What Kind of Cook Are You?
Which one of the following best describes your cooking style?
Are you a:
1. Kitchen
Warrior - Any trick is fair game when it comes to
getting a meal on the table fast. Practical and straightforward,
you go into culinary battle armed with all kinds of ammunition
to win over mealtime.
2. Kitchen
Explorer - You're a real gourmet, always seeking a
new recipe or a new twist on an old favorite.
3. Kitchen
Diplomat - You need to please a whole range of tastes
and special dietary needs at mealtime. You're always looking
for meals the whole family will enjoy.
4. Kitchen
Coward - You're intimidated by cooking. If you had
your wish, cooking wouldn't exist. You're interested in easy,
foolproof meals that practically cook themselves.
5. Kitchen
Procrastinator - At 5 p.m. you don't know what's going
to be on the table for dinner at six. Last minute ideas for
meals always catch your attention.
6. None
of the above
7. Not
sure
Kitchen Arsenal
Weapons to Help You Win the Kitchen Battle —
No Matter What Your Cooking Style
No matter what kind of cook you are, there are staple ingredients
that can help you cope when it seems there's nothing in the
house for dinner. Keep these food items from the pantry, refrigerator
and freezer on-hand so you'll have the makings of at least one
easy meal that suits your particular cooking style.
For The Kitchen Warrior
Always ready to use any meal-making method that works, warriors
can mix frozen food with pantry and refrigerator ingredients
to make this meal. Here, a frozen dinner is topped with ingredients
that add flavor and texture:
Warrior Supper
- 1 package frozen enchiladas
- Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1-4 1/2 oz. can of chopped California Ripe Olives
- Bake the enchiladas according to package directions.
With 10 minutes to go, take the enchiladas out of the oven.
Sprinkle with the cheese and olives. Bake another 10 minutes.
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For The Kitchen Explorer
Eager to break new ground, kitchen explorers will like this
easy dinner that mixes pasta with tomato sauce and pitted
California Ripe Olives. In a new twist that adds even more
flavor, the olives are briefly sautéed with garlic before
being combined with an already-prepared pasta sauce. (Just
as warming brings out the flavor of olive oil, a quick trip
though a fry pan brings out the flavor of the olives themselves.)
Explorer Pasta With Sautéed Black Olives
-
1-6 oz. can of California Ripe Olives
-
1 tablespoon olive oil
-
Garlic (2 cloves of fresh garlic or a teaspoon of prepared
garlic from jar)
-
1 large jar prepared pasta sauce (about 3 cups)
-
Favorite pasta (rotelle is a good choice for an Explorer)
-
Grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
First, boil the pasta water. Then drain a can of California
Ripe Olives. Sautée the olives with garlic and olive oil
for five minutes over medium heat. Add the pasta sauce and lower
the heat to simmer. Cook and drain pasta. Combine with the sauce.
Top with Parmesan cheese.
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For The Kitchen Diplomat
Whether feeding young or older family members or choosy friends,
this cook needs to please a variety of tastes. Here's what the
diplomat can conjure up from the pantry and refrigerator to
serve people who don't like red meat.
Diplomat Pantry Bake
- 2 boxes macaroni and cheese
- 1 can tuna (drained and forked into small pieces)
- 1-4 1/2 oz. can of chopped California Ripe Olives
- 2 finely chopped green onions (if already on hand)
- Sliced or grated cheese of choice
Gently mix the first four ingredients in a baking dish. Top
with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until warm
and bubbling.
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For The Kitchen Coward
Nervous about cooking, the Kitchen Coward needs a little help
to boost cooking confidence. Here's an easy, fail-safe meal
for two that takes no cooking — just warm up already-prepared
ingredients.
Coward's Way Out
- 2 baking potatoes
- 1 package frozen broccoli in cheese sauce
- 1-2 1/4 oz. can of sliced California Ripe Olives
Wash and scrub 2 baking potatoes. Micro-cook on high for
9 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare frozen broccoli according to
stovetop directions. Carefully slit open the cooked potatoes,
leaving the two halves joined at the bottom. Top with the
broccoli and sauce. Garnish with the black olives. Micro-cook
again for 1 minute, 30 seconds.
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For The Kitchen Procrastinator
A last-minute dinner is the signature meal of this cook, who
hasn't taken the time to stock a pantry. So here's a down-to-the-wire
solution that dresses up those already-prepared fresh meals
now found at grocery stores. When procrastinators get home,
they can remove these dinners from their plastic containers,
place them on microwaveable dinner plates and micro-cook each
dinner for about two minutes. Looks homemade. Isn't. Some
of these meals can be made really special with a topping of
California Ripe Olives. Look for Chicken Cacciatore or any
other Italian dish that would benefit from a Mediterranean
touch. Who says procrastination doesn't pay?
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