Hello everyone!
I’m new around here, so I thought I’d offer a little background before diving towards the dining-room table. But first a word from our sponsors:
What’s for Dinner? is a Saturday evening get-together where friends share recipes, talk about good food and help others answer culinary questions.
We welcome you to our virtual table every Saturday evening 4:30 PT/7:30 ET. If you would like to write a post for an upcoming date just send a message to ninkasi23!
(if you’d just like my menu and a few photos, just skip down. No harm, no fowl!)
I am a chef. I’m a seasonal, part-time chef now, so my winters are my own. It wasn’t always that way. Most years, I had a week off for vacation. Most years every family event day or holiday was missed. My work weeks averaged about 70 hours. I’m happy to relax a bit now. And I’m content to live as I do now, on the coast of Maine, in a cabin, alone (and as I write this, amid quite the snowstorm!).
I wasn’t raised in a particularly culinary household. Both my parents could cook, but it wasn’t anything off the charts. I do have great food memories though, and I’d bet most if not all of us long for- maybe have pangs for the foods that delighted us the most growing up. Mom had recipes for special meals, but most of the time she just winged it having learned from her mother- or from experience/trial and error. And there were errors. I write this with a smile on my face, shaking my head a little because my whole career has been peppered with errors- but boy-o-boy did she get upset- and self-criticize when they happened!
I’m a culinary school graduate- with honors, receiving my green ribbon and medallion back in the hopeful days of ‘95. In those days, it was still possible to be duped into thinking that the future was bright for chefs, and I had found that I was good at it— but it’s not in my DNA as it is with some people, some chefs. No. I had to work hard and do a lot of research- and suffer a lot of errors and trials for any gains I got. Monetarily, I never made what my male counterparts made. I never had a 401K. My savings were meager, and I always held credit card debt. It took the death of my father and a small inheritance to be rid of my debt. I was in my mid-50’s at the time.
Interestingly, I didn’t come away from culinary school with a pile of recipes. Instead, my greatest treasure from that (rather expensive) adventure can be summed up in one word: Technique. Once one understands the hows and whys of a cuisine, (in this case, French- which was the standard at culinary), you could manage nearly any ingredient and make it reasonably tasty; a skill I’m quite good at is figuring out how to use what is available. I dreamed of having a TV show called Refrigerator Challenge— this was back in the days before food TV wasn’t a ‘thing’. These days it’s a skill I’m wildly grateful for. I also imagined a book series starting with a (tongue-in-cheek)volume on dorm-room ‘cuisine’ called One Pot Hot Pot Cookery (hot pots were/are small, non-insulated electric aluminum appliances popular in dorm rooms. They featured a heating element at the bottom and were dangerous and not smiled upon by dorm leadership — against the rules). So, you get the drift. I’m not one to see a NYT recipe, make the list, go shopping and attempt to create the featured dish. I’m also not one to freak out and cry if something I cook doesn’t pan out. I do love a challenge.
A few years ago, back when I was still living in Virginia and watching over my dad, I discovered an interesting phenomenon- one which apparently had been around for a long, long time. Dumpster-diving for food. {GASP!} It all started (for me) with metal scrapping for pocket money/gas money, but when a video on YT came up on my ‘feed’ about food waste in the U.S. and elsewhere, and the people who filmed their forays into dumpster diving (if for no other reason than to document what was typically being thrown out daily by groceries or their suppliers), I was startled (horrified)— and intrigued. Long story short, I eventually got up the nerve to try— and was amazed. I should also note that it’s a thrill- an adrenaline rush. In the dark of night, it feels like you’re doing something you’re not supposed to- though it isn’t against the law (always check your municipality). I challenged myself to live off my gleanings for a year (with a couple exceptions). I crunched the numbers for three years with the last being the ‘Year of Dumpster’. I went from an average of about 2300$/yr to about 600$/yr. And I ate better: fresher- more often organic, more seasonal, less meat. I’ll write a diary about it. This is already too long. I just wanted you all to understand how I operate. I have a strong dislike for ‘Farmers’ Markets’ unless I actually know the farmer and their farm. They’ve largely become social gatherings for the toney semi-urban who wear casual clothes on purpose to such gatherings. I dislike high-end markets which make a pretty penny selling cottage industry products to wanna-be trendy people. I hate Walmart with a white-hot passion, but I understand why people still go there (often, they have little or no option). I do shop for sale items. I know that ‘best by’ dates mean close to nothing. I know how to make do or do without.
I live in a cabin built by a back-to-the-land artist guy back in ‘71. Maine was the place to be if you were that sort of hippy-ish person. ‘Back to the land’ is hard and most failed. Living a sustainable life has very little to do with Whole Foods and Jeff Bezos making stacks of cash. I don’t have a ‘pantry’. I just have a kitchen. My fridge is tiny as is my stove. It’s enough for me, but I struggle a bit when family visits. A typical Thanksgiving would be impossible unless every last thing was bought, prepared and completely consumed in one day. My storage capacity for left-overs in small. Perfect for one, but not so much for a crowd. 90% of my heat comes from a new and efficient wood stove. It’s been in the single digits at night these days— and into the low 20’s during the day-time. I’m only in my 2nd year here and am still learning the ropes. But I’m not afraid. I also know that it’s a fool who thinks that one can be totally off the grid or totally self-sustaining these days. ‘Preppers’ like to argue about that. I don’t care. I know my limitations. I know my budget. I also know I’m luckier than many people these days. Like the proverbial fork in the road. I still have options, choices. For now.
So, what the heck is for dinner anyway? Well, dinner doesn’t involve a recipe, so you won’t get one (unless you ask). Mostly, it’s about technique. A hot pan for the fish, and not treating brown rice as though it were regular basmati rice. Vinaigrette is all about ratios. Cold side sauces are a controlled mixture of pleasing flavors and sometimes textures. And my diet has changed over the past couple weeks having discovered that I have high blood pressure and some arterial blockage (I am, as they say, at risk for… well you know). So, more veg, more fish, less red meat and refined white foods- carbs and such. More fiber, more fermented, more colorful, fresh and crunchy. When I learned this, I treated myself to some things I don’t often buy. I’ll be getting back to a simpler (read cheaper) diet, but I relished this meal. (All I have to do is consider the movie ‘Ratatouille’ to remember how the simplest things can be the most delicious and satisfying— and beautiful to boot!)
Salad of radishes, carrots, cucumber, beet-picked onion and house-grown lettuces with oil and vinegar, dolmas (canned stuffed grape leaves), black flaked salt
(I grow herbs and lettuces- and their wintering inside fairly well)
Pan-seared north Atlantic salmon with scallions, horseradish-tarragon-Dijon mayo and herbed brown rice pilaf
(the scallions I grew from store-bought scallion root-ends. They just keep growing!)
Dessert? I’m not much of a dessert person, but I did have a square of fair-trade dark chocolate w/ almonds and 2 Lorna Doons. All washed now with a tall glass of press-pot herbal tea.
Delicious.
Thank you if you stuck with it all the way through— and even if you didn’t and just cut to the chase! I hope your dinner is/was tasty and satisfying. If anyone would like a quick ‘recipe’ or explanation of a technique, just ask! Making decent, tasty food should be easy and relatable— and not something to be intimidated by. Time to throw another log in the wood stove. Be safe, and always look for the good! Cheers from Maine!!
Whatcha want to chew on tonight??!
[12/20/2020 I am truly honored and delighted to be included in the Community Spotlight! Thankyou Rescue Rangers!]