Hullo! I pondered if I could be any sort of help to you since my cooking and baking is very haphazard, impatient and not very recipe-useful haha, but at least it doesn't really use very precise measurements? Sometimes improv does come down to experience going "nope you totally need more milk in this batter" type thing, but hopefully I haven't assumed too much skill level and also the below sound like something you might like to eat :)
My salad tips: Some olive oil (a generous drizzle then toss, don't like... drench it. Unless you want.) plus the juice of half-1 lemon plus a pinch or two of salt is a great dressing for any veggie salad (when I grew up I thought that was just how you made salad, I didn't even consider it a dressing!)
If you replace the olive oil with sesame oil (and the lemon with a lime if you want, and add a bit of chilli flakes/chilli slices/chilli sauce if you like) then it becomes a much more Thai-inspired salad dressing, which is great for if you're doing a salad that's like, grated carrot and some lettuce/cabbage that's been a bit cooked/lightly cooked bok choy and bean sprouts and tomatoes and green beans (if fresh these can be put in raw, otherwise cook 'em lightly in a pan or with some water in the microwave).
If you wanna get fancy and you're doing a more Mediterranean-type salad (cubes of tom+cuc with feta cheese and olives, that kinda thing), slice your onion in half length-wise, then slice thinly while trying your best to keep the onion half together, then half the whole thing lengthwise again (so you get longish thin strands when the layers separate). Do that first, then stick it in the bottom of your salad bowl, add your salt, and then sorta crush the onion (with the back of a spoon, with the end of a rolling pin, with your hands) and leave it to marinate in the salt as you chop up the rest of your salad ingredients and then mix :)
Don't be scared to add bits of pear or apple or orange to a green leafy salad. Even if it might seem a bit strange at first. If you add walnuts too, that can be nice to try too.
Tomato-based sauce/fake dahl/shakshuka/yummy thing variations. I joke that without canned tomatoes, onions and garlic, I wouldn't know what to do with myself XD So this is some stuff based on those 3 ingredients:
1. start heating a big deep pan, or I guess a medium pot, on mid-heat (4 on an oven stove setting? sorry I can't be more specific there). once the pan is hot, then add the oil 2. chop an onion or two into roughly the same size squares. Doesn't really matter how big, but about the size of your thumbnail is a good estimate? add the onion to your pan with the oil in it. poke it with your wooden spoon/spatula/whatever you're using, to help separate the onion. put a lid on the pan if you have one. 3. mince (chop finely) the garlic. use as much garlic as your heart desires. I love garlic, I use like, half a clove. or use a garlic crusher. or use already-crushed store-bought garlic. 4. mix the onion in the pan every once in a while. 5. add the garlic to your pan after like 5 or so minutes. at this point, take the lid off the pan if you put one on. keep stirring every once in a while - you don't want the onion or the garlic to burn. translucent onions are the goal (edges browned is fine).
And now we diverge!
Sauces: bolognese - add your mince (beef, usually, if you try venison it's a LOT heavier, and lamb is about the between stage - both were too much for me - and some people do chicken mince? I've always done red meat) and poke at it until it's in smaller pieces and browned on all sides - add some grated carrots and/or chopped celery if you like - add a can of kidney beans if you like, or use 2 as a replacement for the meat if you're vegetarian - add two cans of chopped/whole peeled/crushed tomatoes, and some tomato puree if you like - add some salt (to taste, but wait till the meat's cooked a bit more) and pepper - leave to simmer on lower heat (like a 3) for a while. 20 mins? give it a stir every once in a while. - when everything looks like it's all one thing and the consistency is how you like it (you might want to add a bit of water, or let it cook for longer with the lid off to get rid of some liquid) then add whatever you have of oregano, thyme, parsley, basil; you can add some chilli too if you like. fresh is nice, dried is fine. Umm, like a teaspoon? of each apart from if you do fresh parsley - chop a whole bunch in there! - mix it all up and turn the heat off and just leave with the lid on to cool.
