And did you know that there's a touring children's museum exhibit? Or a life-size Neighborhood? (We'd hoped to go there on our way to or from Pittsburgh if we had kept going to the con there.)
Mr. Rogers, may you stay on television forever.
Thursday, February 27, 2003
He really was the best neighbor
What can I say that everyone isn't already saying? Mr. Rogers was a second father to almost every North American under about 40, and in some cases he was the only substitute for a father some kids ever had. We were talking just last week about how hard it would be on people when someday he passed away, and we were right, it's as upsetting as we thought it would be, apparently to the whole country. But instead of reading any more people's thoughts on his death, I'd like it if everyone went and celebrated his life instead, by visiting his own non-profit company, Family Communications, where you can read tons of info, and even buy excellently made toys and puppets (yes, puppets!) of the Neighborhood characters; or PBS' own Mr. Roger's site, which has a fantastic gallery of moments from Fred Roger's life, including video clips.
Saturday, December 14, 2002
Paper Dolls
I loved Betsy McCall paper dolls when I was little; my mom had lots of old magazines (and I mean old, going back to when she must have been pretty young) and the Betsy dolls were a big favorite of mine. She even let me have the ones out of her new issues to cut out. Years later, I found the older Betsy pages in vintage magazines at sales and so forth, and really fell for the late 50s ones—I even own a handful now. These pages were, in fact, the original inspiration for the Action Girl Activity Page series of paper dolls. All the Betsy outfits would have little stories and details for every outfit, and to me they seemed just like comics. Anyway, I've been slowly trying to clean up my bookmarks (it's way out of hand) and I found this link I'd forgotten about, to a huge collection of Betsy strips pages (see, there I go again, I keep typing "strips"!) My favorites are right around 1959, although all the 50s ones are great. Someday I'd like to get mine in order and maybe track down some more!
And thanks to sharp-eyed Bill, here's a couple of Christmas Betsys!!
Friday, December 13, 2002
Oh, Christmas Tree
We haven't had a full-size tree since we moved two years ago. For about 6-7 years we had a nice big, artificial white tree which I loved. But after we moved we had a little cat destruction and…no more tree. Right now I've got two tabletop trees (one pink, one silver) but I was hoping to get a full-size again this year, so I've been looking around. Because our house is decorated in a sort of—cartoony interpretation of mid-century modern is probably the best way to describe it—a couple of people have suggested the classic aluminum tree to go with the 50s-ish look. Now, while I think they're pretty, I'm not a big fan of any tree without lights. But I thought I'd look at a few. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that, contrary to popular opinion (and most eBay sellers), the aluminum tree is a 1960s icon, and didn't even exist in the 1950s! There's a great history of the tree at Bill's Antique Christmas Light Site, which even includes a copy of the patent, and as it turns out, the very first Evergleam aluminum tree went on sale in December of 1959. So, you learn something new every day. A little research through my own 50s magazine collection shows that for the 50s look, artificial trees came in white and green…but both live and artificial trees were often heavily flocked in any and every color you can imagine. For me personally, finding out that even the modern aluminum trees still can't have lights on them makes me think that white is once again the way to go. Oh, but one last silver tree link: the Aluminum Tree and Ornament Museum is actually only one of many museums I came across devoted to the silver tree, but this is the only one with pictures online. Check out the "growing process"!
In comic book news, I found this really interesting interview with Toshio Maeda, most famous (or infamous) here for creating the Urotsuki Doji (Legend of the Overfiend) stuff. It's part one of a series, which I will be checking back for. This one was particularly interesting because he makes several comments about the American comic industry, some perceptive and some showing that it's not just the American public that thinks adults don't read comic books.
Wednesday, September 25, 2002
pumpkins!
