nerd’s eye view

Food, glorious food!

March 16, 2005 – 10:46 am | by nerd's eye view

I love to cook. I really do. I’m not one of those people that has to have guests to cook, I love to cook for myself. It’s not just because I’m cheap and restaurant food is expensive. It’s also because restaurant food is heavy with something, I don’t know what. Also, because I’m fairly proficient in the kitchen, I don’t go eat restaurant food that I think I could make myself just as easily at home. And better. It’s been ages since I’ve gone out for pasta, for example, and I’m not bad at Asian cooking either. If I’m going to eat out, it’s for something like fish and chips that I’d never tackle in my kitchen.

Last summer we remodeled the kitchen. As payoff for the chaos, I got a few more inches of counter space, a little dishwasher, and a really nice stove. My kitchen was okay before, but it’s WAY better now, far superior. In crabbier moments, I compare my US kitchen to my Austrian kitchen and I stomp around yelling “You-Ess-Ay!” Okay, I never do that. Ever. But what I’m saying is that my Austria kitchen is, well, let’s say insufficient.

J. has offered me no end of compromise around the Austria kitchen. He’s happy to provide whatever I want to make the kitchen work for me. But I am notoriously stubborn around this issue. See, I think it has broader implications. If I invest myself in anyway in the Austria kitchen, does it mean that I’m also invested in staying in Austria? We finally got a new range when we were down to one and a half burners on the one we had, but I haven’t pushed the issue of, say, a decent skillet or a large cutting board. I may be an idiot, but I’m a stubborn idiot. Plus, I know what I want. I want my Seattle kitchen.

One of the many things to love about my Seattle kitchen is its proximity to any number of first rate supermarkets. In addition to the grocery giants, there’s a really good little market called Rainbow, there’s a Trader Joe’s, there’s a fancy mid-sized place called Madison Market… if I get in my car I can drive down to Uwajimaya, the Asian supermarket and get all kinds of crazy weird stuff that you’ve never heard of and plenty of things you have heard of. I can get organic produce delivered either to my front porch or to a front porch four blocks away where I can go pick it up. I can go to Pike Place Market, it’s a 20 minute walk, and take everything home with me on the bus. It’s all right here.

Since I’ve been home and resettled, I’ve been doing quite a bit of cooking. I remembered this genius way to make eggs using a microwave that I discovered all by myself even though everybody probably already knows it. I stewed up a large batch of chili that I had with jalapeño corn bread muffins. I made a spicy chicken and lime southwest-ish stew. I have dined well, with and without friends, in my mango colored kitchen, cooking in my excellent pans on my gas range. I am a happy kitchen hen, stirring and sautéing and bringing things to a simmer.

I stopped at the library a few days ago and checked out a couple of new cookbooks. This is really a GREAT thing to do. You know how you eye a cookbook in the store and when you get it home, you think, this is crap. This is badly written. I will never make these things. Well, no need to squander resources on cookbooks you won’t use. Check them out from the library first and then buy them. Anyway, my latest temporary acquisition is from the “world vegetarian” school of cooking. I’m eyeing the Jamaican section of this for my next culinary adventure.

If you are hesitating about stopping by, you should totally stop that right now. I am NOT an entertainer, but that does not mean my door is closed. It means I am very informal and if in the neighborhood, you should stop in. Odds are very high you will arrive in time for something really good to eat. Today’s lunch (with scheduled guest) is pasta with broccoli in a chickpea and sesame based sauce. It sounds funny, I mean, you think hummus poured on pasta, but is has a bit of a bite and it’s a kind of lemony which is good on broccoli. It’s really good for you, but whatever. It’s also totally delicious.