Jean in Newcastle Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Am I the only person who doubled or triples the amounts of all vegetables put into recipes? Dd was helping me make soup today and announced, "A recipe is a guide . . . that mom then changes!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 My DH does a good deal of the cooking, but he will always follow a recipe to the letter. I find that quaint. I agree, a recipe is mainly a suggestion. The only exception I make is baking - cakes and such. It is better to follow the recipe on those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I'm not a veggie person, so I don't typically increase there, but I do have a 3-clove-minimum for garlic--I don't understand how a recipe can call for just one clove of garlic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2myboys Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I typically increase both veggies and garlic. I cannot imagine soup with only one carrot! Maybe a single serving of soup. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I'm not a veggie person, so I don't typically increase there, but I do have a 3-clove-minimum for garlic--I don't understand how a recipe can call for just one clove of garlic! I'm with you on the garlic. If one is good, four must be better. I'm like that with most seasonings. Recipes that call for "a quarter teaspoon of hot sauce...half a teaspoon if you like it really spicy" make me laugh. More cumin! Triple the cinnamon. Surely they don't expect three people to share one measly roasted lemon? About the only things I don't increase are fish sauce and cloves. Learned the hard way with both of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Am I the only person who doubled or triples the amounts of all vegetables put into recipes? Dd was helping me make soup today and announced, "A recipe is a guide . . . that mom then changes!" Nope. One carrot? I think I've seen that recipe. Hardly worth the trip to the fridge--and there's six of us!! We *like* carrots. If I put one carrot in, it wouldn't be pretty. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I'm not a veggie person, so I don't typically increase there, but I do have a 3-clove-minimum for garlic--I don't understand how a recipe can call for just one clove of garlic! Agreed. If you can't taste a little garlic, what's the point of chopping it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 I agree on the garlic too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I try to pack in extra veggies wherever/whenever I can. :-) Soups are my favorite to add veggies to, but I'll grate zucchini, carrot and add in diced onion and frozen spinach to pasta sauce, I added in carrots and celery to chili tonight, The more the merrier! I made chocolate zucchini muffins today that had applesauce and banana in them too! And yes on the garlic - 2-3 clove minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Recipes are merely suggestions. :p I routinely add more of everything. More veggies, more spices, and more cheese. Definitely more cheese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I'm with you on the garlic. If one is good, four must be better. I'm like that with most seasonings. Recipes that call for "a quarter teaspoon of hot sauce...half a teaspoon if you like it really spicy" make me laugh. More cumin! Triple the cinnamon. Surely they don't expect three people to share one measly roasted lemon? About the only things I don't increase are fish sauce and cloves. Learned the hard way with both of those. Head nodding through your whole post. Especially the garlic and fish sauce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Or when something calls for an 1/8th of a teaspoon. Nope, it's going to be my eyeballed 1/4th in the 1/2 teaspoon I've pulled out and that's if I bothered to pull out the measuring spoons at all. For an 1/8th I always feel like the recipe writer is saying, "here's a seasoning you don't need to taste". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I'm with you on the garlic. If one is good, four must be better. I'm like that with most seasonings. Recipes that call for "a quarter teaspoon of hot sauce...half a teaspoon if you like it really spicy" make me laugh. More cumin! Triple the cinnamon. Surely they don't expect three people to share one measly roasted lemon? About the only things I don't increase are fish sauce and cloves. Learned the hard way with both of those. :svengo: yeah, those are both gotta-be-there-but-less-is-more flavors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I automatically double or triple the cumin in most recipes. I mean, really, what's one tablespoon of cumin supposed to do spread out among 6 servings. That's just silly. Ditto for garlic. Who uses one clove for anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 More garlic! More onions! More peppers! More mushrooms! More basil!More carrots! More celery! More spinach! More zucchini! More broccoli!MORE CHEESE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I always add extra carrots. What I really hate is when recipes call for only one of an ingredient when it's something unusual. If I have to go to the store and buy a whole bag of something, I want to use it. I don't want to use one thing, and then not know what to do with the other 12 things that are still left in the bag. Ditto for spices. Don't make me buy a whole jar of some weird thing that I will never use for any other recipe as long as I live, unless I need to use about half of the jar in that one recipe. Because if you tell me I only need an eighth of a teaspoon of it, the recipe is going to live without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 More garlic! More onions! More peppers! More mushrooms! More basil! More carrots! More celery! More spinach! More zucchini! More broccoli! MORE CHEESE! I agree with all of this - except for peppers and cheese (allergies here to both). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamzanne Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I'm with you on the garlic. If one is good, four must be better. I'm like that with most seasonings. Recipes that call for "a quarter teaspoon of hot sauce...half a teaspoon if you like it really spicy" make me laugh. More cumin! Triple the cinnamon. Surely they don't expect three people to share one measly roasted lemon? About the only things I don't increase are fish sauce and cloves. Learned the hard way with both of those. I totally agree with this whole thread. In addition, be careful with increasing fresh ginger. I once turned a delicious chicken chow mein into something that tasted like pine-sol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I always add extra carrots. What I really hate is when recipes call for only one of an ingredient when it's something unusual. If I have to go to the store and buy a whole bag of something, I want to use it. I don't want to use one thing, and then not know what to do with the other 12 things that are still left in the bag. Ditto for spices. Don't make me buy a whole jar of some weird thing that I will never use for any other recipe as long as I live, unless I need to use about half of the jar in that one recipe. Because if you tell me I only need an eighth of a teaspoon of it, the recipe is going to live without it. It's time to start using the bulk bins for spices. I have literally purchased pennies worth of an unfamiliar spice for such recipes. To say nothing that I can get a huge, huge amount of something for what I would pay for a tiny jar of most spices and dried herbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I once saw a recipe that called for 1/2 a clove of garlic. What size clove anyways? And what on earth is anyone going to do with the other half? I almost always increase garlic but some times there are recipes that are better and more nuanced with very little garlic. But 1/2 of a clove is just absurd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I make a tasty bean potato soup that has I think one carrot and one celery in it along with one garlic clove. Those ingredients are not what the soup is about= it is a bean and potato soup, not a bean, potato and carrot soup. Whether I add extra vegetables depends on the result I want. I do add extra to chicken soup but I add extra meat, extra broth and extra just about everything because again, I don't want carrot soup but chicken soup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 First time with a new recipie, I usually follow it closely, except for garlic and levels of hot spices, which we like toned down a smidge. Once I have notes written, then I'll improvise. It also depends on.what's in the fridge. Only 3 carrots left? In they go. Baking - whole nother story. I've learned to be precise with artisan breads and some cakes. Weigh, do not measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 My Mom would always add more nutritious stuff to recipes. The best was a lasagna recipe. It called for a bit of spinach. She added a ton, but knew us kids wouldn't like it - so she threw the spinach in the blender so we wouldn't be able to spot it. Well that amount of liquid spinach died the whole lasagna green. (I never change recipes, but only because about the only recipe I use is on the back of a box of cake mix) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I'll often up the veggies (especially in something like soup) and lessen the salt or sugar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I'm a baker. I follow to the letter. I even weigh ingredients. I "cook" because we can't eat muffins all the time.... But y'all are freakibg me out with all this talk of IMPROVISING! Stop it!! Next thing you know they'll be talk of adjusting cooking times or.... not using cookbooks!!! Stop!! ;-) I must go measure something...in grams... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 My daughter wanted to make cookies. She asked me how I did it. I told her to look up the recipe in the cookbook. There was a bit of a pause. And then she said, no, Mom. Tell me what you actually do. I haven't followed a recipe to the letter in years. To my mind, cookbooks tell us to mix cakes and cookies in the wrong order, use the wrong amount of sugar, and depend on baking powder for leavening. Baking powder? I haven't used that in years. Baking soda works fine. It may even add a fluffier texture. Fats are generally whatever we feel like or what's on hand. And milk could just as well be yogurt. Or orange juice. Or something. And that's just the baking. Cooking other things is even more of a free for all. Some of this has happened because of food allergies in the family. I've had to do so many substitutions, what's a few more? Anyway, enough butter or garlic will cover up virtually any mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I hate recipes that call for odd amounts of things. "One tablespoon of chopped bell pepper." Oh brother! I'd just throw the rest on lettuce and call it a salad. Or chop it up and freeze for the next time I need 1 T of chopped bell pepper. Course, I probably wouldn't have leftovers. Because if I was already putting some pepper in, why not the whole thing? Along