Finally, the weather has changed and it's really Fall, not just technically Fall, and it's almost October. October has always been my favorite month, and Fall my favorite season, for a number of reasons: my birthday is in October; my favorite holiday, Halloween, is in October; it's the month that you get to start wearing sweaters and eating warming foods; nature goes into her whole Autumn display; and it holds the promise of Winter, which I really like in concept, but don't actually like when it's here. I also love the whole iconography of Halloween (yes, I'm one of those people who sometimes decorates the whole house for it) and making Halloween food and treats. Here's one recipe I'm definitely going to do this year—how cute are those? Now to just find the time to plan the party and…think of a costume. Guess who has zero ideas this year?
Friday, September 13, 2002
Cooking Lesson Seven: Our Favorite Winter Soup
Note: this is one of a series of cooking articles I'd started posting before I had the blog set up. I turned them into blog entries to keep them on the site.
An easy, warming pot of soup for the depths of winter.
Yes, I know, I did promise to follow up the Super-Efficient Cooking Day with some more recipes for you to go with that, but, since it is the depth of winter right now, I want to share my favorite winter soup recipe with you all.
All you will need for equipment are some basics: a cutting board (or counter do don't care about), knife, can-opener and big soup pot.
Your ingredients:
¾ c. chopped onion
¾ c. chopped carrot (I chop the carrot sticks I always have in the fridge)
1 T. olive oil (any vegetable oil is fine)
1 lb. ground beef (or equivalent protein; turkey, tofu, soy crumbles etc.)
1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes (do not strain)
1 15 oz. can of chickpeas (do not strain)
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce (note on all these cans: just get close to 15 oz. Sometimes I can only get the 14½ oz. diced, and often have to buy 2 8 oz. cans of sauce)
HEAT!: I use about a T. of a chopped habañero relish I have; but you can use whatever hot seasoning you have on hand. Sambal Oelek would work great, or even Tabasco. Or fresh jalapeños, maybe. Go easy, you can always add more. This gives the soup its warming and sinus-clearing properties, but you don't want to kill people here!
seasoning: A T. or so of any "southwest" or "tex-mex" mix would work. I use about 1 t. of salt, ½ t. of fresh ground pepper, and about ¼ t. each of cumin, oregano, cayenne and paprika.
6 c. water
Put the onion and carrot in the pot, along with the olive oil, over low heat. Cook, stirring regularly, until softened. Bring the heat up to medium-high and add the beef; sauté 'til it starts to brown. Add all other ingredients, and continue stirring until it comes to a boil; lower heat and simmer for at least half an hour. Voilá! You're done!
Some alternate approaches: If you're using beef or turkey and you want to lower the fat, brown the meat first, drain it and set it aside while you saute the onion and carrot, then add back in. Also, if you don't care about fat, tossing in about a T of butter shortly before serving adds some real richness (which it will to any soup). And of course, the longer you simmer it, the better it gets. This soup reheats really well, on the stove or in the microwave. I don't know how long it will keep though, because it never lasts more than a few days around here. (I'm telling you, I could live on this soup.)
When you're ready to eat, just serve it with some nice crusty bread from the store or your oven, and you're good to go.
Ah!! Now you're ready to face that old man winter again!
Afterthoughts
I forgot to mention that of course you can subtitute any canned bean for the chickpeas. Kidney beans or cannellini would probably work great. I'm still partial to chickpeas in my soup so I won't be experimenting personally.
Janaki responded on her blog with this recipe for her favorite winter soup, a potato-cheese-broccoli soup. She also got totally ambitious and served my soup up in carved out rye bread bowls! How swanky is that?
The super-productive and super-cool Abby Denson tried my recipe with no beans at all, and said it worked just great without them.
And Michael Lo offered up this near-instant Chinese restaurant classic: 1 can creamed corn, one can of water, and an egg (raw), stirred together and brought to a boil. Haven't tried it yet, but sounds good and very fast.
