When I enter someone’s kitchen I look to see what he or she has in equipment. The next thing is to see what they already have in usable food. I am a personal fan of the three- and four-year old condiments sitting in the fridge door, especially mustard. (My cousin on the other hand, is big into curries.) The third step is to find out what the owner of the kitchen likes and doesn’t like to eat. The end goals are a decent pantry that allows for healthy meals fast. Now my definition of healthy may not be yours, but we’ll get to that as we move along.
Cousin R is the subject of this week’s blog, and maybe next week’s too.
The kitchen situation is solid, which means there are plenty of BTUs and horsepower. The only weakness is a small freezer. As she has an affinity for kitchen gadgets and spices, this is more about just making a menu and having Cuz begin to understand her new flavor friends: Sweet, Salt, Sour, Hot, and Fat. So we move on to the food she already has.
“You have five different curry blends up in the cupboard,” I say. “And you have curry flavor ketchup in the fridge.” Yes, I get the message. She and her husband also like spicy and have traveled to Southeast Asia, India, Eastern and Western Europe. The only things off the food options list are zucchini and sweet potatoes. Starches on hand are dried red beans, black beans, pinto beans, three different pastas, three different types of rice. We pull everything out of the limited cupboard space she has and rearrange it a bit so she has her morning needs on shelf one, sauces on the shelf above that, and starches on the shelf above that. If you really want to go to town, you can write this inventory on a three by five card and tape it to the inside of the door of the cabinet. Then cross items off as you use them.
The spice rack is full of the basics so we’ll work around what she has. This is key to avoiding the expensive purchase of more spices and it tells me a lot about what they like. Also, the kitschy spice blends (“gourmet taco blend”) and sauces (pad thai) in the cupboard should bring back some memories and keep the stories flowing. The joy of food is not ramming it down your gullet, but the people and places that surround the experiences of shopping for it and eating it. The key fun item in the spice rack for me is the smoked paprika. I love this stuff!
House Cuisine Rule #1: Your stomach is not one of your five senses, and making chocolate sauce part of your sex life isn’t bad either…
Cuz has fresh cilantro, parsley, celery, 1% milk, and half n’ half. Not a bad start at all here. But we need to head to Costco and get back before the baby has a meltdown. So we grab our shopping shoulder pads and head over to the store.
This particular Costco is just across the bridge from downtown DC and as we walk into the door we are handed a flyer saying that former secretary of state Madeline Albright will be signing her new book. “Wow,” I say and as we move into the store we begin to look for the line for her book signing so we can avoid the crunch. There is no line.
“She needs a new publicist,” my cousin laughs.
“But it’s a first edition. I’ll have her sign it and give a copy to my father - a conservative - and another to my sister - I think she’s half lib and half conservative,” I say. “Besides, it’s 35 percent off. She does need a new publicist.” The thing that pissed me off the most was that here is someone with a valid opinion to offer and she is in a Costco while some douchebag named Peterson is on national TV earlier that morning with Matt Lauer trying to convince people that he didn’t kill his two previous wives. Does anyone wonder why the fourth estate doesn’t get any respect?
So here is the short list of what we need to buy: Manchego cheese, frozen stir-fry veggies, oatmeal, pork tenderloins, mixed greens for salad, one turkey, good parmesan, ricotta, frozen mixed organic berries, and frozen sockeye filets. We impulse-buy pineapple spears (she loves pineapple), Marcona almonds (I love them), dark chocolate cashew crunch snack (we both love the whole idea), two two-packs of whole fresh chicken (substitute of the turkey), and a guacamole three-pack (two can go into the freezer and a lot cheaper cost per avocado). What we don’t buy is just as important. We don’t buy any more spices (don’t need ‘em), real maple syrup (love it but don’t need it this time), soy milk (a healthy alternative in the diet but we don’t need it now), potato chips (wanted them though), Nutella (a passing subject in a conversation), Bare Naked trail mix (they didn’t have it and I didn’t need it!). We got out of there for 179 dollars. The starting menu:
- Roast chicken seasoned with smoked paprika, sea salt, and thyme
- Seared Sockeye salmon with pad thai noodles and veggies (for our lunch when we get home)
- Chicken Soup
- Chop Chop Salad with chicken, red beans, carrots, celery, Manchego, Anaheim chili, orange segments, Marcona almonds, and a avocado/orange/yogurt dressing... We made it spicy. Skip the cilantro if you don’t like it.
- Quesadillas with low fat “refried beans.” Add salsa and tortillas if you don’t already have them
- Chicken liver pate canapés with Manchego or orange segments or Sriracha chili sauce or spicy mustard or sweet pickles. Mix and match your favorites.
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