success in the kitchen
My plans, every evening, are to eat my vegetables and get on with something artistic. Tonight is no exception despite a wicked headcold and a vhs copy of last night's 24 calling to me. On Tuesdays I have the kids to myself so there is that obstacle as well. Nevertheless I was able to revel in some wonderful dishes so I simply must brag and share.
1) Squash pancake. This is adapted from Deborah Madison's Squash "pancake" with mozarella and sage. My dh ate all the mozarella before I could get my hands on it, but it came out fine with some trader joe's parmesano reggiano. I cooked the squash yesterday, so today all there was to do was sizzle the sage in butter, fry up the squash a bit (browner is better), and top with the cheese. It did not achieve pancake consistency but I was very happy with it.
2) Beet salad. This, also, is an adaptation from Deborah Madison's beet "caviar." I glanced over the recipe instructions and realized I was way over my head. All I did was cut up the beet (also cooked yesterday), and added things approximately the same color as Deb recommended. She said parseley, I had cilantro. She said goat cheese and I had bleu. She said red onion and I had white. I dressed with olive oil kosher salt and pepper and was amazed. This stuff is worth every stain on your shirt.
You might be wondering what this new vegetable and liquor diet might be, and whether it can work for you. Well, I can't really tell you what it is, and it likely will NOT work for you, so there you have it straight. However, should you wish to simulate this effort, here is what you do:
1) Order an organic vegetable box to arrive at your home weekly.
2) Commit to eating every food in that box as your dinner. Family cooking pasta? You cook squash. Family cooking pizza? You have collard greens. You just don't eat the sludge we put in ourselves usually and instead eat from stuff that came in your box.
3) A cookbook helps but don't get too hung up on it.
4) All condiment - quanitity additional ingredients are allowed. As long as you put away your box each week, you're fine. Go nuts with the nuts.
5) Does eating inside the box make you feel grumpy and deprived? Well, the first thing to do is to find better recipes. Get the best olive oil, herbs, cheeses, stuff on hand to make what you have a hit.
6) Drink as much liquor as you would like. Realistically, you won't drink as much because you're not consuming all that fat etc so you will feel that glass of wine kinda like you would feel three.
OK I'm supposed to be doing something artistic now rather than blabbling about my precious box. Take care.