It's Where You Shine

 A little bit of salt takes something unseen and makes it an experience. The complexities of contemporary cooking lie in the mentality of recipes, the absence of recipes, cookware, kitchen appliances, tools, and attitude. It is a little about any of the above and more about the need. 

Need has brought the spice to life in the last thousand years. Once those crusaders of the sea and land got a taste of these things, they risked everything to taste once again. But even more so, the real creativity came from people having very few ingredients. Short growing seasons, famine, wars, and scarcity of ingredients forced people to make what was known as poor people's food. From these, culinarily significant dishes were born. Nothing has taken food to a higher level than the so-called "lower decks."

Wouldn't it be fun to take a journey, trying and making these foods that have shaped the culinary world? Braising of tough meats, brining of poultry that would otherwise present dry, fermentation that harnesses nature and gives birth to health, flavor, and preservation. All of these seem like magic that flips the compass in the opposite direction that it was pointing. Knowing how these can be used will never leave you hungry and, even better, richly satisfy the palate.

Last night I set out to make Joshua Weissman's fish tacos from "An Unapologetic Cookbook". I am currently not home, so my Asian kitchen staples are not with me. That alone gave me an idea that I have tried many times and was not all that successful, and now I have figured out how to have those in my cooking toolbox. Literally, a toolbox.

I did shop for this recipe, but being at a camp, I was not going to re-buy every staple I have at home just to hit the mark. So with lots of improvising, I would ask myself at each juncture when faced with some ingredient deficit, "What am I trying to achieve here for flavor?" Sorting through the camp supplies, I solved each problem, and in the end, I did indeed have fried fish tacos, with cabbage, carrot, and onion slaw, a spicy crema, and pickled jalapenos.

The point to this is, I have heard people say, and I have told myself, I cannot make this because I don't have everything the recipe requires." That is simply not true. Something can happen; sometimes it is good, and sometimes it's not. Last night my crema was over salted (you have to be so careful when not working with your specific salt and the form it comes in.) But the food was great!  Need makes it happen. 

I got two things from this fish taco dinner. First, it was a great dinner. Second, I've come up with a simple way to carry my staples on a tiny scale, requiring no effort and creating no waste.

The next time you think there isn't enough to make something happen, don't let that stop you. I don't care if the meal comes out nothing like the one that you had in mind to begin with. Remember that having a need is not where you fail, but it's where you shine.