Experts use convenience foods, too

Chefs do it, cooking instructors do it, cookbook authors do it. Even dedicated food lovers do it: We all sneak a little convenience into our lives.

Yes, we believe in the importance, quality and ease of cooking from scratch.

We also believe there's no shame in making a convenience product work for you, if it gets dinner on the table - or buys time to do something else from scratch.

Not all convenience products are bad, and with a little imagination, you can make them work for you.

As leisurely summer gives way to way-too-busy fall, we asked five experts for their secret convenience products, how they use them and how they improve them.

None of their favorite products is unusual - canned tomato paste, oil-packed tuna, canned beans. What they have in common, though, is strong, simple flavors. Pantry staples earn their keep if you can use them in more than one recipe. So instead of tomatoes with herbs already added, pick plain tomatoes and add your own flavors.

Ready-made products can pack a lot of sugar and sodium. Look for low-sodium stocks and remember to rinse canned beans. If a product has a lot of flavor, it can help trim fat and calories. For instance, oil-packed tuna has so much flavor and moisture, you can skip high-fat mayonnaise.

Before we share theirs, we'll share our own: Refrigerated pie crust, the kind in the red box. Sprinkle it with flour, roll it out a little thinner and it's almost as good as a pie crust made from scratch.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper The host of "The Splendid Table" on American Public Radio is serious about her cooking tricks. Her new book, "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Weekends," with co-author Sally Swift, is packed with tips.

Product: Tomato paste in a can. Tubes are nice, but Kasper suggests opening a can (she likes Muir Glen, Contadina or Hunts). Spread a sheet of wax paper on a metal baking sheet, parcel the paste out as little dabs - "I don't mean tablespoonfuls, I mean tiny dabs, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon" - freeze and then transfer the dabs to a bag and keep frozen. They're easy to pull out when she needs them. She adds a little to scrambled eggs, salad dressing, sauteed onions, gazpacho, canned stock, anywhere she wants to add depth of flavor. "If it's weak-kneed, tomato paste will help."

Carrie Leonard

A chef-instructor at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, Leonard also has "Culinary Classroom" cooking videos on her website,

www.culinarycarrie.com.

Product: Gourmet Garden spice and herb pastes, available in tubes in the produce section at many supermarkets. "They have longer shelf life and are easier to use in small quantities than fresh product." For instance, she uses a teaspoon of the ginger spice blend to add flavor to shortcakes she makes to serve with strawberries.

Gwen Cummings Maller

Cooking school supervisor at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, she's teaching a class in Pantry Essentials on Sept. 25.

Product: Oil-packed canned tuna. "I use that a lot. If I'm making tuna salad, I use tuna in water. But tuna in oil is more delicious than people know." She uses it to make a salad with white beans, black olives and artichoke bottoms, or to toss with pasta.

Other picks: Hoisin sauce, Herdez tomatillo salsa and "an insane amount" of capers. "They are great for adding a burst of flavor to all sorts of things. Even if you don't have much on hand that's fresh, they brighten things up."

Robin Miller The host of Food Network's "Quick Fix Meals," she has a new book out this fall, "Robin Takes 5," with five-ingredient weeknight meals. She'll sign copies at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at Quail Ridge Books, 3522 Wade Ave.

Product: Fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth. Beside using it for soups and stews, she replaces some of the oil in salad dressings and marinades. "The broths and stocks, especially those with flavors such as roasted garlic, have come a long way," with better flavors and less sodium.

Recipe: Pasta Spirals With White Beans, Broccoli and Parmesan.

Nikki Moore

A private chef, she teaches classes through her business, Food Love, in Charlotte.

Product: Canned beans. "Despite my best intentions, I never seem to get dried beans soaking early enough. Since sodium in canned beans is notoriously high, I always make sure to rinse the beans under running water."

Recipe: Black Beans With Orange and Chipotle.