And finally, during my non-solid food phase while sick after dental work in January I came up with near-instant bean soup: 1 can black beans, one can diced tomatoes, 1 can chicken broth, plus your favorite black bean soup seasonings (I forget, but I think I used some oregano, cumin and S&P). Bring to a boil, simmer until you can't wait any longer, and then, if you can't eat solid food (or want a smooth soup), use an immersion blender to puree. When I made it again after getting better, I added sautéed onions and carrots.
An easy, warming pot of soup for the depths of winter.
Yes, I know, I did promise to follow up the Super-Efficient Cooking Day with some more recipes for you to go with that, but, since it is the depth of winter right now, I want to share my favorite winter soup recipe with you all.
All you will need for equipment are some basics: a cutting board (or counter do don't care about), knife, can-opener and big soup pot.
Your ingredients:
¾ c. chopped onion
¾ c. chopped carrot (I chop the carrot sticks I always have in the fridge)
1 T. olive oil (any vegetable oil is fine)
1 lb. ground beef (or equivalent protein; turkey, tofu, soy crumbles etc.)
1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes (do not strain)
1 15 oz. can of chickpeas (do not strain)
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce (note on all these cans: just get close to 15 oz. Sometimes I can only get the 14½ oz. diced, and often have to buy 2 8 oz. cans of sauce)
HEAT!: I use about a T. of a chopped habañero relish I have; but you can use whatever hot seasoning you have on hand. Sambal Oelek would work great, or even Tabasco. Or fresh jalapeños, maybe. Go easy, you can always add more. This gives the soup its warming and sinus-clearing properties, but you don't want to kill people here!
seasoning: A T. or so of any "southwest" or "tex-mex" mix would work. I use about 1 t. of salt, ½ t. of fresh ground pepper, and about ¼ t. each of cumin, oregano, cayenne and paprika.
6 c. water
Put the onion and carrot in the pot, along with the olive oil, over low heat. Cook, stirring regularly, until softened. Bring the heat up to medium-high and add the beef; sauté 'til it starts to brown. Add all other ingredients, and continue stirring until it comes to a boil; lower heat and simmer for at least half an hour. Voilá! You're done!
Some alternate approaches: If you're using beef or turkey and you want to lower the fat, brown the meat first, drain it and set it aside while you saute the onion and carrot, then add back in. Also, if you don't care about fat, tossing in about a T of butter shortly before serving adds some real richness (which it will to any soup). And of course, the longer you simmer it, the better it gets. This soup reheats really well, on the stove or in the microwave. I don't know how long it will keep though, because it never lasts more than a few days around here. (I'm telling you, I could live on this soup.)
When you're ready to eat, just serve it with some nice crusty bread from the store or your oven, and you're good to go.
Ah!! Now you're ready to face that old man winter again!
Afterthoughts
I forgot to mention that of course you can subtitute any canned bean for the chickpeas. Kidney beans or cannellini would probably work great. I'm still partial to chickpeas in my soup so I won't be experimenting personally.
Janaki responded on her blog with this recipe for her favorite winter soup, a potato-cheese-broccoli soup. She also got totally ambitious and served my soup up in carved out rye bread bowls! How swanky is that?
The super-productive and super-cool Abby Denson tried my recipe with no beans at all, and said it worked just great without them.
And Michael Lo offered up this near-instant Chinese restaurant classic: 1 can creamed corn, one can of water, and an egg (raw), stirred together and brought to a boil. Haven't tried it yet, but sounds good and very fast.
And finally, during my non-solid food phase while sick after dental work in January I came up with near-instant bean soup: 1 can black beans, one can diced tomatoes, 1 can chicken broth, plus your favorite black bean soup seasonings (I forget, but I think I used some oregano, cumin and S&P). Bring to a boil, simmer until you can't wait any longer, and then, if you can't eat solid food (or want a smooth soup), use an immersion blender to puree. When I made it again after getting better, I added sautéed onions and carrots.
Cooking Lesson Six: the Super Efficient Cooking Day!
Note: this is one of a series of cooking articles I'd started posting before I had the blog set up. I turned them into blog entries to keep them on the site.
