So relieved to read about the combination of all the disparate ingredients in your refrigerator to create a meal. I often judge myself for this, but sometimes it makes for the most interesting and flavorful meal.
Your writing is so tremendously compelling. Absolutely enjoyed this and LOVED the towels on the stair railing, absorbing the smells of the Meal Of The Day!
Your shower while cooking reminds me of the time a neighbor across the hall did something very similar- I can home to find the hall flooded from the sprinklers that were activated while he showered. Don’t do that!
Your shower while cooking reminds me of the time a neighbor across the hall did something very similar- I can home to find the hall flooded from the sprinklers that were activated while he showered. Don’t do that!
I am so happy to read the sous vide comments, I kept thinking I was missing out on something but the concept of boiling food in plastic was not appealing!
What makes a meal satisfying to me is when I can cook it outside over a campfire. I take all my ingredients, all prepped, and can throw together a great meal in minutes. I generally pack anything that might get funky over the weekend and use those in a nice stir fry. I make large quantities of rice and store in seal-a-meal bags. A pot of water over the fire allows the rice to reheat without becoming sticky and icky. When the food is off the fire and on my lap (my feet are up of course) - life is good!
You might also consider telling those people wanting to cook their food in plastic that they are endangering their health. A conservative approach would be to NEVER eat food that has been heated in plastic. Especially pregnant women. Plastic metabolites already suffuse every one of us; don't make it worse.
P.S. I really enjoyed this article. And for me a killer salad is often what I enjoy the most in a meal. But I am a master at steaks on the grill. Despite trying to move closer to a plant based diet, I suspect I will continue to buy flat steaks from my locas grass fed operation.
My DH is a master at concocting dinner from leftovers. Unfortunately one time he mistakenly put leftovers that were a.) saved for the dogs, and b.) forgotten and getting rancid in the back of the fridge, into an otherwise beautiful frittata.
Eager to dig in, we all did, only to discover the nasty flavor of the forgotten meat bits.
While it was a bit distressing throwing it in the garbage (the dogs got some), we had a good laugh and ate cereal for dinner.
Loved this. I too revel in using up leftovers and avoiding extra trips to the store. That's where the husband and I part ways in the kitchen but I always benefit from his unnecessary trips to the store - extra leftovers to play with.
Just as you say "taste is only the beginning" - it is the process. I may make something that only I will like but I made it with leftovers, cleaned out the fridge, and designed it myself. The wine or cocktail with it also matters!
I think for me what makes a meal satisfying is the opportunity to find a new use for an old thing the way a seamstress may take apart a wedding dress and transform it into lush pillows or the way an artist could transform broken tile pieces into a mosaic...For example I made a a powerful lemon paste from Adeena Sussman's incredible book Sababa (a book I have been carrying around like a beloved baby throughout covid) and it's a paste of lemon, garlic, jalapeno and salt. It's a miracle of citrus and she uses it in pasta. But I made a lentil lemon ginger dish this week (from Olives and Honey a great Jewish vegetarian book by Gil Marks) and I thought hey ! would this not SING? with more lemon? I ate it for dinner one night it was gentle and sparkling. I thought to myself this little bowl of lentils with celery, lemon, fresh ginger packs so much quiet light flavour. It was soothing and sparkling....and I felt like I was nourishing myself. It's been a difficult week and this provide a bowl of comfort.
So for me....it's finding an unexpected home for what I already possess.
For me it's the power of resourcefulness and creativity. Today I found some grated carrots and chopped scallions and a few lonely walnuts and they will form the base of a salad I had not planned but just saw before me this morning like a culinary vista when I opened the fridge door. Each day a new opportunity awaits. Each day when you open the fridge you can say hmmmmm what new combination might work? How can I use what I already have? It the chance to use our imaginations ! And Daniel Meyer you ask such a good question here. What makes something tasty besides taste itself.
So relieved to read about the combination of all the disparate ingredients in your refrigerator to create a meal. I often judge myself for this, but sometimes it makes for the most interesting and flavorful meal.
