Lisa Ann wrote:
> If you've only ever made stir-fry by using pre-packaged kits, you're
more
> likely to think, "Oh, I can't make this tonight because I'm missing this
or
> that." But if you're used to doing stir-fry based on stuff you happen
to
> have on hand, you're less likely to think, "Oh, we can't have that
tonight,
> I don't have the chicken the package calls for. I have ****k or beef,
but it
> says I have to use chicken."
>
> That's probably a bad example, but I've been testing SQL all day today
(I
> got it to work!) and my brain is fried. (Not that I cook brains, but
> they've been known to cook themselves on occasion.)
My favorite thought about cooking came from someone being interviewed on
a radio food show, who said something like this:
"I don't hate cooking because I have to think, I love cooking because I
don't have to think. If I add flour to butter and then add stock, it
_will_ get thick. I don't have to think about it."
At some point, cooking became that way for me. I rarely think about it,
I rarely follow recipes (and never that closely), and years ago I
realized that nothing in the kitchen intimidates me any more.
If I'm ever on the other coast, Lisa Ann, I'll try to stop by, and we
can make sauce. Like Lesmond's, mine has tomatoes, garlic, onions, and
basil. I like green peppers too - if you add some celery and smoked
sausage too it's well on its way from Italian to Cajun. It does have to
simmer for a few hours, and it's almost always better the next day.
Leave out the meat, add some chilies, and you're almost at salsa. Use
some lamb for the meat, add some okra, and you have... well, I'm not
sure what it is, but it's some kind of lamb and okra stew that's really
delicious. I made a big pot of that on Sunday, and will be eating it all
week.
-- Mike --
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