How some time invested one afternoon can feed you for days.
I often find that I have very little time to spend on anything, much less in the kitchen. But I hate the idea of falling into the fast- and snack-food trap that gets so many people. So one of the things I've been working on over the past year or so is ways to have maximum good healthy home cooking with a minimum of time and effort, and my number one solution has been (fanfare) the Super Efficient Cooking Day! (Which is actually only an hour or two, but "day" sounds better...)
Some of these elements may not work for you, but the idea is still the same -- to spend a short but very organized amount of time in the kitchen which will cut hours of work from your week. Adapt as you like to the kind of foods you eat. What I end up with is: pre-cooked chicken which can be used about a zillion different ways; a load of clean, fresh, and prepped vegetable which can you can either snack on or use in dinners over the next several days; and a batch of hard-cooked eggs which are a great snack or ingredient as well.
In addition to everyday kitchen items (i.e. oven, timer, etc.) you will need a kitchen mallet; and either a jellyroll pan or a cookie pan that has a rim all the way around it.
Your shopping list:
a package of chicken breast, boneless (with or without rib meat is up to you; I go with)
eggs -- amount and type is your call
fresh vegetables, carrots and celery being the basics; plus whatever else you might like. I might go with carrots, celery, zucchini and mushrooms on a typical day.
optional: ingredients to make whatever dip (hopefully a healthy one) you like for your vegetables. I go for a low-fat sour cream or yogurt plus salad dressing mix (ranch is good).
additionally: whatever ingredients you'll need for tonight's dinner + however many meals ahead you want to shop for.
The Procedure: First, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350° or so (F) (my oven bites so I actually set it to 400°). Then get your eggs started -- put as many eggs as you want to cook into a pan that allows them to all fit in comfortably in a single layer, and cover with cold water (an inch above the eggs). You're going to bring them a boil over high heat, and immediately turn off the hear, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Then transfer them to a bowl of cold water.
Next, we deal with the chicken. While you're waiting for the eggs to boil, get out your baking pan (line it with foil if you want easier cleanup), and give it a very light coating of vegetable oil. Take your chicken (using a large cutting board rather than the counter is a good idea here) and separate each portion. (At some point in here you'll be turning the heat off -- set a timer so you don't let the eggs sit too long.) Some pieces may be too large for one serving, just cut these in half. If you end up with some irregular pieces, don't worry, just plan on using those for stir-fry or something else where you'll be cutting up the chicken. Using your mallet (the smooth side), pound each piece to an even thickness of about ½". Lay the pieces on the pan so they don't touch -- you can optionally season the chicken at this point, depending on what you plan to do with it later. Some salt and pepper will be fine for almost anything though. Put the chicken in the oven and clean up your raw chickeny mess. (And if you aren't done before you handle the eggs -- wash those hands!) How long the chicken will take depends on your oven and the quantity of chicken. Just check on it every 5 minutes or so. (If you plan to use it without any further cooking, make sure it's well-done before taking it out -- if you'll be using in cooked dishes slightly underdone is okay. Just make sure it's cooked thoroughly the second time around.) Note: once we started buying larger packages of chicken at Costco, I still cut up and flatten all the chicken, but I separate all but a couple day's worth into dinner-size portions, wrap and freeze.)
Now, that your chicken is roasting and your eggs are cooling, it's time for the vegetables. Wash up your cutting board (or get out a clean one) and chop and slice away! I like to fill a bunch of Ziploc Containers (I like the "short square" ones) with cleaned, cut-up vegetables to grab and eat out of the fridge, and since I'm cleaning and chopping anyway, I will also chop up whatever vegetables I need for the next couple days at the same time (sliced mushrooms or zucchini, chopped peppers or onion, you name it).
At this point your chicken should be done -- and you should have a nice stack of containers full of ready-to-use-and-eat veggies, and a bowl full of eggs ready to put away. This is a rewarding moment. Store the chicken and veggies in the fridge, and either peel or store the eggs as they are. (Either way, they'll keep about a week. My method is to peel them and then store in a lightly salted water bath.)
