My favorite show on the Food Network is 'Chopped'. In the first round, four chefs have a basket of mystery ingredients and 20 minutes to cook a fabulous first course from ingredients that, at best, are a little odd and, at worst, are completely wrong together. Each round has a losing chef that is "chopped," leaving the others to move onto the next round with a new mystery basket, until one chef remains as the 'Chopped Champion'. Chopped is cooking from the hip at its finest. It is saying, "This is what I have, let's go with it." I love watching as they stare blankly at the basket, waiting for inspiration to strike, then bolting to the pantry, grabbing herbs or butter or bread, chopping, slicing, frying, baking, all in the name of love. Watching people who love what they do inspires me.
When I'm in the kitchen I cook from the hip. I use recipes when I am exploring a new style of cooking. I fell in love with curries a couple of years ago. I used recipes until I had a firm enough grasp on the way to cook a good curry, then started experimenting on my own. Changing and twisting and making food my way. I love to go to the fridge, pull out whatever happens to be in there, and cook it into a wonderful meal. It is my own version of Chopped. (Without the stress of time or elimination.)
I am not going to give you an exact recipe for what I made tonight. I don't measure quantities of ingredients, I go with what I have, I cook from the hip. Aimee keeps telling me that not everyone knows how to cook like this, but I didn't always either. I think it is something that you can learn to do, if you let go and trust the process, learn a few simple cooking techniques, remember what tastes good together, and go with you gut. So let me walk you through my process tonight and you can start adventuring with food too!
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| We ate the rainbow for dinner! |
From the top left of the cutting board (clockwise):
- 1.5 Yellow Onions - chopped
- Stems of 6 Baby Bella Mushrooms - diced
- 5-7 Garlic Cloves - peeled
- 3-4 Celery Stalks - cut at an angle (Fancy, I know)
- 2 Carrots - cut on an angle
- 6 Baby Bella Mushrooms - sliced
- 1 Red Bell Pepper - Diced
- Half head Red Cabbage - sliced
After I cut it all up, I stared at it for a few minutes wondering what direction to take with the flavors. This mixture is a good base for a number of cuisines. You may not have all of these things in your fridge, but a mixture of carrot, celery, and onion is a great basic base as well. I wasn't sure what to do so I went to my pantry, I needed something to tie it all together. We had a bottle of Curry Simmer Sauce from Trader Joe's. I knew with a pile of veg like that I would need to extend the sauce a little so I grabbed the veggie broth I had in the fridge. I went back to the pantry and grabbed the red lentils, chickpeas, and coconut oil. I try to prep everything first, then start cooking. Sometimes I will chop as I go, but I find the more prep the better.
When my favorite pan was hot and the coconut oil (about 1.5 T) was nice and melty, I tossed in the onion and cooked it until soft and some of the onions had started to brown. I didn't brown them all, just some. I used my garlic press on 4 of the cloves and pressed them directly into the onions. I stirred until they were fragrant. Garlic burns easily so you don't want to let it stay on the heat for a long period of time.
When you start to smell the wonderful garlic it is time to toss in the rest of the veg. I let this bunch cook a little while, 3-5 minutes, I think. (Did I mention I don't do precision cooking?) I made sure it was all mixed together well and heated through.
I added the broth, curry simmer sauce, lentils, and chickpeas. (Our chickpeas had been cooked once and dehydrated to cut the cooking time, so if you want to try and follow this meal, you may opt for a can or precook dried chickpeas.) I stirred it all together, added some salt, and brought it to a boil. Then simmered for about 30 minutes to make sure the lentils and the chickpeas were cooked through.
I tasted after the simmering was done and I found it to be missing a layer of depth and a tad too sweet. I went back to the fridge and grabbed a couple of handfuls of baby kale and two small limes. I stirred it all together and let the kale cook down. I added kale because it has a slight bitterness to it, but not crazy bitter. The limes added a hit of acid that created a nice flavor profile.
Almost ready for the bowl!! While I cooked a quick batch of rice, I let it cook down a little longer.
I cooked up the mushrooms in their own special way. I added about a tablespoon of coconut oil and a spoonful of bacon grease to the pan. When it was all good and ready, I added 2 minced garlic cloves and my pile o'mushrooms and turned them over in the pan to make sure they were all coated. Then I just let them cook down, stirring occasionally.
When they got to this point (I don't know how long) I grabbed my curry powder from Market Spice and tossed about 2 t onto the 'shrooms. I stirred it all together, tasted, added salt and the juice from half a lime. I let them continue to cook a little longer, then turned the burner down to keep them warm.
When the rice was done, I put a small amount (maybe half a cup) into the bottom of the bowl, spooned a generous helping of the veggie curry topped with fresh cilantro, and then the mushrooms on top. Delicious, nutritious, easy, and awesome. They way I like to cook!
If you don't trust yourself in the kitchen, start with recipes, build your skills, then trust your instincts. Most importantly, have fun! Cooking doesn't have to be a chore. If you need ideas or have questions, let me know and I will help you along your way!
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