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Curing Kitchen Fatigue

By Devorah Stone

It is easy to get into a kitchen rut of same old, same old meals of spaghetti and chicken with potatoes every night especially, if you are cooking for two or one. It’s hard to get the energy to think of something different. Is it worth the effort just for the two or one of you? Yes, it is because you are worth it. You can experiment, especially since the children are gone. Think of all the dinners you wanted to cook but you were afraid your family would never eat them. The solution to kitchen fatigue is a positive attitude, an adventurous spirit, and a little planning.

THE WELL- STOCKED PANTRY

Raid the bin and specialty sections of your supermarket to find ingredients that are just a bit different from your normal fair. Start shopping at food markets and specialty stores to find the exotic. Something different occasionally can put a spark back in your cooking.

• Most rice dishes call for long grain or basmati rice. Try other kinds of rice like Sushi and Jasmine.


• For more adventurous cooking, buy small amounts of curry, turmeric, cumin and saffron.


• Have different types of pasta not just spaghetti or macaroni. Pasta comes in all different shapes and colors. Buy them in the bulk food section but make sure they are made with durum wheat. Try couscous a Moroccan fast cooking pasta.


• To prepare ahead for those impromptu special meals stock up on canned shrimp, coconut milk, smoked salmon, frozen filo dough, wine for cooking, raspberry liqueur, and bottled or canned vine leaves whenever they go on sale.

FRESH PRODUCE

• If you can buy fresh produce, meat, and fish and specialty store not supermarkets. Butchers, green grocers, and fishmongers know quality and understand the food they sell.


• Ask your butcher for different cuts of meat and unusual meat like ostrich or venison or buffalo meat all of which are lower in fat than beef. Ask for their favorite recipe.


• Ever had a leche nut or a pomegranate? They show up at the market at certain times of the year.


• Look out for vegetables with a short season like fiddleheads or asparagus and certain types of vine tomatoes.

RECIPES

I get recipes from friends, the Internet, and talking to people who sell the food. I’ve even managed to get cooking tips from waiters and restaurant cooks. I also collect cookbooks. Often the best cookbooks aren’t by celebrity chefs but are compiled by churches, schools and other non profit organizations.

PREPARING TO COOK

Relax a little before you cook. Eat a healthy snack like a carrot or a rice cracker and drink water. It’s not a good idea to cook when you haven’t eaten in hours. While you cook, play music, and lick the batter and taste the sauce! Enjoy!

LAMB IN FILO: Dinner by and for two.

This is for you and your partner or friend. One person can make the ground lamb mixture while the other prepares the filo or you can coordinate your efforts together. Always thaw out filo dough a few hours before, don’t defrost in microwave. Ask your butcher for ground lamb.

• ½ package of filo dough sheets
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 lb ground lamb
• Pepper and salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil for frying
• 1 large white onion
• 2 green onions
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed (or 2 teaspoons powder garlic)
• 1/3 cup peas (fresh or frozen and thawed)
• ¼ pound or ½ cup cubed cheddar or havarti cheese.
• ¼ cup Parmesan
• 1 medium tomato
• Oregano to taste

Lamb filling

Sprinkle salt and pepper on lamb. Chop up white and trim green onions.

Brown meat in a heavy skillet on high heat using 1-tablespoon olive oil. (If you’re using powder garlic add it while browning the lamb) Add white onions, green onions, crushed garlic, and the other tablespoon of olive oil. Fry until onions are soft and limp but just before they turn brown. Add peas and cook for 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 350.

Filo dough

Gently (two hands are better for this) lift one sheet of filo onto a board. With a pastry brush paint the edges and corners of the sheet. Place a second filo sheet on top of the first.

Take 1/3 cup of the lamb mixture and place it in the middle of the filo sheets. Place two slices of tomatoes, 2 cubes of cheddar or havarti cheese on top. Sprinkle tomatoes with Parmesan cheese and oregano. Gently fold up the filo to cover and enclose the lamb mixture. Paint more butter on the edges and brush the top with butter. Spray a pan and place the filo packets on top.

Bake till filo is golden brown around 20 to 30 minutes. Serve hot with rice.

FAST VARIATION - One-person meal.

Skip the filo dough and fry up the ground lamb adding peas and spices. Serve with instant couscous, which you can prepare in minutes just follow the instructions on the back of box!

What was dinner last night? Who cooked it? If you ate out, did you thank the cook? If you at in, did you take a minute to appreciate your efforts?

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