David Krieger's Web Page

I like cooking, baking, hiking, biking, dancing, reading novels, watching movies(especially old ones), poetry(esp. Shel Silverstein and Langston Hughes), talking, listening, smelling pretty things, stickers, chocolate, eating out at restaurants, weight lifting, eating pizza(especially Chicago-style pizza but also New York and St.Louis style),taking evening walks, and most other things as long as they do not involve brussel sprouts.

Cooking


I enjoy cooking. Actually, I enjoy eating more than cooking... I have written an original cookbook(my creations, my friends, family...). It's on quick cooking...in fact the title is Quick, Easy, Inexpensive and Tasty Cooking(for the relatively unskilled!) BROWSE THE COOKBOOK

Random Links

You can send me e-mail: dkrieger@stanfordalumni.org

Quick, Easy, Inexpensive and Tasty Cooking
(for the relatively unskilled!)

(copyright by David Krieger 1999 ; copy and distribute if you want; let me know if you like it...)

INTRODUCTION

Welcome! In these pages, you'll find many recipes that you can easily learn to cook in under 30 minutes. The idea of this cookbook is that it is really hard to make bad food . In fact, it's easy to make good food! You'll find many quick and easy recipes in this book that are suitable for one-dish meals.

The recipes here generally require simple ingredients(mostly produce and grains) and simple skills(if you can chop and stir, you can make these recipes!). Mostly, the meals can be made in 30 minutes(or less, once you get some practice), are vegetarian(or can be made so) and make 2-4 portions. If you shop at a non-gourmet supermarket(not too easy in the Palo Alto area!), the average cost of the meals is well under $2.

Note: this is cooking by doing. I don't give amount for most spices, since you should learn to experiment with your mouth as the guide!

TIPS

spices

The essence of the taste of any dish!!! Fresh spices have a milder flavor than dried spices(for the same amount) but are more expensive and don't last as long. Most dried spices can last years on your shelf. It's worth investing in a good collection of spices; it may seem expensive but over the course of a year it doesn't add much to the cost of the dish and adds worlds to the taste.

For starters, I'd recommend(in no particular order): salt, ground black pepper, basil, oregano, thyme, tumeric, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper and dried red chilis.

Play around with different amounts of spices. You'd be amazed at what a pinch of salt can do for a dish!

Getting Started

Start cooking! Hopefully you've seen someone cooking something sometime in your conscious memory, so that's enough. I assume you know how to prepare an onion(cut off the ends, peel away skin and chop), how to chop garlic(press to loosen skin, cut away ends, peel skin and chop) and how to chop most common vegetables(wash thoroughly, cut off inedible parts, and chop into your favorite shapes). Note: fresh spinach is notoriously difficult to clean, so it's easier to buy frozen spinach

SAUTES

Grains

Sautes make great light meals served with couscous or rice.

Couscous: boil some water(check the box for proportion; usually 1:1). Add in some spices if you want flavored couscous(a few tsp. of chicken boullion, vegetable boullion, or (thyme and basil)). Then add in the couscous and let sit until it's absorbed the water.

Rice: boil some water(the ratio depends on the type of rice). When the water is boiling, add in the rice and let sit on low heat until done. If you want fluffy rice, you can cook it like spaghetti, in lots of extra water and strain it in a strainer.

Italian-style saute

one pound fresh asparagus, chopped into 1" lengths
one red pepper, un-topped and de-seeded, cut into 1/2" squares.
one or two dried red chilis
one or two garlic cloves, peeled but whole
dried basil, thyme, salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp of olive oil
  1. In a saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and chilis when the oil is hot. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the garlic gets slightly browned. Remove the chilis.
  2. Add in the vegetables and stir. When the vegetables are mostly cooked through(the asparagus will turn a brighter green), add the dry spices.
  3. Remove from heat when the vegetables are done to your taste.
  4. Serve with flavored couscous.

Moroccan-style saute

one cup dried couscous, cooked and flavored as you wish
one 15oz can chickpeas, drained
one 15 oz can diced, unflavored tomatoes
one bunch parlsy, washed, drained and finely chopped
one onion, coarsely chopped
one carrot, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
thyme, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste
  1. (DON'T FORGET TO COOK THE COUSCOUS!)
  2. In a saute pan, cook the onions over medium heat until the onions are slightly browned.
  3. Add the parsley and cook until parlsey softens.
  4. Add in the chickpeas, tomatoes, and carrots, and spices.
  5. Taste to see if you like the spices.
  6. When carrots soften, add in the cooked couscous. Stir and remove from heat when all liquid is absorbed

