth of flavour!

2. Add everything else by order of time it takes to cook, the dense stuff first, the delicates later. Make sure you season well and add some spices for extra flavour!

3. Finish by rounding off flavours with things like fresh herbs, lemon juice, condiments, and toppings. These are important details!

Four easy examples:

1. Curry, chilli, stew or casserole – simply follow the pattern above!

2. Soup – as above, just add liquid to desired volume. Leave chunky or blend smooth.

3. Stirfry – as above, cook dry and quick on high heat. Grate or strip-peel to quickly cook even root veggies!

4. Fried rice – stir fry ingredients (or use leftovers). Add cooked rice. Finish as above.

Worried about what goes with what? Here's how to make “random” flavours work:

Think of the bigger picture. Flavour is like a composition, with a background rhythm, a main melody and contrasting accents. You need both harmony and contrast. Use salty, sweet and acidic colours to paint your picture.

Geographical flavour patterns are a great way to guide your direction. Just a few flavourings can take your dish into Italian, Thai or Indian territory, whatever your ingredients.

Do you have your own “chuck it all in” favourites? Please share. I'd love to know!

Two.

This small and angry owl makes me laugh!

Three.

This song made me laugh.

1. Probably because she was featured in TREE first.