you can have this with pasta or use it for lasagna or make it the base of your shepherd's pie (mince at the bottom - usually people add frozen peas to the mix for it) cooked potatoes roughly mashed and put on top, bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes) or add aubergine slices and stuff and make a kind of moussaka with it!
veggie sauce for pasta and shakshuka - add chopped mushrooms or courgette (zucchini) or capsicum (any and all colours) if you have them. or add more oil and add chopped eggplant (aubergine) - that takes a bit longer to cook. Or you know, add other vege you like, or do all of 'em for a fast ratatouille kinda sauce. - mix the vege around. the eggplant needs to change colour (go darker) and softer, the courgette/mushroom/capsicum needs to kinda brown around the edges a bit and get a bit softer. - optional cans of beans here (it gives you some protein, fills you up more, if you like beans. don't put it in if you're doing shakshuka or going for a ratatoiulle style sauce) - add 1 can of chopped/whole peeled/crushed tomatoes, or some passata but that tends to be more expensive haha, add some tomato puree if you like (like a tablespoon) - add salt, pepper, paprika, smoked paprika if you have it, a bit of chilli/cayenne pepper - leave it to simmer! throw in some some of those italian herbs just before the end like with the bolognese, if you want.
Serve the sauce with the pasta, can be mice to have some grated cheese (parmesan, plaon yellow cheese like edam/cheddar) on top if you're feelin' fancy, or some crumbled feta.
Shakshuka: (this is a dish you can have any time of day, usually goes) Do the veggie sauce steps, but you'll you'll wanna ditch the beans. you can add some spinach or silverbeet if you like as a another vege option/instead of the capsicum or whatever. So you get up to the part where everything is simmering, nice! - poke little dips about evenly spaced around your pan - how many depends on how many eggs you wanna add and also how big and wide your pan is. - add the eggs in one by one on top of the tomato and vege mixture - stick the lid back on and let it all cook for another 5-10 minutes or so. - scoop out a serving (1 egg plus all the veggies under and around) and serve with bread of some sort to mop stuff up. can be eaten any time of day, is good the day after as leftovers too.
Fake dahl: (i'm not from India and i am impatient and cheat): - soak some lentils in water (cover and leave a couple of fingers of water on top). whatever kind you have/want. orange lentils take half as much time to cook so I usually go for those. - keep going with those onions for as long as you can be patient for. actually caramelising onions takes AGES and I've never gotten to that stage lol. be careful not to burn them - add a chopped potato or two if you like here. you can also add chopped carrot. poke them so they don't stick to the pan - you may need to add a bit more oil. - add lots of cumin, chilli/cayenne pepper to taste, ground coriander seeds if you have them, a bit of tumeric if you like, a bit of cinnamon if you like. DO NOT ADD SALT YET (if you add salt, then it makes your lentils stay hard). - mix the spices with the onions etc and let it all sizzle for a bit till everything's nicely coated. - drain the lentils and wash them, then add to the pan with water. how much depends on how many lentils you put in. Google is your friend, I just eyeball it :/ - add a can of chopped/whole peeled/crushed tomatoes, mix everything up a bit, then let it simmer at heat 3 or so. maybe 20 minutes? - after 20 minutes check in on things and give it a mix and make sure your bottom isn't burning. - do you need to add more water? if your lentils aren't soft and your sauce it drying up, yes, add more water. - if you're not using red lentils you'll probably need another 20 minutes at least - finally done? add your salt NOW, taste, maybe add some lemon juice if you like - stir, take off the heat and let it cool.
serve with a garnish of fresh parsley/coriander on top if you wanna look fancy, I usually eat it with rice.
... I swear this looks like a LOT of instructions but umm, I promise they're all simple recipes and not much can go wrong and every one of them is ready in under an hour and they can be used for lots of things or you can eat them by themselves or experiment with adding different things/whatever you like.
Lastly, there's this website Supercook where you put in some ingredients that you have and it gives you meal options based on that. Never tried it but lots of people find it useful.
