What everyone does wrong when cooking.......

What does everyone do wrong when cooking?
They don't measure correctly.

And unless you are gifted by the God of cooking, that will totally botch any recipe you try to make, even if you're sure you did it 100% by the recipe. So let's talk about measurements. I'm from the US, so I'm going to base things in US measurements. Sorry Brits and Australians out there. Here's a handy-dandy (not notepad, for you parents out there), conversion chart!

1 tbsp = 3 tsp.
2 tbsp = 1 fluid oz.                1 oz = 28.25grams
4 tbsp = 1/4 cup
5 - 1/3 tbsp = 1/3 cup
8 tbsp = 1/2 cup
16 tbsp = 1 cup                     8 fluid oz = 1 cup
2 cups = 1 pint
4 cups = 2 pints = 1quart
4 quarts = 1 gallon
16 oz = 1 lb                           1 lb = 4.53.5 g

Alright, now that we have these measurements, let's talk about how to measure! I know this seems like something an idiot can do, but trust me. I know plenty of really smart people that can't measure to save their lives, and they always wonder why their recipes never turn out like they had intended.

When you measure ingredients, you need to know some things.

When you measure fat, like Crisco, lard, margarine or butter, you need to cram it into a dry measuring cup as much as you can. A good tip is to line the measuring cup with plastic wrap, cram all the fat down into every nook and cranny of that cup with a spatula or a spoon and fill it up. If you use the plastic wrap to pull it out, and you see air bubbles down at the bottom of your hunk of fat, you haven't done it right. That means that you arn't using as much of that ingredient as the recipe says, and even if it seems like an insignificant amount, trust me - it can make a humungous difference. 

When you measure white granulated sugar or any of her cousins like granulated Splenda, you need to get out your measuring cup and set it on the counter. Then you need to fill up the measuring cup with another spoon. After that you need to get a butter knife and scoot the sugar around to make sure it fills up the whole cup from side to side. Then take the butter knife like a samurai sword and scrape off the excess back into your sugar container. Then you have measured it right. If you don't do this, your recipe could turn out super sweet, super not sweet or it could even make your bread not rise or your cookies be cookie brittle instead of chewy soft goodness.

When you measure brown sugar, you pack it into that cup the same way we did with the fat up above. You better do it. Brown sugar is delicious, but not measuring it right can mean that your recipe won't work.

Flour. Right - flour. The thing that every single person on the planet measures wrong unless you were taught by a chef or a baker. Mainly a baker. This is the little demon that ruins almost every recipe that it's in if not done correctly. Every single recipe on the planet except for bread, when it calls for 1 cup of all purpose flour, or 4 cups or however many cups, it automatically assumes that you have sifted your flour. So when your cakes turn out like bricks, it's because you put too much flour in because you didn't sift it. So how to sift flour?! First, you get out a sheet of wax paper, a paper plate, whatever. Something to put this flour on after it is sifted, but before it is measured. Next, you get out your flour sifter. It can look like this :        

or like this:










Fill it up with flour. Shake it, or push the handle while you hold it over your wax paper, or paper plate or flour catcher thingy-ma-jigger.
Now you lightly scoop your flour off your plate into a measuring cup. Then you smooth out the top and scrape off the excess with your knife held like a samurai sword.

Liquid Measuring

To measure liquids, you need a liquid measuring cup that is glass or plastic, with a pouring spot and measurements marked on the side. Then, to read the measurements you need to look at the measurements from eye level, not from the top. Meaning, you have to bend down to read the numbers. If you read it from the top, it will always look like you need more liquid in the cup than you actually need to add, so it can totally ruin everything you make by making it too soggy with too much extra liquid. Every little bit counts, trust me.







Measuring spoons
Measuring spoons are used the same way as dry measuring cups. You scoop them full, then level them off. If you put liquid in measuring spoons, just fill it up to the top!

NEVER EVER MEASURE INGREDIENTS OVER THE BOWL WITH EVERYTHING ELSE YOU HAVE ALREADY PUT IN THE BOWL.