But what to do with all this food?
Make a batch of whatever you like to eat raw vegetables with best and snack on them instead of junk.
Snack on the eggs, make egg salad, deviled eggs, or whatever you like best.
Use the chicken and vegetables in super-quick and easy dinners for the next couple days.
Make quick sandwiches from pieces of the chicken.
And after a couple of days (and before any of it goes bad) all of the vegetables and chicken you haven't yet used can find their way into a big stir-fry or soup! (Chicken shouldn't really be kept for more than about 3 days at most -- if you don't think you'll use it all, freeze it and use it later.)
Obviously, you may want a completely different set of prepped food at the finish, but the idea is the same, and the time saved will be the same too. As always, adapt to your own preferences!
Whew! Now make yourself some tea and take a break!
How some time invested one afternoon can feed you for days.
I often find that I have very little time to spend on anything, much less in the kitchen. But I hate the idea of falling into the fast- and snack-food trap that gets so many people. So one of the things I've been working on over the past year or so is ways to have maximum good healthy home cooking with a minimum of time and effort, and my number one solution has been (fanfare) the Super Efficient Cooking Day! (Which is actually only an hour or two, but "day" sounds better...)
Some of these elements may not work for you, but the idea is still the same -- to spend a short but very organized amount of time in the kitchen which will cut hours of work from your week. Adapt as you like to the kind of foods you eat. What I end up with is: pre-cooked chicken which can be used about a zillion different ways; a load of clean, fresh, and prepped vegetable which can you can either snack on or use in dinners over the next several days; and a batch of hard-cooked eggs which are a great snack or ingredient as well.
In addition to everyday kitchen items (i.e. oven, timer, etc.) you will need a kitchen mallet; and either a jellyroll pan or a cookie pan that has a rim all the way around it.
Your shopping list:
a package of chicken breast, boneless (with or without rib meat is up to you; I go with)
eggs -- amount and type is your call
fresh vegetables, carrots and celery being the basics; plus whatever else you might like. I might go with carrots, celery, zucchini and mushrooms on a typical day.
optional: ingredients to make whatever dip (hopefully a healthy one) you like for your vegetables. I go for a low-fat sour cream or yogurt plus salad dressing mix (ranch is good).
additionally: whatever ingredients you'll need for tonight's dinner + however many meals ahead you want to shop for.
The Procedure: First, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350° or so (F) (my oven bites so I actually set it to 400°). Then get your eggs started -- put as many eggs as you want to cook into a pan that allows them to all fit in comfortably in a single layer, and cover with cold water (an inch above the eggs). You're going to bring them a boil over high heat, and immediately turn off the hear, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Then transfer them to a bowl of cold water.
Next, we deal with the chicken. While you're waiting for the eggs to boil, get out your baking pan (line it with foil if you want easier cleanup), and give it a very light coating of vegetable oil. Take your chicken (using a large cutting board rather than the counter is a good idea here) and separate each portion. (At some point in here you'll be turning the heat off -- set a timer so you don't let the eggs sit too long.) Some pieces may be too large for one serving, just cut these in half. If you end up with some irregular pieces, don't worry, just plan on using those for stir-fry or something else where you'll be cutting up the chicken. Using your mallet (the smooth side), pound each piece to an even thickness of about ½". Lay the pieces on the pan so they don't touch -- you can optionally season the chicken at this point, depending on what you plan to do with it later. Some salt and pepper will be fine for almost anything though. Put the chicken in the oven and clean up your raw chickeny mess. (And if you aren't done before you handle the eggs -- wash those hands!) How long the chicken will take depends on your oven and the quantity of chicken. Just check on it every 5 minutes or so. (If you plan to use it without any further cooking, make sure it's well-done before taking it out -- if you'll be using in cooked dishes slightly underdone is okay. Just make sure it's cooked thoroughly the second time around.) Note: once we started buying larger packages of chicken at Costco, I still cut up and flatten all the chicken, but I separate all but a couple day's worth into dinner-size portions, wrap and freeze.)
