High quality ingredients mean high quality products. I may spend a little extra money in searching for the very best items available, but the result is superior creations of the utmost quality.

I support pesticide free farming and try to ensure that my produce comes from farms who follow the practice.

Handy things to know

• 1 egg white is about 2 tablespoons
• 1 egg yolk is about 1 tablespoon
• To make 1 cup of whole eggs, you will need 5 large eggs
• To make 1 cup of egg whites, you will need 7-8 large eggs
• To make 1 cup of egg yolks, you will need 12-14 large eggs
• Egg shell and yolk color may vary, but the shell color has nothing to do with egg quality, flavor, nutritive value, cooking characteristics or shell thickness
• 1 lemon will yield about 2-3 teaspoons of minced zest
• 1 lime will yield about 2 teaspoons of minced zest
• 1 orange will yield about 2-3 tablespoons of minced zest
• It takes about 4 lemons to yield a cup of lemon juice
• If you store your lemons at about 50 to 60 degrees with lots of humidity, it will easily double the shelf life.
• 1 envelope (1 tablespoon) of powdered gelatin will gel 2 cups of liquid
• 1 envelope of dry yeast is 1 tablespoon
• 2 ounces of cheese yields about ½ cup grated
• 12-14 graham cracker squares yield 1 cup crumbs
• 1 large carrot yields about 1 cup diced
• 1 medium onion yields about 1 cup diced
• 1 large sweet pepper yields about 1 cup diced
• 1 large slicing tomato yields about 1 cup diced
• 2-3 Roma tomatoes yield about 1 cup diced
• 1 large rib of celery yields about 1 cup diced
• 1 scallion yields slightly over 1/8 cup sliced
• 1 large clove garlic yields about 3 teaspoons minced
• 2 slices of bread will yield 1 cup soft bread crumbs

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Items that should be found in a well stocked pantry

Salt. And not the iodized junk either. Good quality kosher or even better, sea salt is a must. Salt amplifies the flavor of virtually everything and is one of the few things that is actually “tasted” by your taste buds. We generally can only taste salt, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami*, which I will address later. Everything else that we think we taste is actually a function of your olfactory glands in your nasal passages. You don’t taste food as much as you smell it. I know it sounds weird, but trust me on this one. Now, since you can only taste four basic flavors, do you see how important good salt is to your seasoning arsenal?

Umami. Identified by the Japanese and is, for lack of a better way of putting it, “taste without taste.” Monosodium glutamate is a concentrated form of umami and is why foods taste more intense when added. It does not really have an easily identifiable taste itself, only that it intensifies flavors already present.

Whole peppercorns and a peppermill. Don’t bother wasting your time with pepper that is already ground. It has a fraction of the flavor that freshly cracked pepper does. I would also like to mention that pepper is a very good digestive aid, so don’t be shy when using it. At home, I like to fill my mill with an assortment of white, green, black, and pink peppercorns so that I get the full range of flavors. You can easily purchase these blends most anywhere. Alternatively, if you like, stick with just black peppercorns. Pink peppercorns are not actually pepper (piper nigrum), but the dried berries of the Baies rose plant, native to South America, but also grown in Madagascar and Reunion Island. Pink peppercorns are pungent, slightly sweet, and have a faint fruitiness to them.

Mortar and pestle. Preferably a set that is made of stone, as it will be heavier and will crush your spices easier, and also will not absorb flavors like a wooden set will.

Pastry brushes. You never know when you will need one and they are good for more than just one thing. They are handy for dusting the dirt off mushrooms if you do not have a vegetable brush. They are good for coating a pan with oil or melted butter for baking, or just brushing some oil onto a piece of fish before it hits your grill.

Knives. I will not tell you to rush out to the store to purchase a new set of knives, but if you are operating with a rusty, dull clunker, it might be a good idea to get yourself a new one. It is easy enough to live with just a good French knife and paring knife, but others do come in handy as well. A good boning knife is useful for the obvious reasons, as is a long slicing blade and a serrated blade. The most important thing to remember is to keep all of your knives razor sharp. A dull knife is actually more dangerous because it may not cut into the product and could slip and cause an accident. Personally, I keep my blades sharp enough to shave with, but it takes a bit of practice to pull that off. Just make sure yours have a good edge and you will be just fine.

Good quality cookware. The same standards go for this. It is definitely not necessary to rush out and purchase a thousand dollar set of sauté pans, but it does help to have clean, rust-free, & ding-free sauté pans & pots. One or two non-stick surface pans are useful as well.

Electrical appliances. You can get by with a minimum of appliances, so if you are on a budget, then a small food processor would be the first priority, followed by a hand-held mixer. After that, I would definitely get a hand-held immersion blender (these things are invaluable and can be found for as little as $10. Next in your arsenal, a blender would be handy. Even though it does mostly the same job as the immersion blender, it is a bit heavier and can be used for denser material. Plus, it has the added bonus of being able to prepare tasty libations to cool you down as you slave away in the kitchen!!

Good produce. I can’t stress enough how important it is to start every dish with the best quality produce you can find. It’s simple, really. When you start with really good produce, it needs a lot less “dressing up.” It’s good already! Of course, this does not mean that you have to shop at the most expensive store in town, but when you are shopping, be very discriminating about your food. Do not let “any old tomato” do! Take your time and sort through until you find the best ones. I know this may sound like common sense, but you would be surprised at how lax we get when our mind is on something else or when we are in a hurry.

Good quality seasonings. Hey, why else would you be on my website? Whether you are looking for olive oil, vinegars, marinades, or dry rubs, always look for the absolute best you can afford. (Hint, hint)

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