I love being in the kitchen. Pick up a knife, chop and mix a few things, turn on the heat, and I’m happy. Cooking is a creative outlet for me, and the fact that I can then eat my experiments?–hello!–how can it get any better than that? Cooking is a highly sensual experience for me. It engages all five of my senses; I love the sound of a sizzling pan, the sight of different colours and touch of different textures of the ingredients, the aromas that entice and satisfy, even before I explore the flavours and awaken my tastebuds. Food also sastifies me on levels beyond the physical. Not only do I derive pleasure from the nourishment, but it also comforts, relieves stress, challenges me, and makes me feel more connected to this Earth and life itself. I love the freedom to use my imagination and be creative, to come up with new ways of using ingredients, and to challenge myself constantly to learn more and become better in the kitchen. It makes me more thankful for all that we have on this Earth, and makes me feel truly alive. When I take photos of vegetables and fruit, I often remark to myself that the colours of nature cannot be improved upon.
Yes, it is quite the love affair I have with food. It brings me satsifaction on many levels–the physical, emotional, and spiritual.
I recently told my mom that if I won the lottery or hit the jackpot in Vegas, or just had ample money to spend on non-necessities, I wouldn’t spend it on clothes or shoes or gadgets–I’d buy myself a quality, timeless set of kitchenware. Then I could happily experiment away in the kitchen for the rest of my life. My mother looked at me askance, rolled her eyes, and pronounced me officially bizarre. Cuz she can’t imagine anyone actually wanting to be in the kitchen, much less derive so much pleasure out of it.
And I don’t even need that fancy, expensive set of kitchenware to happily putter away in the kitchen for the rest of my life. I’ve been doing it quite often already, especially this summer.
A couple of today’s experiments:
Baked teriyaki wild sockeye salmon, zucchini napoleons with cashew cream, saute suey choy, and brown rice
The salmon had a very nice flavour, but the zucchini recipe needs a bit of tweaking.
Baked Teriyaki Wild Sockeye Salmon
4 salmon fillets, skin on
Marinade:
2 TB low sodium soy sauce
2 TB mirin
1/2 – 1 TB brown sugar
2 TB white wine
1 tsp olive or canola oil
a few drops of sesame oil
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ginger, minced
1 chopped scallion
Marinate fillets in sauce for 2-3hrs. Discard excess marinade. Broil on high each side of fillets for 4-5 mins (8-10 mins total).
Tonight I made these muffins for our road trip tomorrow to the outlet malls in Washington:
Blueberry struesel muffins
These muffins were adapted from a Mama Peas recipe (one of my favourite blogs) and they were delicious!
Well, I better head off to bed so I’m bright eyed and bushy tailed for our epic shopping adventure tomorrow!