How to Cook Brown Rice

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

There's one technique that I still see novice cooks and professionals struggle over: it's how to cook brown rice. The proportion of water to rice, how long to cook, whether to steam or cook over direct heat…these questions trip cooks up.

The extra layer of bran, which differentiates brown rice from the bran-less white rice, is what stymies cooks because it requires a little longer cooking time. My technique, which hasn't failed me in years and always produces perfectly fluffy grains, is easy to remember: one part rice to two parts water. Most use a 1:1 3/4 ratio, but that's hard to remember and leaves you no wiggle room when it comes to getting the heating right.

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Salad for Summer Days

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

If there’s any dish that says summer, it’s a salad. Cold, crisp lettuce, fresh vegetables, a tart vinaigrette or cool, creamy dressing. They’re the perfect combination for a refreshing meal when no one wants to turn on the oven or even think of turning on the stove for one minute.

There are, obviously, limitless types of salads and things to throw in them, but my tactic when approaching salad is to keep it simple – no more than two or three types of vegetables, excluding the lettuce. And the dressing, whatever the type, should always be a little tart, never sweet or heavy.

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Eggs+Leftovers=Frittata

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

Both at work and every day in my home cooking, I use eggs like they’re going out of style. Soft-boiled, scrambled or baked are my favorite preparations for enjoying the egg in its pure state.

But when it comes to transforming leftovers into a free meal, nothing beats a frittata. You can toss virtually any ingredient into some beaten eggs, and pour it in a hot pan; and then when you pop it in the oven, in the words of Carl Weathers, you got a stew going.

While I often love throwing together a couple random ingredients leftover from the fridge into my frittata, my favorite leftovers are actually herbs that are on the decline. They’re just starting to wilt and you need to use them up quick? Make a simple herb frittata that both highlights the eggs and the random mix of herbs you used. Or just use one herb but toss in enough to really make the flavor punch. Served alongside some spicy salad greens like arugula or watercress, it becomes a light, very Parisian meal that you can enjoy, knowing you didn’t pay the high price for it.

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Down to Basics: Pasta with Tomato Sauce

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

One of the simplest dinners to make is pasta with tomato sauce. And in my opinion, it’s still one of the most elementally satisfying, too. The key to its greatness is in the quality of ingredients you use.

Keeping costs low for everyday meals is always something to keep in mind, but when you make a meal with only four or five ingredients, you have license to splurge a little.

In this recipe, I only use shallots, garlic, basil, canned tomatoes and dried pasta. But if you have a little extra cash, try spring onions instead of shallots, or even throw in some ramps if they’re still around. Purchase high-quality San Marzano tomatoes, the gold standard, instead of the cheaper varieties, for the best flavor. One of my splurges is using purple basil instead of regular basil; it has less of a bold anise flavor and is more floral and spicy, which I love in this sauce.

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Unripe Fruit? Make Biscuits!

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

Many times I hear people telling me that they buy fruit to use in a dessert, but when they get it home from the market and cut into it, they find out it’s unripe and think it can no longer be used. And while that’s true for fruit that they wish to serve fresh, it’s quite the opposite for other fruit desserts or baked goods. In fact, unripe fruit is the perfect thing to bake with because it is sturdier than when ripe and can be heated without breaking down too much, while still imparting a great flavor.

Peaches and apricots are the unripe fruits of the moment at farmers’ markets where I live in San Francisco. But just because they’re not ready for fruit salads or parfaits, doesn’t mean they can’t be used to make a mean cobbler, pie, or biscuit.

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