Naomi: Cooking for one and for friends



For years now, even before I wrote the recipes in what I think of as my "static blog," Fiftytworecipesfrommymother, at the request of my children, Sarah and Sam, Sarah had been urging me to keep a daily (more or less) record of my cookings--the meals I make for myself in my (surprisingly) solitary life as well as those I make for friends. For whatever reasons, I've never done it.


But, after months of wandering, I've finally begun. As I haven't quite mastered the art of cooking for one, and love throwing together grand meals at the last minute, I have been encouraging friends to call to check on what I might have on hand any evening for a quick meal. Instructions can be found in my entry for March 20th--What's in Naomi's Refrigerator.

This is primarily a record of the meals I prepare for myself and others, accompanied by "mug shots" of the food (when I remember to photograph before eating). Shot by my phone, with no styling, they may not capture their subjects at their best, but so be it.



Monday, September 3, 2012

September 3. Burrata with roasted and fresh tomatoes. Chicken with leeks and spicy Chinese sauce.

Labor Day.  Decided at last minute, due to scarcely leaving the house yesterday, a splendid sun-filled Sunday, to start this day with  beach yoga .  Not the greatest yoga.  I've become less tolerant than I used to be of the sand and sun, but the short-comings were more than redeemed by the perfect breezy weather, tumultuous surf and  excellent sighing of dolphins (you can find dolphin pictures at the beach yoga site.  And, whatever my complaints I always love  balancing by the water, looking at the sea upside down, and getting to stare (more or less) at the ocean for an hour and a half.

Chicken and corn salad with dill, lime and cilantro for lunch--and the last of the strawberries (they were about to go) with a bit of yogurt.  And a few squares of chocolate to celebrate labor day.

Sam was driving back from the Sierras and then flying back to Boston.  We hadn't been sure how long his drive would be, how much time there'd be before rushing for his plane, whether there'd even be time to  Inspired by a pound of organic chicken thighs I'd defrosted and two leeks I'd bought at the farmer's market as well as the memories of that delicious Hunan eggplant, I made the following:

Stir Fried Chicken with Leeks.

INGREDIENTS
One pound chicken thighs cut into one inch pieces.
2 good sized leeks, thinly slices in rounds.  .
4 plump cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
2 tablespoons chile garlic sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
T Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat oil in heavy saute pan or wok.  Cook chicken pieces until beginning to brown (maybe five minutes).
Remove chicken with slotted spoon.  Add leeks to pan.  When they are soft, add ginger, garlic and chile sauce.  Cook for a minute or two--then add broth, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Return chicken to mixture.  Heat through.  Add sesame oil, garnish with cilantro and serve over rice (I had left-over brown rice--very good indeed).

This was very quick to make--important because Sam was in from the mountains and off on a plane in record time.  We did have an appetizer of the remaining burrata with both roasted and fresh tomatoes and shredded thai basil (the basil, I suppose, providing some cross-cultural linkage between the dishes.




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