Simple & Satisfying

It's been a while since I've enjoyed cooking for myself. Up until the past few days, my home-cooked meals had been rather disappointing. But I guess that is the cycle of all things; without having the occasional lull, it would be difficult to appreciate the fun, the tasty, the juicy, the sweet, the luxurious, the comfortable, the simple. As I did Thursday lunch.

Sometimes I walk into the kitchen with total confidence and no agenda. My mind is clear and my stomach is patient. It's times like these that the only task is to create something sustaining and satisfying, if not the usual quick and easy.

I started with some rice that I had presoaked, something I do if I am thinking ahead and making whole grains. Over the past couple of years I've started to experiment with different grain mixes. Most recently I've been making short sweet brown rice, wild rice, and quinoa cooked with seaweed. For a while I added green lentils. Then I tried nuts, as inspired by Afghan and Indian cooking - cashews, pistachios, or walnuts, sometimes even pepitos and sunflower seeds.

THIS IS tuscan kale sauteed with ginger, sea salt, and white pepper; Garden of Eve egg cooked over-easy and topped with fresh homegrown Vietnamese coriander; purple eggplant cooked slowly and lovingly with red onions, jalapeno peppers, mustard seeds, white pepper, a dash of Braggs in a veggie (store-bought) broth, topped with fresh scallions; Served over a bed of 5 grain rice.