Last Sunday was a lot of fun for me. My friend wants to pull off some extra weight, and invited me to help him with a meal plan for the week.... Loads of groceries later (more -allegedly - than have ever graced his countertop in a year) we were cooking.
I knew I was in trouble when she came downstairs in hysterics. She had run upstairs to shower before dinner. As she opened the door of the bathroom, she smelled something different... What her nose must have identified as a warm, heated molecular scent. She concluded "the house must be on fire!!!!". Nope - it was just the smell of us cooking! I love these two!
We started with two simple techniques that almost every single dish begins with. Chopping an onion, and smashing and mincing some garlic. Armed with lots of both, we began. I had no meal plan to speak of... just loads of fresh vegetables and raw materials, and what I hoped was a healthy dose of inspiration...
On the advice of both me, and his personal trainer, we are trying to cram as many fruits and veggies into him as possible. The omnivores think the secret is "limiting" the protiens and the carbs, but that's his problem since I think the solution is to just eat lots of plants instead. My new, vegangelical self...
We hollowed out some gorgeous whole peppers, and stuffed them with a combination of cubed eggplant, garlic, a can of cubed tomatoes, peppers, onions, a can of black beans, some chopped green onions and some cubed zucchini.
Next, we blanched a TONNE of green veggies by boiling a pot of salted water, with a separate bowl of iced water next to it on the counter. Once the veggies go seriously green, out they go into the shockingly cold ice water which simultaneously stops the cooking, perserves the green and is actually quite fun to do. Lots of veggies for munching, hummus-dipping or adding to salads.
Then, we made a homemade tomato sauce. We sauteed more chopped onion and garlic in olive oil. When they got to know each other we added a can of cubed tomatoes, some red wine, some balsamic vinegar, some salt and pepper and some italian spices. Simmer and serve over whole wheat pasta (I brought him a brand which has ONE ingredient! Whole wheat) Imagine....
Next, the better half of the partnership joined me in the kitchen as male boredom set in. We made a gorgeous thai stir-fry by simmering some coconut cream in a sautee pan, adding more chopped onion and garlic, some ginger, some red pepper, some hot sauce and finally tossing it with some of the blanched broccoli hubby had made. It took about 2 minutes.
We peeled three huge sweet potatoes and cut them into discs. Let's go African, I thought. We poured the balance of the coconut milk into another sautee pan, added a half a cup of peanut butter, more hot sauce, more onion, garlic and ginger and some cinnamon. We added some apple juice to the pan to make it liquid, and then tossed it over the sweet potatoes in a bowl. Adding some chopped dried fruit (apricots, mangos, apples, plums?) we put the slices into a roasting pan for the oven. I almost left it uncovered, but Melanie's instinct was to put some foil over top... And it was a great one. The potatoes would definitely cook faster, and the steam would keep the potatoes tender.
I have got to check in with them today to see how the week has unfolded, and to get some new appliances and tools for our session on Sunday. For starters, although they had a fabulous cleaver, they are in need of a good chef's knife. And a BIG cutting board. And a magic bullet blender. And beyond that? I think they're well on their way...
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