Feb 01 2006
Out of the closet.. um.. pantry
I just read Renne’s latest blog post [which is gone now] and thought.. hey.. me too! FYI, Renne & I worked together on a Thoughtworks project in late 2004.
So Renne, one foodie to another.. I salute you.. what a capitol idea to share culinary experiences. And very timely for me as I’m going through a resurgence of my kitchen activity. The main reason for this was the availability of digital cable at our new house. More specifically the Food Channel. Even more specifically, Chef Michael Smith, Canadian Chef extrodinare. Watching Michael Smith cook reminds me of Jamie Oliver.. sheer, unbridled foodie passion. Passion about food, about eating, about cooking.
So here I am, dusting off cookbooks, stocking my shelves and (taking a cue from chef Smith) putting everything on open shelves in mason jars.
Our new house is, as I said, well suited to cooking. We have a unremarkable kitchen.. alley style, casual dining area off one end, and a doorway t the hall in the other end. Ample countertop & cupboards, 30″ range, etc, etc. The neat bit is that the next room is another kitchen. There’s no range there (yet) but there is a double sink, vegetable sink & another full size sink, plus loads of open shelving. We have the chest freezer set up in there. I’m not finished yet… the room after that is another pantry of sorts… open shelves, lower drawers & cabinets, and a concrete countertop.
So everything’s come together to launch us into a world of new culinary adventure. I said this was a “resurgence”… I’ve been cooking since I was 18.. learning much the way I learned programming.. by watching others (starting with Steven Yan on “Wok With Yan”), reading, and experimenting.
If possible I suggest you check out Chef Michael Smith, his shows, and cookbooks:
So what success stories do I have? A couple… Ratatouille (just eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and herbs), Tuna with Pinot Noir Leeks and Ginger Mint Salsa, although I used asparagus instead of leeks since it looked good.
Tonight I made a cucumber/red-onion/mint salad and “Zucchini, tomatoes, and Oregano”. For the salad, just thinly slice a red onion & an English Cuke. Tear up a bunch of mint leaves and toss it all with an asian style dressing (I made one up on the fly with soy sauce, chili paste, lime juice, 5 spice powder, and a generous amount of sesame oil).
These are from the “Chef at Home” cookbook, I’m assuming all appear on the show at some point, and some at on the foodtv.ca site.
You know… there are times I think I might have pursued the wrong career!
Dave