with another clove of garlic. We're the sort of people who often have to make an unexpected shopping trip -- because we ran out of garlic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I'm a baker. I follow to the letter. I even weigh ingredients. I "cook" because we can't eat muffins all the time.... But y'all are freakibg me out with all this talk of IMPROVISING! Stop it!! Next thing you know they'll be talk of adjusting cooking times or.... not using cookbooks!!! Stop!! ;-) I must go measure something...in grams... :-) LOL. I bake in grams. Cooking is art; baking is science. Embrace the geek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I almost always add more veggies to something when I'm cooking. When I make soup or a casserole or something like that, it's for a main meal. I don't want to have to bother with making a side dish to bulk it up- so I just throw it all in. There's never enough garlic. I planted over 200 cloves of garlic a few weeks ago - hoping they will all take and I'll have 200 bulbs of garlic come next July. That *might* be enough for my family for a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I read recipes for ideas, not a set in stone prescription. I am experienced enough that I can get the results I want improvising even with baking. I know what I can alter or substitute and what needs to stay the same. I also have most of my cooking and baking repertoire in my head. I am the worst recipe writer in the world as I tend to go by sight and texture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewellsmommy Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 LOL. I bake in grams. Cooking is art; baking is science. Embrace the geek. Wow. I was going to say the exact same thing. I improvise almost all 'cooking' recipes. But, when I bake I am painfully precise. I weigh my ingredients for bread. :D It's perfect every time that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 LOL. I bake in grams. Cooking is art; baking is science. Embrace the geek. I love my kitchen scale, and not just for baking. It's tremendously helpful for sticky ingredients like honey and molasses... Measuring 2oz-ish of pasta, etc. I'd never give it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 I love my kitchen scale, and not just for baking. It's tremendously helpful for sticky ingredients like honey and molasses... Measuring 2oz-ish of pasta, etc. I'd never give it up. I use my 40lb capacity postage scale from my eBay days. Overkill, I suppose, but it's accurate to the gram. Someday I'll get a nifty glass one. And a Le Creuset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 I use my 40lb capacity postage scale from my eBay days. Overkill, I suppose, but it's accurate to the gram. Someday I'll get a nifty glass one. And a Le Creuset. Mine is a postal scale too, though only rated to 7kg. But after almost 10 years, I think it's almost time to get another. Best $30 I ever spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 More garlic! More onions! More peppers! More mushrooms! More basil! More carrots! More celery! More spinach! More zucchini! More broccoli! MORE CHEESE! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 The more veggies the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 I will go on record to say there is such a thing as enough celery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 And recipes are always oriented around standard grocery store items. One supersized factory-farm carrot, or three of my organic carrots that I just dug up 10 minutes ago? The sizes and consistencies are different. And one potato. Does that mean one standard grocery store russet, or one of my darling purple ones? I'm another one that will go into a panic if we run out of garlic or onions. Gotta have garlic and onions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 I have a hard time deciding what to make so I have a subscription for a menu/recipe/shopping list whatever you call that service. I print the recipes and list out and I don't really even look at it. I just look at the title of the recipe and think ok good I'll make something that. You need the Dinner Spinner. I use the Allrecipies site all the time. If I only had a kitchen tablet, I wouldn't have to print out so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 I have a hard time deciding what to make so I have a subscription for a menu/recipe/shopping list whatever you call that service. I print the recipes and list out and I don't really even look at it. I just look at the title of the recipe and think ok good I'll make something that. I do this (but using the recipes), but keep the weekends open for some creativite meal planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 More vegetables in a soup or casserole = good. More vegetables on a pizza or sandwich = bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Recipes are suggestions or base ideas. Sometimes I look at a picture of a dish and think "I'll make that" then just go make what I think I saw. It usually comes out pretty tasty. I do the same thing if I have a nice dish at a restaurant that my guys liked. It's easier to get closer to the original (or better) because I can taste it, but really I just like to play with food. It's sort of how I like to play with fashion. Do it enough and you get to know what goes with what and what doesn't. So... yes to more veggies, seasonings, garlic, etc. Except salt. I usually cut back on the salt. I prefer more herbs and spices to more salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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