Spices...
About this time, a year ago, my greatest culinary accomplishment was 'slightly burnt toast'. I didn't know how to cook and didn't really care about learning. I had however designed a rather practical kitchen (or so everyone said), and it seemed like such a waste not to use it for what it was intended.
And then I met Isabelle, who, armed with 2 cooking books, invited herself into my life and stayed.
That first dinner we made together wasn't all that bad, and over the next weeks and months, I actually developed a knack for it. In fact, I quickly got better at cooking than her... maybe because I don't wander off to do something else and then wonder why the meatloaf looks like charcoal.
So now we have the following motto: She does the cutting. I do the cooking.
The girl knows how to handle knives and blades. It's a bit scary at times, I tell ya.
Most of the things we make are stir-fry chinese dishes, but we also like to make pastas, tajines, fish, curries and the occasional cake (the basil/lemon cake was alien-looking, I give you that, but boy was it good!)
Isabelle often insists on using fresh vegetables, while I like being lazy and just open a can. We head to Liège from time to time to visit the sunday market where we'll buy cheese, olives, peppers and grapes. Whenever we are traveling, we just have to visit a local market or a supermarket for that matter, just to see what's there to buy and eat. We had a blast in Budapest when we found Nagycsarnok market there.
So it probably won't come as a surprise that we spent over an hour in the Oriental Supermarket in Brussels last saturday and only had to leave because they were closing down the place. We stocked up on noodles, rice vinegar, coconut milk, ginger tea, and spices.
I guess that's what I like most. The spices. The colours and the smells. They just invite you to use them. Tonight I finally got around to puttin them into small containers.
Raz el Hanout for tajines and couscous, spicy Madras Curry to clear those sinuses and Indian Garam Masala.
So now we go hunting for recepis, because we just can't wait to try them.
Who would have thought I would actually enjoy cooking?!?