Anyway, I hope you're not allergic to anything up there and that this helps and you make something tasty!
some food recipes (ish)
My salad tips:
Some olive oil (a generous drizzle then toss, don't like... drench it. Unless you want.) plus the juice of half-1 lemon plus a pinch or two of salt is a great dressing for any veggie salad (when I grew up I thought that was just how you made salad, I didn't even consider it a dressing!)
If you replace the olive oil with sesame oil (and the lemon with a lime if you want, and add a bit of chilli flakes/chilli slices/chilli sauce if you like) then it becomes a much more Thai-inspired salad dressing, which is great for if you're doing a salad that's like, grated carrot and some lettuce/cabbage that's been a bit cooked/lightly cooked bok choy and bean sprouts and tomatoes and green beans (if fresh these can be put in raw, otherwise cook 'em lightly in a pan or with some water in the microwave).
If you wanna get fancy and you're doing a more Mediterranean-type salad (cubes of tom+cuc with feta cheese and olives, that kinda thing), slice your onion in half length-wise, then slice thinly while trying your best to keep the onion half together, then half the whole thing lengthwise again (so you get longish thin strands when the layers separate). Do that first, then stick it in the bottom of your salad bowl, add your salt, and then sorta crush the onion (with the back of a spoon, with the end of a rolling pin, with your hands) and leave it to marinate in the salt as you chop up the rest of your salad ingredients and then mix :)
Don't be scared to add bits of pear or apple or orange to a green leafy salad. Even if it might seem a bit strange at first. If you add walnuts too, that can be nice to try too.
Tomato-based sauce/fake dahl/shakshuka/yummy thing variations.
I joke that without canned tomatoes, onions and garlic, I wouldn't know what to do with myself XD So this is some stuff based on those 3 ingredients:
1. start heating a big deep pan, or I guess a medium pot, on mid-heat (4 on an oven stove setting? sorry I can't be more specific there). once the pan is hot, then add the oil
2. chop an onion or two into roughly the same size squares. Doesn't really matter how big, but about the size of your thumbnail is a good estimate? add the onion to your pan with the oil in it. poke it with your wooden spoon/spatula/whatever you're using, to help separate the onion. put a lid on the pan if you have one.
3. mince (chop finely) the garlic. use as much garlic as your heart desires. I love garlic, I use like, half a clove. or use a garlic crusher. or use already-crushed store-bought garlic.
4. mix the onion in the pan every once in a while.
5. add the garlic to your pan after like 5 or so minutes. at this point, take the lid off the pan if you put one on. keep stirring every once in a while - you don't want the onion or the garlic to burn. translucent onions are the goal (edges browned is fine).
And now we diverge!
Sauces:
bolognese
- add your mince (beef, usually, if you try venison it's a LOT heavier, and lamb is about the between stage - both were too much for me - and some people do chicken mince? I've always done red meat) and poke at it until it's in smaller pieces and browned on all sides
- add some grated carrots and/or chopped celery if you like
- add a can of kidney beans if you like, or use 2 as a replacement for the meat if you're vegetarian
- add two cans of chopped/whole peeled/crushed tomatoes, and some tomato puree if you like
- add some salt (to taste, but wait till the meat's cooked a bit more) and pepper
- leave to simmer on lower heat (like a 3) for a while. 20 mins? give it a stir every once in a while.
- when everything looks like it's all one thing and the consistency is how you like it (you might want to add a bit of water, or let it cook for longer with the lid off to get rid of some liquid) then add whatever you have of oregano, thyme, parsley, basil; you can add some chilli too if you like. fresh is nice, dried is fine. Umm, like a teaspoon? of each apart from if you do fresh parsley - chop a whole bunch in there!
