It’s 6:45 p.m., you’re rushing home from work. Fast and upset thoughts of the day run through your head. The boss gave you an extra report due tomorrow at 10 a.m. Paseo de Roxas is full of angry, honking cars. Oh, and to make matters worse, there’s a clap of thunder and it starts pouring hard! Aaaaaargh! It’s only Tuesday! I still have the whole week ahead. I’m exhausted, stressed and worn out… And I still have to cook?!
More often than not I get asked the same question: “You cook every day for work; when you go home do you still cook?” Of course! Cooking for me has always been and will always be therapeutic. It’s one thing to man an army of chefs cooking for 300 people, another thing to do live cooking demos in front of students, but ah … the sweet pleasure of being in my own kitchen, taking my time to cook. Enjoying the process from A to Z.
I have my knife in my hands and my thoughts just drift. It’s me time. Alone time. I hear the rhythmic chop-chop of carrots. Singing sizzles of the olive oil and golden garlic as things transform and weld together wonderful sounds and smells. Many times I don’t have a plan. I open the refrigerator or pantry and let my instincts guide me. Maybe I read something about American barbecues and I’m looking for that very smoky flavor... Last night I watched a Bollywood film and I really feel like a curry-tasting sauce… Ooh! I was watching Justified and the lead character salvaged a hostage situation with fried chicken. I want fried chicken.
I pull out whatever pops. Whatever looks good or looks like it’s on the brink of rotten and needs to be eaten now. I pull out sauces and condiments I like, maybe a few fresh herbs, if I have any. Canned lentils? Nah. Garbanzos? Okay. Capellini? Nope. Orechiette? Why not? And it goes on until I have a whole pile of things in the workstation. Then I edit. Does it really make sense to have all this? Perhaps curry and barbecue spice are too much together. Let’s do barbecue. Sun-dried tomatoes or fresh fennel? The sun-dried tomatoes would complement barbecue spices more. Garbanzos … mhmm … Orechiette? Yesss… Fresh parsley? Onions? Garlic? Yes. Yes. Yes. Wait, it’s missing something… Do I have chorizo? Nope, but I do have leftover bits of prosciutto. Go! Before I know it I have whipped up a nice new dish: warm orechiette spiced pasta salad with garbanzos, sun-dried tomato and prosciutto.
The cardinal rule for stress-free cooking? If you really aren’t up to it, order takeout. If not, see it as therapy, relaxation… Take. Your. Time. Make it enjoyable! Here are my top five tips on having fun in the kitchen:
1. Keep a well-stocked pantry or fridge. That way if you don’t have time to go to the grocery, you always know you can whip something up! I always have pasta, couscous, canned garbanzos, lentils, black beans, artichoke hearts, bell pepper, sweet corn kernels, crushed and diced tomatoes. For spices I’ve got curry, cayenne, paprika, turmeric, cumin, pink peppercorns, Italian herbs, ground ginger, barbecue spices, sea salt and black pepper in a grinder. My refrigerator is always stocked with lemon, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and carrots. I always have some frozen ground beef in the freezer (easy Bolognese!) and some frozen bratwurst. One of my favorite items to stock is also cream and dried porcini or wild mushrooms. It makes an instant, delicious and seemingly decadent pasta in all of 10 minutes. Of course, garlic and onions! Take any three of these things and you can come up with something great in no time.
2. Think ahead. If you have staff at home like I do, I already call from the car and have them chop some garlic and onions for me. If I know I’m feeling like pasta, I’ll have them start boiling water. It just makes things go quicker. If not, buy a small food processor and every week chop garlic and onions. Keep in an airtight container with some olive oil to preserve it. All you’ll have to do is pull it out of the ref and take a spoonful. Even some fresh herbs like parsley, dill or spring onions that aren’t too fragile. You can chop them up and keep in small containers in the ref. They’ll easily hold for three days or so. Basil is much too fragile for that, but when I do have leftover basil, I pop it in the food processor again with some garlic and olive oil and make a quick pesto that stores for a long time in the ref.
3. Make your workplace fun! I have colorful ceramic kitchen knives from Kyocera — pink for me! Of course. But they do come in red, orange, green, blue… It makes me happy to use them. I also have several cute aprons that I bought from Kitchen Couture. Instead of looking harassed and haggard, I feel like those ’50s pinup chicks looking glam while cooking, even if I’m in a T-shirt and shorts underneath. For men? There are great statement aprons you can find in the market. Why not one of those drawn-on abs and macho-man designs? Get a few good laughs while frying up the steaks!
4. Wine. Wine. Wine. If I’m feeling extra-stressed I may have a decent open bottle of wine or maybe I’ll open one up. Pour some on the sauce and pour me some in a glass. It might be a beer. Or hey, you don’t drink? Have a glass of your favorite juice, mix up a virgin cocktail or make a shake — hydrate yourself with something pleasurable. It helps when you pause and ponder what you’re making.
5. Music! When I was in Cordon Bleu, chef Guy would always scold me for singing in the kitchen. “Mademoiselle! On ne fait pas de concerts dans la cuisine (We don’t have concerts in the kitchen)!” I say, why not? Make it a disco, even! I have great speakers and my iPod with an eclectic mix of music. If I’m making Italian, why not some Italian opera arias? French food? That accordion will be playing in the background like an old Yves Montand movie. If I’m feeling low-energy and need to speed things up, I have an ’80s music play list and I’m “dancing with myself” Billy Idol style as I stir up a good soup! Two in one — exercise and dinner! Whatever floats your boat. Music makes the time pass and kitchen work fun!
Enjoy the process. Follow your instincts. Take your time. And, well, if the oven starts smoking and you’ve burnt the casserole because you were cha-cha-cha-ing too much using the celery as maracas, order some pizza. At least you had fun!
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You can find kitchen couture at www.kitchencouture.multiply.com and Kyocera knives at www.sweetlinkph.com.