Today is 1 January 2022. Despite it being an obvious day to start something new, no plan or reason germinated this beginning. It came as I gazed out the window at the trees below! Write a blog. I already have this blog - which I have neglected for the past year. This NEW blog will not be about art, my process, the art world, art exhibits… it will be about FOOD and wherever that leads me.
Why food? Six years ago, health concerns prompted me to change my diet radically - no dairy, eggs, grains, soy, corn, peanuts, chocolate, caffeine, refined foods, preservatives or additives, refined sugars, etc… I vowed to focus on what I COULD eat and make it as delicious as possible. That intention developed into a passion that surprised me but just keeps growing. Like a painting that has a life all its own, my curiosity and interest in food directs me everywhere I go and grows in mysterious ways.
This blog gives me the opportunity to write down the ideas, thoughts, experiments, disasters, successes, discoveries and things I learn. It allows me to share what I find so fascinating and exciting rather than have it swirl round and round in my head or burst out at some bewildered soul while I rant on about my latest experiment! I may be talking to myself … or may be someone shall join me periodically. Time will tell. I will be happy either way, writing about sourcing, buying, growing, preparing and cooking the spoils of the earth - fresh, beautiful, delicious LIVING FOOD! Here lies my creative flow of Life!
This morning I wanted to eat something fresh, light and satisfying with food I have. I came up with an Asian Inspired Potato Salad. I steamed four potatoes, chopped in to bite size chunks. Then I took out everything in my refrigerator that seemed suitable - cabbage, carrot, red pepper, purple onion, celery, daikon, fresh parsley, fresh chilis, lime, Redboat Fish Sauce. From the cupboard, I took out raw honey, chili flakes and garlic powder. With a mandolin, I sliced 2 stalks of celery. I changed the cutting attachment and then julienned about 2 cups of cabbage, a cup of daikon and 1 large carrot on the smallest setting. I peeled, sliced and chopped a red onion and 3/4 of a red pepper I had left. I finely chopped a handful of parsley leaves and trimmed fresh chilis and tossed them both in. Once the potatoes were cooked through, I took them off the steamer and let them cool. With a fork I mixed together all the salad ingredients and added in the cold potatoes so that everything was evenly mixed.
For the dressing, I combined the juice of 1 lime, 2 large tablespoons of Redboat Fish Sauce, i large tablespoon of raw honey, some garlic powder and a thick pinch of dried chili flakes. I mixed the dressing until the honey was fully dissolved and tasted it to make sure I had the right combination of salty, sweet, sour and spice. I dished out a serving of potato salad, topped it with dried and baked onion flakes, about 5 ripe cherry tomatoes, quartered and dressing over the top with several grinds of fresh black pepper. Very tasty indeed! I will make this again and every time it can be different depending on what I have in the refrigerator! I have leftovers (without the tomatoes, dressing or dried onions) for about 2 more meals.
Happy eating!