Daily News New York City. March 29, 2020

46 Sunday,March 29, 2020 DAILY NEWSNYDailyNews.com

corn and peas over, say, frozen broc-

coli — but as long as you get some

greens into your meals you’re eating

well. “It may also be comforting to

know that frozen veggies have the

same beneficial nutrient qualities as

fresh,” Koch adds.

Pandemic pantry

Canned and dry goods, too, are

no-brainers when it comes to making

healthful meals without access to a

grocery store. Think outside the cup-

board when it comes to this category.

Sure, you should have on hand your

favorite pasta or grain, nut butter,

canned tuna or sardines, diced to-

matoes, and, of course, beans. But

using dried mushrooms instead of

fresh mushrooms can yield a divine

Instant Pot risotto.

And don’t even get Koch started on

beans. Pinto, black, garbanzo, kidney

or cannellini — you can make meals to

last well beyond two weeks, like a

hearty black bean chili. Here’s an even

easier meal, courtesy of Koch: “Puree

acan of black beans with salsa,

chicken or vegetable broth and cum-

in,” she says.

Cumin is among her shaker staples

because it is used in many cuisines.

Other spices to pep up dishes, or in

lieu of the fresh version: smoked

paprika, chile flakes, garlic powder,

ground ginger and dried herbs, espe-

cially thyme and oregano, which can

easily substitute for the real thing

when making, say, a roast chicken

with the former or spaghetti sauce

with the latter.

Here are a few other Koch tricks:

Combine canned tuna with a low-

sodium cream soup, like cream of

broccoli, mushroom or celery, and

add jarred artichoke hearts and sun-

dried tomatoes for a new-age casse-

role. Leftover potato chips? Crumble

on top to add a crunchy topping, she

says. If a recipe calls for milk or

cream, she uses oat milk. “Swirl it into

coffee, oatmeal, soups,” she says.

“Unlike almond milk, it is actually

creamy and mimics the texture of

dairy milk.”

For a simple yet satisfying plant-

based dish, Koch adds a can of chick-

peas to fresh-cooked pasta and

throws in a few handfuls of spinach or

kale, garlic and broth. Craving spice

and have some frozen sausage? Try

spicy chickpea and chorizo stew,

substituting frozen diced red and

yellow bell peppers if you don’t have

the fresh in your fridge.

But not everyone is looking for the

quick and easy cook when they’re on

lockdown. If you’re stuck at home

and find cooking or baking therapeu-

tic, then, by all means, stock accord-

ingly and throw yourself into a choc-

olate cake, knead your worries away

with an artisan free-form loaf or use

that can of pumpkin left over from

the fall to make pumpkin bread.

And don’t forget the one fruit that

you’ll want to overripen in the event

you’re marooned at home: bananas.

When the world is amiss, there’s

nothing quite as satisfying as mash-

ing near-black bananas into a recipe

for warm, comforting banana bread,

especially when it’s studded with

those chocolate chips you keep try-

ing not to snack on. It’s time — snack

on.

Continued from page 45

O

ne of the most daunting

things about cooking at home

isn’t cooking at all: It’s

cleaning.

One of the hallmarks —

points of pride, really — of great pro-

fessional kitchens is spotlessness.

That’s why chefs wear chefs’ whites;

you can’t get away with a single splat-

ter. An often-heard mantra is “cook

clean,” which means both literally

clean and also organized and unclut-

tered. When ingredients, tools and

equipment are clean and orderly, it’s

much easier to execute a recipe.

Restaurant kitchens have the obvi-

ous advantage of dedicated dishwash-

ers, but home kitchens offer a space

that’s all your own. You can control

exactly how clean you keep every-

thing.

I’ve combined my experiences

cooking professionally with my life in

ahome kitchen (and my type-A in-

stincts) to offer eight tips on cooking

clean at home:

1. Start clean. It’s hard to find the

head space to prepare a meal when

your physical space is a mess. Wash

any lingering dishes; empty the sink,

dishwasher and dish rack; clear the

counters, then wipe them down with

kitchen cleaner; scrub the stove if

splattered.

2. Wash your hands all the time.I

confess that I’m an obsessive hand

washer. I wash with soap and water

before cooking, and throughout prep

and cooking, whenever my hands are

oily or floured or have anything on

them. You should too.

3. Set up for a clean routine.Take

out a clean, dry dish towel to swipe

away crumbs (and use as a pot hold-

er). Soak another dish towel with dish

soap and water and squeeze out ex-

cess liquid. You’ll use this to wipe

away sticky spills or grease splatters.

Some cooks like sanitizing wipes, but

soap and water do the trick and a trip

through the laundry is all the towels

need to be clean and ready again.

4. Have a trash plan.Pull your

kitchen trash can next to where you’ll

be working or, if you have enough

counter space, have a large bowl near

at hand that you can put trimmings

and other to-be-discarded items in.

5. Clean as you cook.It’s tempting to

dump everything in the sink to do

later, but that will leave you with a

wobbly pile of dirtiness that lurks

over you as you try to concentrate on

arecipe. Instead, trash or compost or

recycle scraps (carrot peels) or

garbage (an empty pasta box) as you

work and use those five minutes of

simmering time to get ahead on the

dishes.

6. Prevent cross-contamination.

You don’t want any raw meat to touch

anything else. If possible, dedicate a

cutting board to vegetables and one to

meat. It’s OK if you don’t, just be sure

to wash the boards thoroughly be-

tween uses. You can wear disposable

gloves when prepping meat or

seafood as I do, discarding them after

use.

7. Don’t double-dip when tasting.

It’s important to taste your food as

you cook to ensure the seasonings are

right and to check for doneness.

While it may seem romantic to sip

sauce from the spoon with which

you’re stirring, it’s also gross. If you’re

cooking for yourself, you can, of

course. But if you’re cooking for

anyone else — even family — use a

separate spoon, dip it in only once,

and wash it before tasting from it

again.

8. Quick rinse before eating.All the

gunk on just-used bowls, pans and

other cooking tools comes off much

easier when still warm, so give it all a

quick spray before sitting down to

eat. Otherwise, you may find yourself

scrubbing extra hard later on.

How to cook clean, smart in your own kitchen

BY GENEVIEVE KO

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Before cooking, clear counters and wipe them down with kitchen cleaner.

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