Through The Lens:

The sauce was like a party in my mouth, originally uploaded by erictwright.

So, I have been cooking with more frequency than I was for the past month or so. I am finally getting settled in my kitchen, it is getting dark so I can’t ride much and I got tired of my various explorations of white rice, quickly stir fried frozen vegetables and one of 4 of 5 Asian sauces in my sparse fridge.

I have been going through recipes and following them, reading food blogs for inspiration but then about a week ago I remembered what I love about cooking-winging it. I like being able to make something out of nothing. I enjoy cooking and it comes to me with relative ease. I don’t understand why some people claim they cannot cook. I can understand that you do not like to cook-but if you say you cannot cook to me that means that either you cannot follow instructions, make some simple physical movements(like chopping or stirring) or you can’t look up unfamiliar cook book terms.

Following a recipe is like driving from one place to another on the interstate. Occasionally you have the unscheduled detour or bad traffic, but 90% of the time you get there without any hiccups. On the other hand I like to take the back roads sometimes, you never know exactly where you might end up, but it will be more exciting and more rewarding. Sometimes it is good to follow the recipe, it is convenient and I don’t want to risk things if I have a limited amount of time to make something for a potluck or when I know people might not have the most adventurous palates.

About a week ago I came home from work and realized that I didn’t have a whole lot of options for dinner, so I decided to wing it. I had some whole wheat pasta, which could stand up to a hefty sauce because of its rustic (horse feed like) texture and flavor.

I had a roma tomato, so I decided to start from a classic and work from there-in it goes with some olive oil, garlic and basil. Ok this needs an intervention because if I don’t watch out this will be marina soon. I rummaged around in the fridge and I found some left over Muenster and some heavy cream, in those went. I let everything settle a bit, hit it with some white wine then some crushed bay leaves and some coriander.

I know I never intended for this sauce to end up this way, but this is what happens when you don’t have a plan. The sauce wasn’t amazing, but it was pretty good for no plan and it required no 11PM grocery store run. I am not sure if I would make this exact sauce again, but to continue that already stretched driving metaphor, it is just a road that I took on the way to somewhere else and I am more knowledgeable for it.