I write food stories, but I rarely get into the technical part, a.k.a recipes, procedures, or ingredient selection. Main reason being I don't think my food is good enough for people to make in their homes, and some of my approach is just simply, freaky. Then recently I realized, I cook for I am, and people cook because they are. There is always a story behind our cooking or taste, and we should be proud about it. So, no more feeling embarrassed about my spontaneous cooking. After all, give me a recipe, and I promise I'll screw it up but still make it taste great :) if not, I can give you a good laugh. Why are we giving so much credit to celebrity chefs when we are perfectly capable cooks? And why feel as if I've done something blasphemous because I substituted one ingredient for another? Whose fridge is so well-stocked anyways? Are you seriously going to buy a bag of pine nuts because one recipe calls for 3ounces? So this is it, the cooking of everything goes, zero food waste: when in doubt, add more stuff to it.
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An omurice spinoff: the Japanese omurice is a chicken ketchup fried rice with a fluffy omelet on top
it's so much fun to make it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-GFimGcYJw |
I made this a while back, fried rice is one of my go-to things if there are leftovers I need to finish off. Dice up whatever vegetable or meat you have, add overnight rice into a HOT oiled pan and work that spatula! (Reason for overnight rice is you want the rice on the dry side, wet rice tends to mush up) Use the spatula to crush, separate, and toss the rice until they're all evenly heated, then toss in everything else. Some salt, pepper, worchestire sauce, five spice, soy sauce, Jamaican jerk seasoning, hot sauce... really you can put anything you think that goes with it, I've done all those ingredients I just mentioned :)
I added carrot tops to my eggs because I happen to have them. Don't throw them away, they taste amazing. Carrot tops are very fibrous, so dice them up very small. They taste like a cross over between celery and parsley when cooked lightly, not as soapy as parsley though. They add an amazing crunch and freshness to your food, in this case, balances off the rich, gooey egg perfectly.
Four days ago, a tonne of leftovers barged into our lives. We got a huge selection of steak, grilled salmon, mashed potatoes, and patty pan squash. The food was prepared by a renowned restaurant in San Francisco, and like all restaurant foods, it was loaded with great spices, seasonings, and sides. For example, the salmon was served with a generous dash of pesto, fresh corn, and caramelized cherry tomatoes.
Side note: For health and environmental reasons, I have decided not to eat salmon. Farmed salmon has been reported containing high-levels toxins, including PCBs; also many salmon farms operate like large scale feedlots. Salmon are fishes that naturally swim long distances and feed on many small fishes to grow to adult size. Packing salmon in close quarters and stuffing them with fish meal, jeopardizes the fish's, the water, marine life, workers, and finally consumers' health. I'll post some information and tips on how to get sustainable seafood on the bottom of this post, small changes leads to big steps :)
But under the current circumstances, either I eat the salmon or throw it away. It looked delicious and I ate it without a second thought. The salmon was rich and creamy, and the sauce was sweet, crunchy, and refreshing. However, after the initial excitement, I got bored with the leftovers, and can't help but play with it. And then there were these patty pan squashes.
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| Often seen them in the farmer's market but never thought of buying them, they look like Halloween decorations more than food to me. |
The restaurant did a great job just grilling them in salt and pepper. they were sweet, creamy, and crunchy. I never tried them and was pleasantly surprised. But we have 2 whole boxes of them, and we simply cannot eat all that. So the next day I stuffed them in the blender, and combined it with the salmon and served it with pasta. Not the most appetizing dish in presentation but it tasted good. Every bite was hearty salmon and pasta, with crunchy corn, tied together by the smooth squash puree that's sweet and savory.
Cooking is never boring, I know there are certain principles and ways to cook, but in between there's so many ingredients and variations where it is up to you. And the best part is, everyday we get a clean start :) Happy cooking!
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| And Eating |
Advice on sustainable seafood? Go slow, start small, don't get overwhelmed.
First get the Monterey Seafood Pocket guide
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx
if you're outside the US, WWF also provides seafood guides, and they BOTH have smartphone apps :)
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/conservation/marine/sustainable_fishing/sustainable_seafood/seafood_guides/
If you're buying frozen seafood, look for this label.
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| This UK based organization certifies sustainable seafood farming practices |
There are no definite answers to many more specific questions, but eating small fish instead of larger ones, who have lived longer and bio-accumulated more toxins is obviously better for you. It is also better for the environment as fish stocks like anchovies, herrings, and sardines can be replenished faster. Look into the catching method too, if seafood such as shrimp, or scallops are trawled. They were harvested in the expense of the whole sea floor. If you apply the same concept on land, it's like setting the whole forrest on fire to hunt a couple of deers. Well... let's take depressing thoughts a bit at a time, I'll write more when the next opportunity arrives.
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