Greek-style saute

My Greek friends have told me that anything with lemon juice, dill, oregano and pepper will taste greek, no matter what it's cooked with!
one pound frozen spinach, thawed and drained
one bunch curly parsley, washed and finely chopped
one-half pound Feta cheese, crumbled
one onion, coarsely chopped
one or two cloves of garlic, finely chopped
one tablespoon olive oil
juice of one lemon, tablespoon of dried dill, oregano, pepper and salt

  1. In a saute pan, cook the garlic and onions in the oil until the onions are slightly browned.
  2. Add in parsley and cook for a few minutes
  3. Add in spinach and spices(including lemon juice) to taste.
  4. Cook for a few minutes and taste again! Add more spices if you want. Do not overestimate the power of a bit of salt!
  5. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until most of the water from the spinach has evaporated.
  6. Add in the feta cheese and stir. Cook for a few more minutes
  7. Serve over rice.

chili

one 15oz can diced tomatoes
one 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
one 15 oz can corn, drained
one onion, coarsely chopped
one bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
3/4 pound lean ground beef (optional)
two tablespoons olive oil
salt, pepper, thyme, cumin, oregano, chili powder and cayenne pepper
  1. in a pot, saute the onion in the oil until browned
  2. add in the spices(1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp chili powder, etc). and the cilantro
  3. (add in the meat and stir until cooked if you use meat)
  4. add in the cans and stir.
  5. Taste. Add spices as needed.
  6. Cook for 10-20 minutes, covered.
  7. serve over rice or in tortillas.XS

STIR-FRY

Introduction to Stir-Fry

Stir-fries are a fast, easy way to cook delicious meals. You'll spend 5-10 minutes chopping vegetables and then 5-10 minutes frying. With a little practice, you can soon be making stir-fries that are a second close(or even better!) than many of the Chinese restaurants in the area.

It's best to have an (uncoated) wok to use, for stir-frying cooks food quickly over high heat. You can also stir-fry in a pot, but make sure it can take the heat(glass can't). Next time you're at a Chinese restaurant, ask to see the kitchen. It's quite instructive: huge woks, HUGE gas burners and lots of pre-cut vegetables and meats, waiting to be cooked.

I usually decide what to stir-fry based on what's in season and what's on sale. Peanut or vegetable/corn oil is good for frying; olive oil has too low of a smoking point and will not work so well.

You can get some very tasty pre-made spicy sauces(oyster sauce, sesame oil, chili/garlic sauce) that add lots of flavor to you dished.

Note: for vegetables that take a long time to cook(grean beans and broccoli, in particular), consider steaming the vegetables for 5 minutes to speed cooking.

Green beans with onions

one pound green beans(or Chinese long beans), ends chooped off and
cut into 1" lengths. You can pre-steam them for 5" if you want.
one onion, coursely chopped
one bunch scallions, ends discarded and chopped into 1/8" lengths
one or two garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp sugar, well mixed
pepper to taste
(a few dried red chili peppers if you want)
1-2 tbsp peanut/corn/vegetble oil.
  1. In a wok(or pot or saute pan), heat the oil(and the chili peppers) over HIGH heat.(but don't ruin your pan!)
  2. just before the oil begins to smoke, add in the onions, garlic and scallions(and remove the chilis).
  3. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions soften and begin to become translucent.
  4. Then add the soy sauce/sugar mixture and mix well. Cook until the onions are very tender.
  5. reduce heat to medium and add in the green beans. cook until the green beans are "done"(as soft or hard as you like them).
  6. toss in a bit of pepper and serve over rice.

assorted vegetables

your favorite vegetables:
{asparagus, red pepper and carrots}
{brocolli and carrots} washed and cut into your favorite shapes
one or two garlic cloves, finely chopped
one or two tsp fresh ginger, minced(cut away skin and chop)
one bunch scallions, finely chopped
soy sauce and sugar to taste(say 1tbsp soy and 1tsp suger)
a few red chili peppers if you want
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
  1. In a wok(or pot or saute pan), heat the oil(and the chili peppers) over HIGH heat.(but don't ruin your pan!)
  2. just before the oil begins to smoke, add in the ginger, garlic and scallions(and remove the chilis) and cook for 1-2 minutes.
  3. DO NOT LET THE GARLIC BURN
  4. add in the vegetables and stir vigorously until the vegetables are almost done.
  5. add in the soy sauce and sugar, to taste
  6. cook for another minute and remove from heat. Serve over rice.

meat stir-fry

Stir-frying meat is slightly tricky, because you want to make sure the meat is well-cooked but also still tender. For this reason, I always cook the meat first, by itself. In essence, I do two stir-fries: one for the meat and one for the vegetables. Then I mix the two togeter.

