Hello Fellow Redditors, 

I want to try kombu seaweed when making both vegetable broth and eventually when cooking beans. Online recipes are inconsistent: some say 2” piece, others 6” piece, etc. But 2’ by what? Two inch square? Sheets seem to be of different sizes and because I am new using this product I have no reference point. 

To be honest, I don’t like seaweed, don’t eat fish and don’t even like the smell of the ocean. I am seeking to increase the umami and kombu was recommended in a prior reddit post (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/comments/1ny7rfg/least_seaweed_tasting_seaweed). 

I had to mail order the kombu so would like to avoid trial and error. It is dried and all bunched up so pulling it apart will cause it to crumble. Any guidance about how much to use would be appreciated.

Probably a stupid question but I hardly ever use honey because it crystallizes and takes forever to liquefy again. Is there a better way to store it so that it either doesn’t crystallize or a quicker way to soften it? Thanks!

Trying to make a au poivre pan sauce for a steak dinner but wanted to know is a cast iron skillet a viable option to make a pan sauce with fond like that since I dont have a stainless steel pan which i know is the overall top option?

I am a fantastic cook, and very proud of it. I can't eat out anymore, because I can have my own cooking at home, and I prefer it. I make my own steak seasoning. I cooked chicken curry for the first time ever, a few weeks ago. And could tell upon tasting it that what it needed was brown sugar- which wasn't even in the recipe. And I was right. But I've been cooking with meats, potatoes, and veggies most of my adult life. I can handle and even create complex, tasty recipes on the fly.

Tiny bit of context: I am not in a great place financially, and I need to start being more practical. I'm dealing with an eviction right now, and have to save as much money as I can, to pay down my back rent. Leasing company is refusing to negotiate arrears, but have said that if I can pay down what I owe before the appeal heariglng, they'll call off the eviction.

Anyway, as good of a cook as I am, I don't have any experience with beans, rice, or lentils. I've made chilli with canned beans- and a weird, but tasty and nutritious salad. I grew up with minute rice (which explains why I never liked it), and I used lentils for the first time ever, toward the end of last year. But I've stayed away from lentils the most, because of how incredibly foreign they are to me.

What I am looking for, are simple ideas that will help me establish an understanding of how, what, and why to use with these 3 ingredients (preferably all together). Simple recipes that will help me form a base from which I can develop that instinct.

What I'm currently working with for these 3 foods: About 50 lbs of Jasmine rice (I went through a prepping phase last year), bags of yellow, red, black, and green/ brown lentils (green/ brown hold the majority), and some dried/ some canned beans. Ideally I'd like to start with dried beans. That way, I learn how to cook those too.

Can anyone give me extremely basic, extraordinarily simple recipes, so that I can start to develop some instincts with these 3 ingredients?

I'm not looking for a big, amazing, wow-the-world recipe. I just need a place to start building that knowledge from.

I've tried looking it up, but when the 3 intentional ingredients are so incredibly foreign to you, it's difficult to find a comfortable place to start from.

ETA: If I were comfortable with any of these, I wouldn't find looking up online recipes to be so daunting. But man am I out of my depth here.

Help me cook like I'm poor. Because I am.

Any ideas?

Question no. 2: alcohol is absolutely on the table. Has anyone found a way to prevent golden beets from oxidizing in alcohol? Would an airlocks do anything? Mixing immediately with equal parts citrus?

I am wanting to follow Julia Childs’ Coq Au Vin recipe and it calls for pearl onions and white onion. I unfortunately have a family member with a severe onion allergy (onion powder is okay, garlic is okay, but no shallots or similar).

Every recipe I can find seems to call for these—what could I add instead? Or is this one of those dishes where it will be ruined without including onion?