Simplicity

Our cooking instructor, Eva Szigeti, takes stock of her lifestyle around food and cooking, and encourages us all to embrace simplicity…

How we manage our time is an important factor in our daily lives. Re-evaluating my daily routines, I came to the conclusion that I have been spending way too much time with cooking and subsequent kitchen cleanup.

It was time to simplify my kitchen activities. Inevitably, many questions crossed my mind: How do others do it? What is wrong with my approach to daily food preparation? How can I simplify things for myself while still serving a homemade meal for my family every night? Is more planning the answer? More improvising? Would an instant pot save me? Or should I start cooking huge batches of food that will last 2-3 days?

I considered the eating habits of my family and those around us. As eaters, we are global citizens for sure. We have access not only to local and seasonal produce, but fruit, vegetables, spices, seafood etc. from all over the world. Without having to travel, we can enjoy cuisines of different nations in local restaurants.

In our culture, eating has become much more than sustenance. We don’t only eat to provide nourishment for our bodies—sometimes we eat for the sake of the experience itself. We try exotic foods we haven’t had before.  We are drawn to haute cuisine offering combinations of flavors and textures that are intriguing, surprising, even provoking.  Celebrity chefs often take dinning to conceptual levels where cooking borders art. A chef engaging in molecular gastronomy seems to be far removed from a cook. They are partly an artist, partly sort of an alchemist trying to extract the true essence of the ingredients. These chefs might serve things that go far beyond unusual: flavored airs and vapors, or a hot cauliflower ice cream that melts as it cools. These are exciting trends, but they certainly can not be reproduced in my kitchen, and to me they stand in sharp contrast with food as a necessary fuel for our bodies.

In the past, just several generations back, homemade food was the only option for most people. As I wrote last month, it was mostly women who cooked every day. We would probably label the everyday food of those days as a simple and possibly boring fare. The majority of households had access to only seasonal and local produce, which meant that the menu was simple and without too much variety.

Food that was relatively expensive, rich in calories, and required elaborate cooking methods, was reserved for special occasions and holidays. Wait! What? Realizing all this, I came to understand the root of my cooking problem: We eat almost every day, as it was a holiday. We need to simplify.

The question that needs to be answered is how to embrace simplicity without the feeling of loss. If simplifying feels like “giving up” something, then it is not sustainable long-term.

I have decided to give it a try. Simpler cooking and eating saves time, money, and environmental resources. Simple meals and simple techniques make it easier to pass on cooking skills to my children. And most children will certainly enjoy a piece of roasted chicken served with plain rice more than my elaborate chicken biryani that (beside the monetary expense) comes at the cost of half a day of my time anyway.

Like trying to appreciate the overlooked details of everyday life, I will try to value earthy, rustic, and simple foods because they fit into the puzzle of a wholesome life.

Polenta

This is a simple porridge-like dish made with coarsely ground yellow corn marketed as polenta (although polenta is really the name of the dish). I prefer to use organic polenta found in the bulk section of health food stores.

This recipe serves 4.

For the polenta:
1 ½ cup polenta (not instant polenta or ready-made polenta)
6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt

Serve with:
1 cup feta cheese or blue cheese
1 cup sour cream

In a heavy saucepan, bring water to boil. Gradually add polenta, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add salt.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until polenta starts to thicken (about 5 minutes). Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Polenta is done when texture is creamy and it starts to pull away from the side of the pan.

Divide polenta onto four plates. Top with cheese and sour cream. Serve immediately. For a dairy-free meal use caramelized onions as a topping.