If you want just the meat by itself, add in a chopped bunch of scallions, garlic and ginger to the oil in the recipe below. Otherwise, do the below meat stir-fry, remove it from the pan, do a vegetable stir-fry above, and then mix the two. It's really quick!

1/2-1 pound of your favorite boneless meat cut(chicken, beef, pork...) chopped into fairly thin slices(1/8" or less)
a few tsp of corn starch
a tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
(a few red chilis)
1 tbsp of vegetable oil

  1. mix all ingredients except for chili peppers and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
  2. In a wok(or pot or saute pan), heat the oil(and the chili peppers) over HIGH heat.(but don't ruin your pan!)
  3. just before the oil begins to smoke, add in the meat. Be sure to stir quickly.
  4. remove from heat when the meat is well-cooked but still tender. You'll quickly get the hang of it.

stir-fry rice

2-3 cups cooked rice(best if cooked the day before and dried in fridge)
2 eggs(well mixed)
one onion coursely chopped, or your favorite stir-fry dish, with finely chopped ingredients
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
1-2 tsp ginger, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
pepper and soy sauce, to taste
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
  1. make your favorite stir-fry, Set aside.
  2. add in a bit of oil to wok and cook the eggs over medium heat. remove from wok.
  3. in a work on high heat, cook garlic, ginger and scallions(and onions) for a few minutes in the oil.
  4. reduce heat to medium. add in rice, eggs, sugar soy sauce and pepper. Stir until rice is hot.
  5. mix in pre-cooked stir-fry dish, if you want.

PASTA

Introduction to Pasta Sauces

Evidently, there is an art to cooking pasta, and although I am not Italian, I have Italian friends, and here is what they tell me:
  1. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water(like a gallon of water for a pound of pasta) and plenty of salt in the water(like several tbsp).
  2. After the pasta is cooked, run it under water for a while to wash away all the gooey starch from the pasta.
  3. Serve the pasta sauce well-mixed with the pasta.

Bolognese Sauce

1 onion, coursely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
dried basil, oregano.

1). in skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent
2). add ground beef, salt and pepper. Stir until beef cooked.
3). add tomatoes, basil and oregano to taste
4). cook until sauce reduced
5). mix with spaghetti

Wahaab's Spicy Zucchini Farfalle

1/2-3/4 pound farfalle pasta, or spaghetti or whatever.
1 pound zucchini(3-4 small ones), washed, ends cut off and chopped into 1/4" disks
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, FINELY chopped(don't touch your eyes!)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried basil and 1 tsp dried oregano
2-3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
  1. start cooking the pasta!
  2. heat the olive oil in a saute pan. Add the onions and give them a good fry.
  3. add in the garlic and jalapeno and cook for a few minutes
  4. add in zucchini, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
  5. stir and cover, stirring occasionally. Cook until the zucchini becomes translucent.
  6. serve mixed with the pasta.

Pricy Pesto

This is a snap if you have a food processor. (Cheap blenders do not work so well.) The dish is fairly easy if you have a mortar and pestle and ok if you have a cutting board and sharp knife. Serve in a bowl, not mixed with the spaghetti.

The proportions here are up to your taste. Add more or less cheese, more or less olive oil, more or less garlic....

1/2 pound spaghetti.
1/4-1/2 cup pine nuts or blanched(no skin) almonds
1/4-1/2 cup grated 50/50 mix of parmesan and romano cheese(buy it!)
1 bunch(1 cup) basil, finely chopped.
1-2 garlic clove, finely chopped
1-5 tbsp good quality olive oil
1/2 tsp salt(the magic ingredient)

  1. start cooking that spaghetti!
  2. finely chop the garlic, nuts, and basil in a food processor, mortal and pestle or on a cutting board.
  3. mix all the ingredients together. add in more oil, salt or cheese to suit your taste

Simple Sauce

1/2 pound spaghetti
1 15oz can diced tomatoes(unseasoned)
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried basil, 1 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp thyme, salt and pepper
1-2 tbsp olive oil
  1. start cooking that spaghetti!
  2. in a saute pan, give the onions a good fry in the oil
  3. add in garlic and fry for a few more minutes
  4. add in tomatoes and the spices
  5. add in more spices to suit your taste
  6. cook until sauce thickens and serve mixed with the spaghetti

Macaroni and Cheese

1 pound macaroni, cooked and drained
1 onion, chopped and sauted
1/2- 1 pound cheddar cheese, grated
1/4-1/2 pound mozerella cheese, grated
1 bunch brocolli, reasonably cooked and chopped into small pieces
1 cup milk
salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme
  1. mix all ingredients in a baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, covered.

