Kitchen Sink Special time!
Yup, it was one of those days. I was on my day off, I had to cook up something that would feed me not only that day, but provide me additional meals to pack and take with me to work.
I’ve reached the stage of “nothing quick is left”…you’re going to have to really cook! And its not a matter of just cooking, it’s a matter of cooking with what is left in your kitchen. And what is left doesn’t always jump right out at you, this is what I like to call “Kitchen Sink Specials”.
You take what you have left to work with and…you hope you make it work 🙂
This is often the place where I play and experiment the most, at least I think I do! Cross fingers and hope it works and you actually end up wanting to eat it 🙂 I’m happy to say that most of the time it works.
Open up the fridge. Survey.
Open cupboards. Assess.
Poke head in freezer. Shiver.
Stop to think a minute or two and then its Kitchen Sink Special time!
This episode of Kitchen Sink Special time includes cauliflower, tomato, Thai Jasmine rice and at the end Asian inspired meatballs just for the heck of it.
I decided to start by making a cauliflower tomato masala dish, which I decided would go well with some Thai Jasmine rice. Yes, it’s East Indian inspired and would go well with Basmati rice too, but I’m a sucker for Thai Jasmine and most of the time I go for it now over my childhood fav Basmati.
I started off by slow frying some onions with a mix of different spices…cumin, coriander, brown mustard seeds, garlic, ginger, bay leaves and some crushed red pepper.
I put some virgin coconut oil in my pan and fried my spice base up briefly until aromatic, then I added the onions.
Once the onions were well on their way to softening, I added some roughly chopped cauliflower and allow it all to cook for a few minutes before adding my chopped tomatoes.
I cover my pan with a lid large enough to fit my pan and be able to turn it upside down and have some water placed on the inside of the overturned lid. This is the point I realize, I probably should have taken a picture of this in action. Next time!
Cooking with the lid overturned with a small quantity of water is something I’ve seen my mother do when she used to cook certain Indian foods and when I’m making certain dishes, I do the same.
Don’t ask me why, I just do 🙂 I’ve always found that when looking for a certain dryness to my dish, I’ve cooked it with my overturned lid. My theory is it allows the food to cook without adding any liquids, by making condensation drip from the lid. That’s my theory anyway! I’ve just always done it this way and I learned it from watching my French mother cook that way. Family traditions 🙂
I let the dish cook until the cauliflower is just cooked through, I prefer my veg on the crunchy side of things. When I think it’s about done, I carefully remove the water filled lid and check.
When I’m ready to eat, I serve up some freshly cooked Thai Jasmine rice and top with my cauliflower tomato masala dish.
I decided to also whip up some Asian inspired meatballs to add some protein and to extend my dish a bit. I whipped them up and cooked them in the oven, just before they are done, I dipped them in a Korean BBQ marinade and popped them back in the oven for a couple of minutes. They turned out pretty tasty!
I rate this cauliflower tomato masala a success. It was yummy, it provided me with multiple meals and it was pretty effortless. Everyone at work said it smelled delicious and I enjoyed every single bite.
I’ve decided not to include the recipe here, its just one of my on the spot creations, more experiment than actual recipe. I just like documenting Kitchen Sink Specials for fun, its not a tried and true recipe that’s been created and recreated time and again, I’m just going to share the end results 🙂
Where will inspiration and what’s in your fridge take you!