Your writing is so tremendously compelling. Absolutely enjoyed this and LOVED the towels on the stair railing, absorbing the smells of the Meal Of The Day!
Agreed
The anticipation of the flavors!
Your shower while cooking reminds me of the time a neighbor across the hall did something very similar- I can home to find the hall flooded from the sprinklers that were activated while he showered. Don’t do that!
Your shower while cooking reminds me of the time a neighbor across the hall did something very similar- I can home to find the hall flooded from the sprinklers that were activated while he showered. Don’t do that!
I am so happy to read the sous vide comments, I kept thinking I was missing out on something but the concept of boiling food in plastic was not appealing!
What makes a meal satisfying to me is when I can cook it outside over a campfire. I take all my ingredients, all prepped, and can throw together a great meal in minutes. I generally pack anything that might get funky over the weekend and use those in a nice stir fry. I make large quantities of rice and store in seal-a-meal bags. A pot of water over the fire allows the rice to reheat without becoming sticky and icky. When the food is off the fire and on my lap (my feet are up of course) - life is good!
You might also consider telling those people wanting to cook their food in plastic that they are endangering their health. A conservative approach would be to NEVER eat food that has been heated in plastic. Especially pregnant women. Plastic metabolites already suffuse every one of us; don't make it worse.
Those nights I had to work so late dinner was almost forgotten, I ‘d make poached eggs on toast, cooked in buttery milk with lots of pepper.
P.S. I really enjoyed this article. And for me a killer salad is often what I enjoy the most in a meal. But I am a master at steaks on the grill. Despite trying to move closer to a plant based diet, I suspect I will continue to buy flat steaks from my locas grass fed operation.
Use. All. The. Things.
But not the dog treats please!
My DH is a master at concocting dinner from leftovers. Unfortunately one time he mistakenly put leftovers that were a.) saved for the dogs, and b.) forgotten and getting rancid in the back of the fridge, into an otherwise beautiful frittata.
Eager to dig in, we all did, only to discover the nasty flavor of the forgotten meat bits.
While it was a bit distressing throwing it in the garbage (the dogs got some), we had a good laugh and ate cereal for dinner.
Loved this. I too revel in using up leftovers and avoiding extra trips to the store. That's where the husband and I part ways in the kitchen but I always benefit from his unnecessary trips to the store - extra leftovers to play with.
Just as you say "taste is only the beginning" - it is the process. I may make something that only I will like but I made it with leftovers, cleaned out the fridge, and designed it myself. The wine or cocktail with it also matters!
I think for me what makes a meal satisfying is the opportunity to find a new use for an old thing the way a seamstress may take apart a wedding dress and transform it into lush pillows or the way an artist could transform broken tile pieces into a mosaic...For example I made a a powerful lemon paste from Adeena Sussman's incredible book Sababa (a book I have been carrying around like a beloved baby throughout covid) and it's a paste of lemon, garlic, jalapeno and salt. It's a miracle of citrus and she uses it in pasta. But I made a lentil lemon ginger dish this week (from Olives and Honey a great Jewish vegetarian book by Gil Marks) and I thought hey ! would this not SING? with more lemon? I ate it for dinner one night it was gentle and sparkling. I thought to myself this little bowl of lentils with celery, lemon, fresh ginger packs so much quiet light flavour. It was soothing and sparkling....and I felt like I was nourishing myself. It's been a difficult week and this provide a bowl of comfort.
So for me....it's finding an unexpected home for what I already possess.
For me it's the power of resourcefulness and creativity. Today I found some grated carrots and chopped scallions and a few lonely walnuts and they will form the base of a salad I had not planned but just saw before me this morning like a culinary vista when I opened the fridge door. Each day a new opportunity awaits. Each day when you open the fridge you can say hmmmmm what new combination might work? How can I use what I already have? It the chance to use our imaginations ! And Daniel Meyer you ask such a good question here. What makes something tasty besides taste itself.
What type of rice is best for leftovers...white, brown, a mix?