First I’m going to talk about the equipment and ingredients you need to get started. The only equipment you need to get started is a blender, a food processor, a knife and a cutting board. A blender a right appliance for making smoothies, soups, creamy sauces and salad dressings and a food processor is what you will need to make chunky sauces, patties and cakes, cookies and pie crust. I recommend that you store these two appliances out on the counter, plug in and ready to go. Don’t store appliances hidden away in cabinets or you’ll be less likely to use them.
A sturdy wood or bamboo cutting board is best. Plastic can chip off and leach into the food and it can also dull your knife. You might want to use one side of the board for fruits. Here you have a gutter to catch the juices of the fruit. And the other side for vegetables to avoid mixing flavors likes mangoes and onions.
The most important knife you can own is a large chef’s knife. Hold your knife by the handle up close to the blade which your thumb on one side of the blade and your fingers on the other side of the handle curved back. To slice, use the down and through technique, place the tip of your knife on the far side of a vegetable or if the vegetable is a little bit taller, place the knife on the vegetable itself. And then slice down and through using the middle portion of the blade to push down and forward. With your other hand, keep your fingers curve back so that they are safely tucked under. And you just slice down and through, down and through, down and through.
Now for an onion because that’s a little bit taller, to slice I’m going to put my knife right on the vegetables itself and then also slice down and through pushing down and forward with the middle portion of the blade.
To mince or chop very finely, place the tip of your knife on the far side of a pile of coarsely chopped herbs or onions. So let me coarsely top some parsley here so we have something to work with. And the tip of my knife is on the far side of this pile and I’m resting my free hand on top of the blade and then I’m pivoting the base of the knife back and fourth, up and down in a fan motion. And you can stop periodically to gather your ingredients back together with the back of your knife and you just continue mincing until the desired texture is achieved. And then, we have minced or finely chopped parsley.
I recommend stocking your kitchen with basic staples such as nuts and seeds, dried fruits, herbs and spices and olive oil. This really saves time because that way, each week at the grocery store, the only things you have to get are your fresh ingredients. You can even wait in the express line and just get 10 items or less of fresh ingredients each week. As far as which fresh ingredients to purchase, you don’t need to make a shopping list unless you want too.
All of the recipes in this DVD use basic produce items such as bananas, avocados, oranges, apples, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, zucchini, so if you just buy a range the basic items each week, you will be able to make many different recipes.
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