Over the weekend we invited some friends over for a last minute dinner. There was no opportunity to run to the grocery - our timeline was compressed. We had 30 minutes to pick up the wooden train tracks strewn about our living room, do a quick tidy, light a few candles, and cook.
This meant dinner needed to be prepared from whatever random ingredients were lingering in the fridge or the pantry. I love this challenge, mostly because of my wife’s astonishment when I put dinner on the table when she declares there is “nothing to eat in the house.”
As far as fresh ingredients, we had a few stray carrots, apples, some wilting celery, and some Brussels sprouts. From where I stood it was PLENTY of food.
I would grate the carrots and toss them raw in a lemony, garlic laden vinaigrette, punctuated with whatever nuts we had on hand. The Brussels sprouts were finely sliced and combined with some chopped apple and the last bits of parmesan in the fridge, shaved right into the mix. For some added crunch, a large handful of walnuts. And the celery was diced and sautéed in olive oil before adding the remains of some Sea Island Red Peas to boil away until tender. It was a beautiful, vegetable forward dinner that was sure to be satisfying.
There was only one problem: I was missing the single most important in my kitchen, and I would say any kitchen. The one ingredient without which cooking is a non-starter.
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