What’s your “base”?

You usually make many different meals in your home, and they probably all have a very personal and similar taste. These meals are created using seasonings that you and your family already love. I call this personal, similar taste your “base”.

This website attempts to give instruction on how to cook nutritious plant-based meals quickly, not so much on how to achieve a certain taste of different foods. Your task is to bring your “base’ to the meals we demonstrate on the website. Your job will be to recognize and document which seasonings you reach for over and over again and adapt the recipes to meet your needs.

To help you determine what your “base” is, I will tell you about my four “bases”. I have a “base” for my American recipes, a different “base” for my Italian recipes, and two different bases for my South Indian recipes. Those four bases pretty much cover all of the dishes I prepare with an occasional deviation. Knowing “my bases” also informs my grocery list. (Even if a recipe calls for an ingredient that I don’t like, I won’t use it and I won’t buy it. I just adapt the whole recipe to meet my “base”-likes. Make sense?) I’m positive you have your bases too. So start thinking about them as you prepare your new plant-based dishes.

Bobbie’s American-recipe base               Bobbie’s Italian-recipe base

        Canola oil                                          Basil
        Ginger                                               Green olives
        Onions                                               Olive oil
        Pepper                                               Oregano
        Red chilies                                         Red chilies
        Salt                                                    Salt                                     

Bobbie’s 1^st South Indian-recipe base     Bobbie’s 2^nd South Indian-recipe base     

          Asafetida (Hing)                                Asafetida (Hing)
          Black gram                                        Coconut powder
          Channa dal                                        Coconut oil
          Curry leaves                                      Cumin seeds
          Mustard seeds                                   Curry leaves
          Red chilies                                         Green chilies
          Sesame seed oil                                Mustard seeds
          Tamarind                                            Salt
          Salt