Add beans to a pot with aromatics and enough water to cover the beans by 3 to 4 inches. There’s a myth out regarding beans and salt — specifically, that you should never salt your beans before cooking because the salt keeps them from cooking through. The most common variety is the large, dark-purple globe eggplant. Look for smooth, shiny skins with fresh-looking stems and no blemishes. The fruit itself (eggplant is actually a berry!) should feel weighty in your hand. And when you press on the skin, it should be firm but give slightly, and then bounce back. If you’re not preparing your eggplants right away, store them in the crisper of your fridge up to five days–any longer, and eggplant can become bitter.

In Asian cooking, a similar effect is obtained from a mixture of rice or corn starch and water. These techniques rely on the properties of starches to create simpler mucilaginous saccharides during cooking, which causes the familiar thickening of sauces. This thickening will break down, however, under additional heat. Most ingredients in cooking are derived from living organisms. Vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts as well as herbs and spices come from plants, while meat, eggs, and dairy products come from animals. Mushrooms and the yeast used in baking are kinds of fungi. Cooks also use water and minerals such as salt.

Bean Soups and Stews

Convinced you don’t like skinless, boneless chicken breasts? This easy recipe for chicken piccata with its garlicky lemon-butter sauce will convert you. A major cause of white goo is how frequently chicken is frozen then thawed. Let’s say you go buy frozen chicken at the grocery store and journey home with it, and on the way back the chicken starts to thaw. You have a plan to cook it that night, but at the last minute you change your mind and decide on takeout instead (why not!).

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Working one piece at a time, roll out a ball on the surface beneath your palms into a 9-inch-long rope. Soft herbs — cilantro, basil, parsley, chives — can be scattered on top of cooked beans as a garnish, or added during the last 15 or so minutes of simmering. To add more flavor, consider cooking your beans in stock or broth instead of water . Leave substantial time for bean soaking and cooking. If you are short on time, choose lentils or adzuki beans, which cook quickly and don’t need soaking.

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Transfer the second sheet to the oven when the first is finished. Let the bagels cool completely on a wire rack before slicing with a serrated knife. Store uncooked dried beans in a dark, cool cabinet for up to a year.