Now, that your chicken is roasting and your eggs are cooling, it's time for the vegetables. Wash up your cutting board (or get out a clean one) and chop and slice away! I like to fill a bunch of Ziploc Containers (I like the "short square" ones) with cleaned, cut-up vegetables to grab and eat out of the fridge, and since I'm cleaning and chopping anyway, I will also chop up whatever vegetables I need for the next couple days at the same time (sliced mushrooms or zucchini, chopped peppers or onion, you name it).
At this point your chicken should be done -- and you should have a nice stack of containers full of ready-to-use-and-eat veggies, and a bowl full of eggs ready to put away. This is a rewarding moment. Store the chicken and veggies in the fridge, and either peel or store the eggs as they are. (Either way, they'll keep about a week. My method is to peel them and then store in a lightly salted water bath.)
But what to do with all this food?
Make a batch of whatever you like to eat raw vegetables with best and snack on them instead of junk.
Snack on the eggs, make egg salad, deviled eggs, or whatever you like best.
Use the chicken and vegetables in super-quick and easy dinners for the next couple days.
Make quick sandwiches from pieces of the chicken.
And after a couple of days (and before any of it goes bad) all of the vegetables and chicken you haven't yet used can find their way into a big stir-fry or soup! (Chicken shouldn't really be kept for more than about 3 days at most -- if you don't think you'll use it all, freeze it and use it later.)
Obviously, you may want a completely different set of prepped food at the finish, but the idea is the same, and the time saved will be the same too. As always, adapt to your own preferences!
Whew! Now make yourself some tea and take a break!
Cooking Lesson Five: The Mighty Marinade!
Note: this is one of a series of cooking articles I'd started posting before I had the blog set up. I turned them into blog entries to keep them on the site.
Some quick and easy ways to get variety into your home-cooking menu.
Marinades are a great way to add variety to your cooking -- you may only be able to, say, grill chicken or broil fish. but if you change your method of seasoning you can have a different final product every time you cook. Personally, I like to marinate whatever we're going to eat and then grill it. This allows me to throw a bunch of ingredients together early in the day, and then simply pull them out and place them on the grill to make dinner quickly later.
The simplest definition of a marinade is a seasoned liquid which meat, poultry, fish or vegetables are soaked in (I'm just going to say "meat" from here on in to make it easier on me, but think fish or chicken or tofu if that's what you prefer), in order to infuse them with the marinade's flavors and/or tenderize them prior to cooking. Generally, a marinade consists of an oil and an acid, with seasoning added to the mixture. The oil and acid help infuse the flavors into the meat, and the acid has an additional tenderizing effect -- so marinades are especially good for tougher (i.e. cheaper) cute of meat. For something which doesn't need tenderizing, you can use a low-acid marinade, or even skip mxing up a "proper" marinade -- you can take any liquids you would use to season your food and soak your meat in them. Soy sauce, wine, orange juice -- with or without additional seasoning added.
Don't worry about being too incredibly precise, or about following any specific recipe. This is a great opportunity to experiment. Base your seasoning mix on any flavors you are partial to, or on a recipe you think sounds interesting, but don't worry too incredibly much about precision. You can even use almost any salad dressing as a marinade. In a "proper" marinade, the acid will actually partially cook the meat as it marinates. There really is a huge difference -- if you try a number of different marinades you'll find that any marinade high in acid will visibly cook the meat as it soaks!! (And you can even leave the oil out entirely -- although for things like lean meat or skinless chicken the oil is rather necessary for the cooking process.)
There's a few basic rules of thumb when it comes to marinades -- but beyond that, you can do whatever you want! (Marinades are one of the areas of cooking that allow for the most experimentation with only very rare bad results.)
