This morning, while grubbing around at the back of the pantry shelves I came across my hiding place for my dirty little kitchen secrets. I’m sure we all have them – those ingredients that we wouldn’t like to be seen to use, but which we fall back on for convenience sake, from force of habit or, in my case, often sheer laziness! I have decided it is time to make a clean breast of things and to admit to my little lapse in culinary candour, but I swear I have a perfectly good and legitimate excuse.
If you have had a look at my “About Me” page you will know that I come from a home tragically deprived of decent homemade food. When magazines and cookbooks speak lovingly of food “as good as Grandma makes”, I can only lower my eyes, shuffle my feet and sigh quietly to myself in self-pity as I recall my childhood meal traumas. Having said that, children are notoriously resilient and will often take pleasure in the smallest things. I have some very fond memories of my Grandmothers roast lamb. This was a big treat in our house, generally cooked on the traditional day – Sunday – and served with the the most wonderful roasted potatoes (cooked in dripping) and gravy. Unfortunately this was often accompanied by grey veggies, but I have moved on from there, now. My Grandmother did, indeed, have a secret to her scrummy gravy. My mother used it, it is a family tradition which I have carried on and it is that which I stumbled across.
My kids seem to enjoy tucking into a roast swimming in gravy made this way just as much as I did and there are mutters of discontent if I try anything too fancy on them, so I just go with the flow. I am well aware that most of it’s flavour comes from salt, but it keeps everyone happy and makes my life easier. It never goes lumpy, is made in mere minutes and it does say that it is “Traditional” on the box!
So there – I’ve bared my soul to you. I don’t believe for a minute that you don’t have any dirty little kitchen secrets of your own and I think it only fair that you share yours with me now – so tell me, what shortcuts do you use to make your time in the kitchen just that bit easier?
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I think mine would have to be powdered stock (thankfully not the cubes, but that is only slightly better).
I admit I have never made my own stock from scratch, but I have gone up from powdered stock by getting the liquid form, still cheating though isn’t it?!
I will come clean – I often use stock cubes when I make soup. In fact I would rarely make my own stock – so there you have it – in writing for all to see !
Premade curry paste! And pre-ground curry powders! I take comfort in the fact that almost every Asian cook I know uses them..PLUS I’ve never been able to replicate a paste or curry powder as well from scratch as the ones I can buy. I just don’t try anymore.. 🙂
I must admit I finally weaned myself from Gravox a few years ago, and it has taken many failures, but I am getting close to achieving a reasonably good gravy for each type of roast and of course the great sausages in onion gravy!
My ‘DLS’ would have to be stock.
With my current solar powered house, my little gas fridge won’t accommodate lots of lovely frozen home made stock, so the old tetra packs of so called ‘Real Stock’ are a necessity. And no…I haven’t done a vegie stock in my Thermie yet, there never seems to be enough leftovers!
While I love the stock I make in my Thermomix, I also keep the tetra packs handy for when I run out. And Celia, I’m with you on the Asian curry pastes – the better commercial ones are good enough for me too.
I am currently sheltering in a car from the pouring rain in a horse paddock. Camping in a horse float is all very well until the weather turns nasty and the float fills up with saddles, rugs, chairs …!!
Still, we are better off in the car than those souls in Queensland and my thoughts are with them.
Pantry shame…hmmm – smarties (leftover from my little one’s birthday), black and gold brand bullets (they are the only ones that make them with dark chocolate) and I also confess to eating golden syrup on bread and butter.
Shortcuts? I’ve used a few. Actually I’m all for shortcuts unless I’m feeling like making something from scratch – I don’t want to be a slave to the kitchen and often I just want to eat/feed the family. So I use…liquid stock (almost always)….cajun seasoning (I don’t even know what’s in it but I bought it for one recipe that turned out to be really yummy and I keep making it)…Thai curry pastes (can’t find an Indian one I’m happy with so if anyone has tips on this I’d be grateful)…tinned custard (unless it’s a dinner party)…pesto in a jar. The list could be longer but I don’t want to write another blog post under yours Amanda 🙂
definitely spray-on olive oil. I’m sure NO olives were harmed in the making of this, but it is so useful for baking.
I used to love using Real Gravy in a little tetra pack, I think it was Continental brand, it tasted very home made, but sadly it is no longer available.
I guess my biggest DLS is packet cake mixes. I don’t eat them myself, but have been known to make them for OH and kids for school lunches. There, it’s out! Another ingredient I have no shame in using is pasta sauce (the extra garlic one), I don’t think I could make it better myself, so I always use it in bolognese sauce and lasagne. 😉
Pantry secrets….. Jeeeezzzz Amanda, this is …. aaahhh, revealing 🙂
OK, here goes!!!
Knives…., I’m a chef & I know we’re all meant to just love our thousand $ knives including the couple our sainted mentors & Executive Chefs gave us for prizes & when people come visit they oowwhhh & aaahh that I own such treasures… well., whenever I reach for a knife, its almost always my $2.50 Kiwi-Brand chopper bought in an Asian shop, its the best knife I’ve ever used 😉
But., my pantries are pretty OK at home I think….., although I also use a powder stock sometimes & definatly use curry pastes.
OK…, that’s enough for one day, I’m sure there are plenty more waiting to use the confessional 🙂
Sarah – I forgot about the custard! My kids prefer the shop one to mine, too!
Nesta – spray olive oil is a must for the baking pans!
Ann – my devotion to baking was nurtured as a kid by packet cake mixes.
Anna – thanks for the knife tip! Looks like stock powder and curry pastes are generally pretty popular, though!
I was thinking, I’m clean, I’m clean… I can’t think of anything! Then I saw the jar, the incriminating jar(s)…mayonnaise. Praise. I don’t want to say anymore.
This post is amazing!! And well, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. We all lectures others about healthy food and stuff like that (especially children who’d eat only junk food), but come on!! We know it’s not always like that. You can’t always eat “perfect”. Lack of time, lack of will… I sometimes use precooked frozen pasta. Heat some oil in a frying pan, cook for 5 minutes and voilà!! And I’m not ashamed to confess it…. 😛
Tinned tomatoes and sometimes tinned chickpeas are my limits. But I can see some light beer and instant coffee left over from a party, honestly it wasn’t me.
Hehe I came clean last year on a post and I must say that it had some therapeutic value confessing all! 😛
You’re certainly one of millions that would have secrets to bare…and I’m no exception. Although, I now make my own homemade custard pudding and cakes…I still have commercial powdered products just in case I’m stuck in a bind or sometimes when I’m in the mood to experiment. There, I said it…feels good ;o)
Let it go…life’s too short ;o)
Ciao for now,
Claudia
Oh I need to confess. Oven chips! Mayonnaise! Sacla sauces in jars. I’m sure there’s more, oh yes, packet soya custard. I don’t have a deep chip fryer thingy so it’s either oven chips or takeaway chips….