Baking Tips

Poultry, fish and meat can be baked in covered cookware with a little additional liquid.
The moisture that the liquid adds makes this method particularly good for fish or chicken breasts, which tend to dry out.

Grilling Or Broiling Tips

Placing food on a rack and cooking with these methods lets the fat drip away from meat or poultry.
It is also a tasty way to cook fish steaks or whole fish.
For extra flavour, try marinating food before putting it over the coals or under the grill.
Skewered vegetables also taste great browned on the BBQ.

Microwave Cooking Tips

This is a fast, easy cooking method that requires no added fat. You do not have to add fat to keep the food from sticking to the pan because foods do not tend to stick in the moist heat of micro waving. In fact, you can drain food of fat as it cooks by placing it in the microwave between two paper towels.

If you want to adapt a recipe for micro waving, try cutting the cooking time to one fourth to one third of the conventional time. If the food needs more cooking, increase it a little at a time. You might also look for a microwave recipe similar to the one you are trying to adapt. Keep the following hints in mind when microwave cooking:

• Choose foods that cook well in moist heat: chicken, fish, ground meat, vegetables, sauces and soups.
• Pieces that are about equal in size and shape will cook more uniformly.
• You can reduce the liquid used in cooking beverages, soups, vegetables, fruits, and main dishes by about one third because less evaporates in microwave cooking.
• Choose a microwave-safe container slightly larger than the dish required for cooking the recipe in a conventional oven.
• Use a high setting -100 percent power for soups, beverages, fruits, vegetables, fish, ground meat and poultry.
  Use a medium-high setting -70 percent power for simmering stews.
  Use a medium setting - 50 percent power for baking breads, cakes and muffins, and cooking less tender cuts of meats.
• To create a crusty look on baked items, grease pans with an acceptable vegetable oil and add ground nuts or bread crumbs.
• Add low fat cheese and other toppings near the end of cooking to keep the top from becoming tough or soggy.
• Stay away from coating meat with flour if you will be adding liquid for cooking. The coatings become soggy.
• Use quick-cooking instead of long-grain rice.

Poaching Tips

To poach chicken or fish, immerse it in a pan of simmering liquid on top of the stove.
This method works especially well when you serve the food with a sauce made of pureed vegetables and herbs.

Roasting Tips

Always place a rack or tin foil in the bottom of the roasting pan, so the meat or poultry doesn't sit in its own fat drippings.
You can also roast your meat in an oven dish with a bed of Rosemary or chopped onions or apples for pork underneath the meat
Adds flavour and once again the meat does not sit in its own drippings.
For basting, use fat-free liquids such as wine, tomato juice or lemon juice.

Sautéing Tips

Fish, poultry and vegetables dishes can be sautéed in an open fry pan with little or no fat; the high temperature and motion keep food from sticking.
Try sautéing with a tiny bit of polyunsaturated oil or olive oil rubbed onto the pan with a paper towel.
Better still, use non-stick vegetable spray or sauté in a small amount of broth or wine.

Steaming Tips

Cooking food in a basket or steamer over simmering water leaves the natural flavour, colour and nutritional value of vegetables intact.
Try adding herbs to the steaming water or using stock instead to add even more flavour to the finished dish.

Stewing Or Braising Tips

This method uses a little more liquid than baking does. It can be done in a covered container on top of the stove or in the oven.
If you are braising or stewing meat or poultry, begin a day ahead of time and refrigerate the dish overnight. The next day, when the chilled fat has congealed, you can remove it easily before reheating.
Braising is also an excellent way to cook vegetables.

Stir Frying Tips

Done in a Chinese wok, this method relies on the same principle as sautéing. The high temperature and the constant movement of the food keep it from sticking and burning.
Try stir-frying vegetables with your chosen meat in a tiny bit of peanut and sesame oil. Partially cook the meat first and set aside. As you stir fry your vegetables  add all your sauces salt, herbs etc and  add the meat at the end
See Asian for the method I use.