What's Your Culinary Philosophy?

[Margi Cintrano]

WHAT IS YOUR CULINARY PHILOSOPHY ?

Do please join us on this voyage and share with us your viewpoints ...
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Italians rever the art of the table, so it follows that my paternal Grandmom Margherite has had a tremendous subjective influence on me.

THE SEASONAL FRESH PRODUCT constitutes my general culinary philosophy. I dislike canned, frozen and / or jarred foods with heavy sodium and sugars. I prefer to go to the Farmer´s Market, Central City Markets and / or International Supermarkets for our meals.

If cooking Italian, I use Italian pastas or make my own. If in Madrid Capital, I predominately eat the daily catch of shellfish or fish, or chicken or our steak cuts from León ( rated number one by Forbes Magazine and the NY Times ).

The Mediterranean has glorious mountains, hill country and fish stocked seas and ocean ports and coasts ... There is no need to open a can or buy frozen fish ... Italia, The Iberian Peninsula, Greece and France have some of the finest products in the world.

In these ancient lands, there is enormous diversity as in the USA or Canada or the British Isles.

We love colorful, fresh unaltered, grown on substaniable soils, delicious regional cuisine, from rustic to refined, however, the products that speak of the land and their wines ...

Signature dishes ... The Vet surely is indeed very pleased that I take such an interest in the culinary arts, wine & food pairing and the epicurism & the gastronomic repertoire of our home.




Kindest regards.
Margi. Cintrano.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I don't know if it qualifies as a "philosophy", but I try to adhere to a few simple rules.

1. Try to buy as local as possible.
2. Try to eat as few processed foods as possible.
3. When possible, buy organic.
4. At least two-thirds of what's on the plate must be vegetables.
5. Eat fish twice a week. Eat meatless twice a week. Limit desserts to weekends only.
6. Once a month, cook something I've never cooked before.
7. Don't waste food.

 

[CWS4322]

I don't know if it qualifies as a "philosophy", but I try to adhere to a few simple rules.

1. Try to buy as local as possible.
2. Try to eat as few processed foods as possible.
3. When possible, buy organic.
4. At least two-thirds of what's on the plate must be vegetables.
5. Eat fish twice a week. Eat meatless twice a week. Limit desserts to weekends only.
6. Once a month, cook something I've never cooked before.
7. Don't waste food.

+1

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Steve & CWS: Good Philosophy or Culinary Life Style

Thanks alot for your feedback ... I do same more or less ...

Kindest.
Margi Cintrano.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I am with Steve on 1, 2, 4, and 7!

I like to try to make great food using basic ingredients that can be found in any local market, at low cost. It goes along with the Shaker philosophy of taking something ordinary and making it extraordinary. I enjoy reading about exotic ingredients and sample them whenever I get the chance but, I do not normally buy them. I think any cook can take great ingredients and make good food but, a real cook can take good ingredients and make great food. Someday I hope to be a real cook!

 

[Margi Cintrano]

@ Aunt Bea,

Bea: " Steve is quite a epicure and winemaker now " ...

I like healthy, simply grown and easily prepared food that creates a memory of aromas, product of course, lingers indelibly in our minds and hearts and is grown on sustainable soils ... I believe we are on similar sides of the tracks ...

I wish to thank you for all your feedback.

Kindest. Have a nice evening.
Margi.

 

[qmax]

I'm drawn toward Euro along the Med cooking, Spanish, French, Italian. But along the same lines, the freshest, most perfect ingredients I can find.

 

[Claire]

I wish I could say I eat only in season, local, and fresh. BUT, northwester Illinois -- that would mean no fresh produce for most of the year!

As we get older, I try to buy foods with more flavor so we can eat less of it. Being in cheese-land, we drive around to small, artisinal places in small towns and buy cheese directly from the maker. This way a small amount goes further.

Mostly my philosophy, though, is to enjoy what I eat. My sense of smell went berserk for a couple of years, and most foods just smelled appalling. I lost weight, which people told me was a good thing. All I could think of was I no longer enjoyed cooking and eating. My mother has a rare intestinal cancer and has eating problems, and many of my older friends have illnesses or conditions which preclude enjoyment of food. So my real philosophy is to enjoy what I eat, and share that enjoyment with friends and family as much as possible.

 

[MostlyWater]

Whatever doesn't kill ya, makes ya stronger.

 

[taxlady]

I like tasty food made of food.

I don't want a bunch of weird chemicals added to my food. I don't even want to see guar gum, because it usually means they aren't making it the traditional way and it doesn't taste as good.

 

[CWS4322]

Since we have this HUGE garden space, and we don't use fertilizers, pesticides, I'd guess that most of what we grow is pretty close to organic. We don't buy a lot of fresh produce--mostly fruit. I try to buy US or Canadian sourced food. And, we tend to make most things from scratch--including sauces, breads, tortillas, etc. And we have the eggs. We also buy meat on special and go with what we have on hand when planning meals. We can't afford to use a lot of alcohol when cooking--it is so darned expensive here and they don't sell nippers anymore, so an ounce of this or that is hard to obtain. I do bring those back from the States when I can...