A Meal For The Uninspired

I'm going to be honest. I've been feeling completely uninspired. I haven't been cooking at all. I've been living on grilled cheese and salad, pretzels, tzatziki and beer, an occasional Italian sub sandwich from Bari Foods, sauteed kale and smoothies. My house is also a sty. My house is never a sty. I may as well have farm animals roaming around in here, it's that bad. And the piece d'resistance? I haven't showered in days. There you go; more than you ever wanted to know about me. It happens, right? I'm not perfect.

I'm learning how NOT to be such a control freak. I've had to put all my energy into one thing and let a few other things go. That one thing happens to be my new Pantry Essentials Guide that I'll be offering on this very site in the coming week and it's taken a lot out of me. That's why no post last week, I apologize. It's paying off, though. It's comprehensive and well-designed and I'm very proud of it.

What I've been discovering about myself this year is that I'm a master improviser. I'm not ready for Iron Chef, but I can usually make a great meal out of whatever I have around.

This was my breakfast. It would also make a great lunch or dinner. It's a corn tortilla with melted cheddar, softly scrambled eggs, chopped avocado, a mess of cilantro and a pinch of sea salt. I made three of these and they were incredibly satisfying and took 5 minutes to prepare.

Here's how I did it:

I heated a touch of canola oil in a skillet, sliced some local cheddar on a tortilla and popped it in the skillet until the tortilla got a little crispy and the cheese began to melt. While that cooked, I scrambled some eggs and then tossed them into the tortilla. In addition to the avocado and cilantro, I added some Greek yogurt (porque, no sour cream aquí) and a dab of salsa.

Kids would love these, too. What's not to love?

TIP:
I keep cilantro in my kitchen almost all the time. For me, it's an essential and very flavorful addition to both Mexican and Asian dishes such as tacos and quesadillas or coconut curries and cucumber salads. I cut the stems, remove any rubber bands and put it in a glass of water covered loosely with a plastic produce bag in the fridge. It lasts quite a while this way.

Pork Burgers A La Nigel Slater

I don't know about you but I crave Asian flavors. It's become a pattern that my craving comes very suddenly and without warning and I get this unreasonable urge to sate it immediately. I usually end up going out to sate it instead of making something at home.

I try to remedy that problem by keeping as many Asian food staples in my pantry as possible. They're generally inexpensive and useful in a myriad of ways. I don't pretend to know how to recreate a lot of the dishes I love, at home but having some of the basic ingredients around like kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, red chile paste, mirin, a good dark soy sauce, ginger, basil, cilantro, fish sauce, coconut milk and hot, fresh or dried peppers means I can occasionally throw something together that will satisfy me in a pinch. I know that sounds like a lot to think about but the ingredients last a little while and all that might literally run you about $12 to $15 at an Asian market.

And thank god for Nigel Slater's book The Kitchen Diaries. He's a well known food writer in London and it's his personal diary of meals recorded for one full year and divided into months so it's very seasonal. He's also an incredibly unfussy and almost lazy cook, which I love, and everything in the book makes me drool.

Example: So one day he happens to have bacon and an avocado at home so he makes the bacon in a fry pan, pulls it out crisp, throws some sherry vinegar in with the drippings to deglaze the pan and then tosses the whole shebang over the avocado and eats it with rye bread.

Are you kidding me? Sign me up!

The way this book is written continually underscores that cooking is about PLEASURE (remember pleasure?); it's a sensualist's dream if you ask me. Reading it makes me ache to cook, now how's that for a glowing endorsement?

He also loves flavors from warm climates such as Southeast Asia and India and it's definitely reflected in many of his recipes. So far, I can vouch that so much of what I've made from his book is easy (beginner easy) and incredibly satisfying.

I made his Pork Burgers with Lime Leaves and Cilantro last night and ate it with a little homemade cucumber salad. Just cucumbers, thinly sliced red onion, cilantro, some rice vinegar, a touch of sugar and salt.

Break out the Riesling!

Adapted from Nigel Slater's The Kitchen Diaries

scallions - 4
hot red chile peppers and their seeds - 4
garlic - 4 medium cloves
the stalks and leaves from a small bunch of cilantro
ginger - a thumb-sized lump
limes leaves - 6
(also added some basil leaves and a touch of fish sauce to mine)
*smoked pancetta or slab bacon - 4 oz
*ground pork - 1.25 lbs
a little veggie or peanut oil for frying

Chop scallions, peppers, garlic and cilantro and finely grate ginger. Roll and shred the lime leaves very fine (and basil if you use it).

Throw it all in the food processor and process until it's finely chopped and well mixed like a paste. Scrape the paste out into a large bowl, and add a couple dashes fish sauce if you please.

Cut the pancetta or bacon then process in the processor to a coarse mush. Add that to the spice paste in the bowl along with the ground pork and mix with your hands adding a little salt and pepper along the way. Chill for a half hour in the fridge to meld flavors.

Roll the seasoned, chilled pork into about twelve balls and flatten into patties. Heat a heavy, shallow pan, add some oil and cook for several minutes a side over relatively high heat until they brown nicely and cook through the middle. Squeeze some lime juice on top and eat with cucumber salad and jasmine rice optional.

*If you can find local pork, I highly recommend it. It benefits you, the pigs and the environment. In Chicago, Twin Oaks Farms sells their sustainably raised pork at Green City Market on Saturdays.

Faboo Spring Spinach

Friday morning I volunteered to help harvest the season's first spinach at Growing Home, an urban farm initiative in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood. They currently sell their beautiful greens at Green City Market and to various chefs around town.

Spring spinach is bright, more tender and flavorful than winter spinach and well worth your time to search out. Here are some ideas on how to use it:

Salad - Tear pieces of tender spinach in a bowl with a chopped avocado, bacon, shaved red onion, and feel free to toss in goat cheese, blue cheese - your choice. A boiled egg is nice and if you like crunch, add toasted breadcrumbs or croutons. Mix 2 parts olive oil to one part red wine vinegar (or more to taste), a bit of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper in a jam jar and shake like crazy. Toss with salad.

Soup - throw ripped up handfuls of fresh spinach directly into your soup of choice - just heat through and eat. you're adding beautiful flavor, vitamins and iron without work.

Greek Odyssey - Sauté ground lamb or ground dark meat chicken in a small amount of olive oil in a pan, add a touch of cumin and paprika, chopped garlic, salt and pepper - cook through. Throw meat in a lavash or soft pita with fresh spinach leaves, some chopped mint and parsley, red onion, feta and a hearty squeeze of lemon and more olive oil if needed. I also love the homemade parsley tahini sauce at Middle East Bakery in Andersonville - that would be a gorgeous addition.