PIZZA AND CALzONES

As the Beatles said, all you need is dough. With the basic dough, you can make pizza, calZones, and bread sticks.

Basic Dough

1 tbsp dry yeast and a pinch of sugar
1 cup water
2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 tbsp honey
3ish cups flour
  1. grow the yeast: mix the pinch of sugar, the yeast and 1/4 cup hot(100F;hot but not scalding to the touch) water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
  2. mix remaining water, oil, honey and 1 cup of flour
  3. add grown yeast to above and mix.
  4. add in flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Knead the flour into the dough each time. The dough is ready when it's not sticky to the touch. It takes 2.5-3.5 cups of flour, depending on humidity.
  5. make dough into a ball and coat with a bit of oil(1tsp). Place in a bowl, cover with a moist paper towel, and place in a warmed (<200F) over for 30 minutes.

Pizza

1 batch of Basic Dough
1 batch of your favorite pasta sauce
1/2 - 1lb of mozerella cheese
dried basil, oregano and parmesan cheese to taste.
  1. spread the dough on a lightly floured baking pan and place in oven at 350F for 5 minutes.
  2. spread pasta sauce on the pizza and put the cheese on top.
  3. bake for 20-25 minutes at 350F
  4. invite me over for a slice.

calZones

(you can fill these calzones with whatever you want!)
1 batch of Basic Dough
1 batch of filling, such as spinach saute with tomatoes.(make sure filling is not too wet)
1/2 lb mozerella cheese, ricotta cheese, or your favorite cheese

  1. split the dough into 4-6 equal dough balls
  2. roll each ball into a flat circle with a rolling pin. Use flour liberally to prevent the dough from sticking.
  3. put filling into one half of the circle, fold over and pinch dough to itself.
  4. bake at 350F for 30 minutes

Note: calZones freeze well. Just bake them for 20 minutes to revive.

SOUPS

Introduction to Soups

Soups are a great way to make inexpensive, tasty meals from simple ingredients. They usually take 10-15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook. For a dinner party, you can make the soup on the previous day.

Barley Soup

1 cup dry barley
1 cup dry split peas
6-10 cups broth(chicken or vegetable bouillion)
2 carrots, chopped into 1/4" thick disks
one large onion, coarsely chopped
one bunch parsley, washed and finely chopped
thyme, salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp olive oil
  1. give the onions a good fry in the olive oil
  2. add in the parsley and fry for a few minutes
  3. add in the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
  4. let simmer until the barley is cooked(1 hour or so).
  5. add spices to taste. Serve with bread.

Thai Soup

two pounds russet potatoes, thoroughly washed and cut into 1/2" cubes
3 carrots, sliced
one onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or cilantro or 1 tbsp dried basil
two garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 15oz can coconut milk
3 tbsp fish sauce(anchovy extract in water)
juice of one lime
2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp tumeric, 1tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
  1. in oil, fry the spices and garlic for a few minutes.
  2. add in the onions and give them a good fry
  3. now add all the remaining ingredients except the basil.
  4. cook until the potatoes are soft.
  5. stir in the basil.
  6. serve with rice
  7. (if you want, replace the potatoes by chicken...)

BREAKFAST

Fruitshakes

1-2 cups apple or orange juice
1 pound berries(strawberries, raspberries, blueberries,etc)
1-2 bananas
1 tbsp honey
  1. blend ingredients in a blender: start with juice, and add in banana, then add in berries then honey.

Muffins

2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tsp baking POWDER and 1/8 tsp salt
4 tbsp melted UNSALTED butter, 1 cup milk, 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla
1/2-1 cup milk chocolate chips
  1. preheat oven to 425F
  2. in a large bowl, mix wet ingredients together(butter, milk,,,)
  3. in small bowl, mix dry ingredients(flour....and chips)
  4. mix the dry ingredients into the wet ones, trying not to overstir.
  5. put into muffin pan. Bake for 20 minues or until a fork stuck into the center comes out clean.

Rice Pudding

(more like a pie than a pudding but still very tasty)
2 cups cooked rice
4 eggs
1 and 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
5 tbsp suger
1/4 cup raisins
  1. preheat oven to 300F
  2. mix eggs well. Mix in all other ingredients.
  3. put in a small class or metal baking pan.
  4. bake at 300F for one hour or until gelled.
Note: you can also add in a mashed banana, 1 tbsp baking cocoa and 2 extra tbsp of sugar for fun.

Grandma's German Pancake

4 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
lemon and powdered sugar
  1. beat eggs well. add in flour and milk and mix VERY well.
  2. put into a small baking pan and bake until the pancake has risen(30-40 minutes).
  3. garnish with lemon and suger.
To the Beginning
Last modified: Thu Jul 9 1998