Quote:
Originally Posted by Wormius
Peppers, tomatoes, herbs all grow super well here. I think you’ll have success with that. I think you might want to rotate a bit through herbs, depending how often you use them. I don’t think I have had to purchase oregano, dill, parsley, or green onions in several years just from large yields and dehydrating them.
What you’re describing to some degree is making use of the raw ingredients better. You don’t need to buy black garlic or various value-added items from the store. It’s really satisfying to create something from basic ingredients.
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Fair. I don't need to, but I like to.
Dill is one of the main ones I want because I spend like $5-6 on a tiny clam shell every 2-3 months. Pickles, borscht, tartar sauce for fish and chips and cucumber sandwiches use it up fast. Buying dill specifically pisses me off because I grew up around farms and they basically were just weeds. Growing a large batch and then freezing it to save $30-40 a year would be awesome.
Oregano I don't use a lot. Dehydrated parsley though, I use a lot. However, it's pretty cheap. $3-4 and it lasts me half a year. I always add it to soups and stews. But... frozen stuff might taste better. Worth considering.
Dehydrated onions I like having on hand if I run out of onions or they go bad. Dehydrated green onions, not really. Dehydrated chives aren't bad to have on hand, but I often find dehydrated parsley a superior option for the dishes I make.
Black garlic, shallots, fresh green onion, ginger...
When I need green onion, I use a ton. When I don't lots of it rots. Same as ginger. Especially when I am making large batches of chicken congee.
Garlic, I often buy a jar of minced garlic. It's far cheaper than cloves IMO. I've done the same with jars of minced ginger. But I don't really like processed green onion. Green onion, I would probably research a Korean or Chinese large version. Extra large yields I'd make green onion pancake. If it's somewhat leek like, it goes great in curries and is better than onion IMO.
Minced chives, green onion and ginger I like putting into dumplings or spring rolls.
Fresh black garlic, shallots, green onion and ginger I often put into dipping sauces. Green onion and ginger are fine in sauces and don't really have a superior replacement. But black garlic and shallots are wildly different than onion and regular garlic for dipping sauces... especially when doing DIY hot pot, dumpling sauce or steamed chicken.
Sweet basil is good for Italian food, but for certain Asian recipes, it tastes weird and wrong. Needs to be Thai basil. My window sill Thai basil somehow died this summer. I was quite upset at that.
I feel like I do a pretty good job with basic ingredients on a regular basis and I have people over for dinner, brunch and lunch quite often. Sometimes I like experimenting with elevated basic and complex dishes for the in-laws, my parents and friends who have eaten my basic food dozens of times.
I also experiment with different techniques to enhance flavor using the same ingredients. I just like using similar flavored but slightly different ingredients with the same recipes on occasion for a bit of variation. Sometimes when guests are over, I'll start with a basic recipe and with only minor variations in the finishing of recipe, create 2-3 variations for everyone to enjoy for reasons of allergies, preferences, spicy tolerance, experiment etc. Sometimes for leftovers, I'll add a few extra ingredients and re-cook the food with it so I don't feel bored eating the same thing for several days in a row.
I am a bit weird though. I make a wide variety of basic foods ranging from Asian cuisine, basic Mennonite, French, North American diner and fusion variations of these dishes. I grew up around and on farms and I was also often around a "Canadian grandmother" who was an urban forager. I only started learning Asian cuisine from my parents and in-laws after I finished university and moved out and this cuisine is where I started learning how to experiment with simple ingredients vs elevated ingredients.