“At college, where money is usually tight and good meals are rare, the ability to throw together a decent meal for your friends would probably be much admired. One might even be reasonably expected to have a small but serviceable list of specialties that you could cook for your roommates.”
–Anthony Bourdain, Medium Raw
Last week found me re-uniting with two of my college roommates for an impromptu weeknight dinner. Together we represented the quintessential Portland twenty-something’s: The graduate student, the unemployed, and the trying to make it the next week and a half on eighty dollars. It was a night of being thrifty, pooling resources, and also enjoying each other’s company, and a few stiff drinks. We had a day full of texting and e-mails, comparing pantry ingredients, and spent some time trying to figure out what sort of meal we could assemble out of lentils, kale, cheese, tomatoes, beans, lemons, potatoes, and basil.
It was a true pot-luck effort, as I swung home after work and packed a shopping bag full of kale, lettuce, an avocado, a few lemons, and some vodka… still un-sure of the menu. In the end we settled on what I call a Mexican Potato, which is pretty much a taco salad built on a baked potato rather than chips. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was filling, and hearty, and comforting, and delightfully simple. We snacked on kale chips as the potatoes baked, and mixed basil lemon-drops as we caught up with each other… And all we had to buy were 2 potatoes and a bottle of Sprite… not too shabby for a thrifty meal!
The potatoes were filling, the conversation was good, and the drinks were surprisingly delicious (I grew the lemons myself!). It reminded me of just how satisfying and easy a home-cooked meal can be… and made me even more excited to settle into my new home, and new kitchen. Today at lunch, I was doing a bit of reading, and Anthony Bourdain has an entire chapter in his new book dedicated to the cooking/ basic survival skills that every person should have. I love his snarky, cynical, way of looking at things, and I must say, most of the basic skills I agreed with, “The ability to feed yourself and a few others with proficiency should be taught to every young man and woman as a fundamental skill, should become as vital to growing up as learning to wipe one’s own ass, cross the street by oneself, or to be trusted with money” (Medium Raw, page 60). Especially in this economy! I love cooking, but not as much as I love eating, and if I had the financial freedom, a majority of my pay-check each month would be spent on wine and dining out. But realistically, my food budget is not huge, and a majority of my meals are eaten at home. Of course there are still days when the only thing you need in your life is a plate of restaurant made Thai food. And even today, my lunch hour was spent at my favorite new café .
After reading through Tony’s list of essential skills… I’ll admit I do not possess them all… I have never roasted a chicken (though I’m pretty sure I could), and I’ve never really mastered the skill of omelet making (but I can poach, scramble, fry, bake, and boil an egg pretty damn well)… though according to Tony “it is only right and appropriate that before one sleeps with someone, one should be able—if called upon to do so—to make them a proper omelet in the morning” (62). I don’t think I’ve ever made a “proper” omelet, nor do I think I could impress anyone with an omelet… savory French toast on the other hand…
This year I’m planting a garden… a real full blown garden. Not only in an attempt to cut down on food costs, but also in an effort to connect with what I’m eating. I want to be able to harvest lettuce minutes before I toss it into a salad, pick peas off the vine and throw them in a pan with garlic and olive oil, taste the dirt in the carrots. I want to eat simply, and eat well, and eat thriftily. Perhaps by the end of the summer all the ingredients I need for hearty meal with friends will be grown right outside my front door… perhaps I’ll finally attempt to roast a chicken…
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