Make sure not to over-marinate. Especially in the case of acidic marinades, which could actually start to break down your meat! Generally, red meat can be marinated for up to 24 hours (although I usuall just go for 3 or 4); chicken should be marinated in the 2-4 hour range; fish for 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on what kind of fish it is (anything, for example, that may be called "steak" -- swordfish, tuna, etc -- can probably be marinated for up to 2 hours); and vegetables only need 15 minutes or so, as the flavorings are more of a coating and don't really soak in. (But they can be left much longer.) Of course, use your own judgement. Very thinly sliced chicken obviously needs much less time than whole parts do. And honestly, if you need to leave the chicken in the marinade all day while you're at school or work, don't worry about it!!
Keep everything cool! Especially in the case of chicken -- do not marinate at room temperature as a rule. Make up your marinade and then slip it into the fridge. You can bring it out a little while before cooking, but be careful. And if you want to use the leftover marinade as a sauce, make sure to cook it thoroughly -- pour it into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil before using it.
Match your seasoning to your meat. Obviously, the stronger the flavor of the item you're marinating, the stronger the seasonings you can use. However, that's not a strict rule by any means. Just keep in mind that milder ingredients like some fish and chicken will be totally overwhelmed by heavy flavoring. Of course, sometimes that's what you want.
Don't waste dishes! The absolute best way to marinate is in a one-gallon reclosable freezer bag. It's much easier to get the meat covered completely, you can simply turn it over every half hour or so instead of stirring, and you just throw it away after you're done. I'm generally not into using plastic, but this is one case where it is so much easier and the result is so much better it's completely worth it. You simply pour the ingredients directly into the bag, add the meat, close and go!
I personally prefer to grill all marinated meat, but you could also pan-fry, broil, or even put in a roast or stew.
Here's my basic all-purpose marinade; used by friends with good results:
The only important thing you should keep in mind is to keep the flavors balanced. If you use a strongly flavored oil (such as peanut or olive) you need to make sure that the accompanying liquid won't clash. Soy sauce and olive oil, for example, would not be high on my list of optimal mixtures. With olive oil I'd probably use a flavored vinegar; with something like peanut oil I'd experiment with juices and vinegars to find one I like (peanut oil and lime juice, for example, are a good foundation for a Southeast Asian-inspired marinade). If your seasonings are very hot (chili powder, cumin, garlic) you might want to either use a fruit juice in your mixture, or balance them with some honey or sugar. Here are a few more basic marinades for you to start with:
Have fun!!
Some quick and easy ways to get variety into your home-cooking menu.
Marinades are a great way to add variety to your cooking -- you may only be able to, say, grill chicken or broil fish. but if you change your method of seasoning you can have a different final product every time you cook. Personally, I like to marinate whatever we're going to eat and then grill it. This allows me to throw a bunch of ingredients together early in the day, and then simply pull them out and place them on the grill to make dinner quickly later.
The simplest definition of a marinade is a seasoned liquid which meat, poultry, fish or vegetables are soaked in (I'm just going to say "meat" from here on in to make it easier on me, but think fish or chicken or tofu if that's what you prefer), in order to infuse them with the marinade's flavors and/or tenderize them prior to cooking. Generally, a marinade consists of an oil and an acid, with seasoning added to the mixture. The oil and acid help infuse the flavors into the meat, and the acid has an additional tenderizing effect -- so marinades are especially good for tougher (i.e. cheaper) cute of meat. For something which doesn't need tenderizing, you can use a low-acid marinade, or even skip mxing up a "proper" marinade -- you can take any liquids you would use to season your food and soak your meat in them. Soy sauce, wine, orange juice -- with or without additional seasoning added.
