Cook with what you have

 

My adaptation of Cobb sald

Here are my secrets for cooking without recipes:

Know what you want to eat; keep it simple; Enjoy yourself.

Come to think of it, these are my secrets for having a good life, too.

Today the kitchen, tomorrow the world!

              Tod Davies, Jam Today

Several years ago I came across a little book entitled, Jam Today: A Diary of Cooking with What You’ve Got. I was entranced by the prose, the ideas, the food suggestions. Of course the author, Tod Davies, happened to be married to a man who kept a bountiful vegetable garden right outside the kitchen door, so all she had to do to see what she had was stroll out the door. Still, I think the principle works for those of us who must store what we have in the cupboard, refrigerator, and freezer. And a PS to my recommendation for this book – it’s where I learned about the high-quality, water-packed albacore tuna I order from a small fishing vessel in Oregon. So much better than what you get from the grocery store.

After reading those suggestions, I put the idea to work in my kitchen. One evening I was preparing to leave town the next day and decided to see what I could use up from the refrigerator. Prowling around, I found some good, thinly sliced ham left from a sandwich project, a stub of zucchini, and some asparagus that wouldn’t last much longer. I had spinach fettucine in the cupboard—just the right amount.

I sliced the zucchini thin, julienned the ham, and cut the asparagus into bite-size pieces. I used salt and pepper generously on the vegetables. Then a dollop of butter went into the skillet, and I sautéed the vegetables a bit longer than the ham—they needed to cook, and the ham was precooked and very thin. When the vegetables were cooked, I added the ham and well-drained pasta to the skillet, stirred, and heated on low until thoroughly warm. Just before dishing, I gently blended in a good-sized dollop (heaping tablespoon) of sour cream and some Parmesan. Surprised myself both at how good it was and how much I ate.

Night before last, we had Cobb salad (sort of) for dinner, again using mostly what was on hand. I did buy a rotisseries chicken, but beyond that I arranged plates with hard-boiled eggs, green beans (canned, because I couldn’t get haricort vert and had the canned on hand—Jacob and Christian like them a lot), cherry tomatoes, sliced hearts of palm, avocado, lettuce, blue cheese, and bacon. We splashed Paul Newman’s Own Vinaigrette over it—it’s the only bottled salad dressing I put in my fridge, and it happens to be Jacob’s favorite. Made an eye-appealing plate—my mom always told me food is half-eaten with the eye. A bonus to this meal was that Jordan and I could arrange each plate to meet someone’s tastes (some among us are fussy—no hearts of palm, no hard-boiled eggs, etc.).

Today I told Jordan we had quite a bit of chicken left over. “Why don’t we have chicken tacos?” We still have avocado and cherry tomatoes; there’s a can of refried black beans in the cupboard. We have plenty of cheddar to grate, and her cupboard has tostada shells. Christian and Jacob will be happy, and so will we. An easy meal, and healthy.

What’s in your cupboard? Take stock, use your imagination. I bet you could find a week’s worth of meals.

And for fun, read Jam Today!