Hello and welcome to The Mechanic Cooks.
Yes, I am a mechanic I’ve been a heavy truck mechanic for 30+ years. However a few years ago I caught the cooking bug, in fact, the whole family did. We started to enjoy cooking, trying new recipes, modifying existing ones, and just basically playing with food to try new flavors and textures. And hence The Mechanic Cooks was born.
During the great pandemic of 2020 (I believe this is how it will be remembered) we all cooked more, we obviously couldn’t go out to eat, so the food we cooked had to be more exiting. We had to replace the dinners out. Some food stuffs were hard to find, so we had to make do with what we could get. Most of what was available was food that required preparation. It turns out, this was a good thing. Our diets need to move away from processed foods. We need to add fresh fruits and fresh vegetables. Fast food has become too important in our lives. In the half hour you’ll spend in line at a fast food joint, or waiting for a food delivery there is enough time to put together a healthy hearty dinner that will impress the rest of the family.
For thousands of years, man has been in the business of producing and processing food for consumption. Whether it animal or plant based, it would be eaten. Sometimes raw, sometimes cooked. Thousands of years ago, when we lived in caves, we would request the “Animal Gods” to give us food to eat. To respect these Gods, we utilized everything; meat, hide and bone. As we shifted to an agrarian lifestyle we included grains and fruits. we learned to store the food in granaries and process meat to stay stable for an extended period of time. we learned that we could produce food in one place and transport it to another where it would be needed.
The Roman, Greeks and Phoenicians were in the business of food transport. They were also great wine producers and would ship their wines around their known world. Wine is a great addition to any meal. Red, white or rose, and a hundred different flavors and styles, you can pair it with pretty much any meal
Food is the great equalizer, no matter who you are, King or pauper, you have to eat. There are recipes that involve expensive components and recipes that have less expensive ingredients. But both of those dishes are wholesome and flavorful. In the recipes I’ve collected here, you’ll see that good food isn’t necessarily expensive and as long as you’re willing to put in a little work you’ll create some really good healthy and hearty dishes
My culinary tastes are somewhat eclectic. Some of the recipes are challenging and some are easy, but they all taste good. The different dishes come from all over the world, different spices and ingredients creating different flavors and aromas. Also, as I’ve grown older, and I have had to focus more on my diet than I did years ago, have realized the importance of healthy. I have a number of Indian recipes (please follow this link for those). These are lentil based. lentils are a healthy and hearty. Indian food is colorful and flavorful, simple and easy to prepare.
A diet that is solely based on healthy food, well, to me, is slightly boring. I’m sure this will raise a few eyebrows, but moderation is the key. As an example, Chorizo stuffed poblano peppers are really good. Find them here in my Mexican food section here . And who doesn’t like Italian food, my mothers side of the family is Italian, go here to my Italian food section. And, here in the USA there is such a variety of delicious food that we can cook, so follow this link for some of those. Some of these dishes are healthy, and some, well, are not, so moderation and balance is the key
One thing I have figured out with cooking, slow is better. Take the time to build the flavors, allow time for the flavors to develop and mingle. An example would be with a squash soup. I roast the squash first, it adds a depth of flavor you don’t get with boiling it. When I cook ribs, I cook them for 6 hours. You can’t rush good food
I also like to cook from scratch where I can. I’m on a low sodium diet. By making from scratch I can control the ingredient list. And to be honest, I take pride in what I cook and serve to my family. I want it to be healthy, hearty and cost effective, my time cooking is the love I put in it.
When it come to the actual mechanics (interesting choice of words) of cooking, I have a section of tips and tricks, please follow this link. Just some thoughts and ideas I have come across to help in the kitchen
So, welcome to the mechanic cooks, please take the opportunity to look over the recipes I have collected here. Cook them, they’re all good, if its on here, we have cooked and eaten it. And please leave feedback. if you like it, well, good. If you don’t like it, well, offer suggestions or ingredient substitutes, that’s how we all improve
Thank you, and enjoy
2 replies on “Welcome to The Mechanic Cooks”
Excelente. Muito sucesso!!
Thank You