Don't worry about being too incredibly precise, or about following any specific recipe. This is a great opportunity to experiment. Base your seasoning mix on any flavors you are partial to, or on a recipe you think sounds interesting, but don't worry too incredibly much about precision. You can even use almost any salad dressing as a marinade. In a "proper" marinade, the acid will actually partially cook the meat as it marinates. There really is a huge difference -- if you try a number of different marinades you'll find that any marinade high in acid will visibly cook the meat as it soaks!! (And you can even leave the oil out entirely -- although for things like lean meat or skinless chicken the oil is rather necessary for the cooking process.)
There's a few basic rules of thumb when it comes to marinades -- but beyond that, you can do whatever you want! (Marinades are one of the areas of cooking that allow for the most experimentation with only very rare bad results.)
Make sure not to over-marinate. Especially in the case of acidic marinades, which could actually start to break down your meat! Generally, red meat can be marinated for up to 24 hours (although I usuall just go for 3 or 4); chicken should be marinated in the 2-4 hour range; fish for 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on what kind of fish it is (anything, for example, that may be called "steak" -- swordfish, tuna, etc -- can probably be marinated for up to 2 hours); and vegetables only need 15 minutes or so, as the flavorings are more of a coating and don't really soak in. (But they can be left much longer.) Of course, use your own judgement. Very thinly sliced chicken obviously needs much less time than whole parts do. And honestly, if you need to leave the chicken in the marinade all day while you're at school or work, don't worry about it!!
Keep everything cool! Especially in the case of chicken -- do not marinate at room temperature as a rule. Make up your marinade and then slip it into the fridge. You can bring it out a little while before cooking, but be careful. And if you want to use the leftover marinade as a sauce, make sure to cook it thoroughly -- pour it into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil before using it.
Match your seasoning to your meat. Obviously, the stronger the flavor of the item you're marinating, the stronger the seasonings you can use. However, that's not a strict rule by any means. Just keep in mind that milder ingredients like some fish and chicken will be totally overwhelmed by heavy flavoring. Of course, sometimes that's what you want.
Don't waste dishes! The absolute best way to marinate is in a one-gallon reclosable freezer bag. It's much easier to get the meat covered completely, you can simply turn it over every half hour or so instead of stirring, and you just throw it away after you're done. I'm generally not into using plastic, but this is one case where it is so much easier and the result is so much better it's completely worth it. You simply pour the ingredients directly into the bag, add the meat, close and go!
I personally prefer to grill all marinated meat, but you could also pan-fry, broil, or even put in a roast or stew.
Here's my basic all-purpose marinade; used by friends with good results:
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or olive oil, or other flavored oil you like)
1/3 cup soy sauce (or vinegar, fruit juice or wine)
approximately 1 tablespoon each of your favorite herbs and spices. I most commonly use mustard powder and lemon pepper in my soy/oil mix, occasionally adding a little chopped garlic.
The only important thing you should keep in mind is to keep the flavors balanced. If you use a strongly flavored oil (such as peanut or olive) you need to make sure that the accompanying liquid won't clash. Soy sauce and olive oil, for example, would not be high on my list of optimal mixtures. With olive oil I'd probably use a flavored vinegar; with something like peanut oil I'd experiment with juices and vinegars to find one I like (peanut oil and lime juice, for example, are a good foundation for a Southeast Asian-inspired marinade). If your seasonings are very hot (chili powder, cumin, garlic) you might want to either use a fruit juice in your mixture, or balance them with some honey or sugar. Here are a few more basic marinades for you to start with:
A vegetable marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup vinegar; 1 teaspoon powdered mustard; 1 clove minced garlic; 1 cup ice water
For any meat or fish:
1 cup water; 1 cup wine*; 1 tablespoon pepper; 1 bay leaf; 1 small onion, sliced thin; 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary or thyme; 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves.
*use red wine for beef; dry white wine for chicken or fish; vinegar if you'd prefer not to use wine
For beef or shrimp: a beer marinade!!
1-1/2 cups beer; 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1 small onion, sliced thin; 1 minced garlic clove; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon pepper; 1 teaspoon powdered mustard.
Have fun!!
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