- mix it all up and turn the heat off and just leave with the lid on to cool.
you can have this with pasta or use it for lasagna or make it the base of your shepherd's pie (mince at the bottom - usually people add frozen peas to the mix for it) cooked potatoes roughly mashed and put on top, bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes) or add aubergine slices and stuff and make a kind of moussaka with it!
veggie sauce for pasta and shakshuka
- add chopped mushrooms or courgette (zucchini) or capsicum (any and all colours) if you have them. or add more oil and add chopped eggplant (aubergine) - that takes a bit longer to cook. Or you know, add other vege you like, or do all of 'em for a fast ratatouille kinda sauce.
- mix the vege around. the eggplant needs to change colour (go darker) and softer, the courgette/mushroom/capsicum needs to kinda brown around the edges a bit and get a bit softer.
- optional cans of beans here (it gives you some protein, fills you up more, if you like beans. don't put it in if you're doing shakshuka or going for a ratatoiulle style sauce)
- add 1 can of chopped/whole peeled/crushed tomatoes, or some passata but that tends to be more expensive haha, add some tomato puree if you like (like a tablespoon)
- add salt, pepper, paprika, smoked paprika if you have it, a bit of chilli/cayenne pepper
- leave it to simmer! throw in some some of those italian herbs just before the end like with the bolognese, if you want.
Serve the sauce with the pasta, can be mice to have some grated cheese (parmesan, plaon yellow cheese like edam/cheddar) on top if you're feelin' fancy, or some crumbled feta.
Shakshuka: (this is a dish you can have any time of day, usually goes)
Do the veggie sauce steps, but you'll you'll wanna ditch the beans. you can add some spinach or silverbeet if you like as a another vege option/instead of the capsicum or whatever. So you get up to the part where everything is simmering, nice!
- poke little dips about evenly spaced around your pan - how many depends on how many eggs you wanna add and also how big and wide your pan is.
- add the eggs in one by one on top of the tomato and vege mixture
- stick the lid back on and let it all cook for another 5-10 minutes or so.
- scoop out a serving (1 egg plus all the veggies under and around) and serve with bread of some sort to mop stuff up. can be eaten any time of day, is good the day after as leftovers too.
Fake dahl: (i'm not from India and i am impatient and cheat):
- soak some lentils in water (cover and leave a couple of fingers of water on top). whatever kind you have/want. orange lentils take half as much time to cook so I usually go for those.
- keep going with those onions for as long as you can be patient for. actually caramelising onions takes AGES and I've never gotten to that stage lol. be careful not to burn them
- add a chopped potato or two if you like here. you can also add chopped carrot. poke them so they don't stick to the pan - you may need to add a bit more oil.
- add lots of cumin, chilli/cayenne pepper to taste, ground coriander seeds if you have them, a bit of tumeric if you like, a bit of cinnamon if you like. DO NOT ADD SALT YET (if you add salt, then it makes your lentils stay hard).
- mix the spices with the onions etc and let it all sizzle for a bit till everything's nicely coated.
- drain the lentils and wash them, then add to the pan with water. how much depends on how many lentils you put in. Google is your friend, I just eyeball it :/
- add a can of chopped/whole peeled/crushed tomatoes, mix everything up a bit, then let it simmer at heat 3 or so. maybe 20 minutes?
- after 20 minutes check in on things and give it a mix and make sure your bottom isn't burning.
- do you need to add more water? if your lentils aren't soft and your sauce it drying up, yes, add more water.
- if you're not using red lentils you'll probably need another 20 minutes at least
- finally done? add your salt NOW, taste, maybe add some lemon juice if you like
- stir, take off the heat and let it cool.
serve with a garnish of fresh parsley/coriander on top if you wanna look fancy, I usually eat it with rice.
... I swear this looks like a LOT of instructions but umm, I promise they're all simple recipes and not much can go wrong and every one of them is ready in under an hour and they can be used for lots of things or you can eat them by themselves or experiment with adding different things/whatever you like.
Lastly, there's this website Supercook where you put in some ingredients that you have and it gives you meal options based on that. Never tried it but lots of people find it useful.
Anyway, I hope you're not allergic to anything up there and that this helps and you make something tasty!