It is far too easy to accidentally dump an extra 3 tsp of vanilla in or 3 tsp of salt. And neither of those will help your cooking. In fact, and excess of those two ingredients in particular will turn almost anything into the most disgusting creation in the world. Prevent this - don't measure over the bowl. Please.

Now, if you want to test this out for yourself, make two batches of this chocolate chip cookie recipe. Measure one the way that you normally do, especially if you're one of those "I can't bake because it always turns out bad" kind of people. Then, measure one the way I've told you to. Then see the difference, and be amazed!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 8-12
6 Tbsp Margerine
1/4 granulated sugar
1/4 brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix margarine and sugars in a bowl at medium speed for 5 minutes or until throughly mixed and creamy with no clumps. (This is called "creaming")
3. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until well blended.
4. Add mixed dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda)
5. Add chocolate chips, mixing in with a spoon, not the electric mixer. (This will break the chocolate chips)
6. Drop on baking sheet lined with parchment paper using a teaspoon or a cookie scoop.
7. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees F.
8. Let cookies sit on the baking sheet 1-3 minutes after removal from the oven to allow them to finish cooking. Then remove them from the baking sheet by sliding the parchment paper off with the cookies still on it, and on to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Let me know how this works for you - and if you believe me now. Maybe now we can make our own cookies, instead of buying Chips Ahoy.

****By the way, this dough is freezable. Finish making your dough, make balls of it and put it on parchment paper and slip it into your freezer on a flat surface so it can harden for 2-3 hours. Bag it up until ready to cook, then bake at 375 degrees F for 11-13 minutes if still frozen, or 10-12 minutes if thawed.****

 

Me*di*o*cre ; adjective \ˌmē-dē-ˈō-kər\             
                      of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance 
                      eg: ordinary or so/so

The thing that is mediocre is the thing that is of low quality, value, ability or performance. The carpenter did a mediocre job on the new roof. Oops. They must have not done so well. No one likes it when someone does a mediocre job on something they think is important. A mediocre doctor isn't someone you want to trust your health to, and a mediocre carpenter may put your family in danger by building your house badly. So why in the world do we trust our bodies to mediocre fry cooks in the back rooms of fast food joints? Why do we let mediocre food companies sell us food for our children? Food is our life blood! It is the why and the how of living. If we don't have GOOD food we STARVE. You heard me. If you don't have GOOD food- YOU ARE STARVING.  Nutrients that show up in different foods are what provide energy and sustenance to our immune system, our muscles, our nerves, our eyes and EVERY SINGLE ITTY-BITTY PART OF OUR BODY. So why are we feeding our vessel of life CRAP?! Heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many other diseases are what happens when we feed our body CRAP, so it starts to function at a MEDIOCRE level, which means it BREAKS. Like what happens when you never change the oil in your car engine. IT BREAKS! Our trust in mediocre food companies and restaurants is hurting us more than we can imagine. Well, it's time for the mediocrity to end. It's time to take the mediocrity out of taking care of ourselves and our bodies. Let's not be mediocre anymore. We'll do it together.

Step One: Realize that companies that package food and create your groceries are not responsible for your health. 

For some reason, this is something that is in the back of everyone's head, but it never seems to make it to the forefront as something that we need to know and remember. Everyone blames McDonald's for making them fat, they blame Kellogg and Tyson and  Pepsi Co. for putting preservatives in the food of the consumer. Of course they put preservatives in the food of the consumer. Don't be naive - they are just doing their job, just like everyone else. They are making a product that they want to sell to you, and they can only keep selling it if you keep buying it. So quit buying it if you don't want to eat preservatives - in this day and age, there are other options. They are not responsible for your health, and frankly, they don't care about you at all. Not in the slightest. So why in the world would you trust someone with your health who won't bat an eye if you die?

You are responsible for what you eat. Not the big food companies. They are not your parents, they don't care what you eat, and as long as you keep eating it, they keep making it. 

I'm here to help you learn how to start being responsible for your health - we'll do it together.

Now let's start Killing the Mediocrity of food.