I don't normally cook in my kitchen.
I don't mean that I rarely use my kitchen. It is just that the microwave, coffee maker and the rice cooker are the three top used food preparation appliances in my kitchen.
Tonight, I decided to save myself some money by learning to make my favorite dish (well, the dish of the moment, which is a spinach and peanut sauce that they make at the Thai place steps from my apartment). In the process of making this dish, I discovered two things.
1. I may not have been eating as vegetarian as I thought, since the dish can be made with Thai fish sauce.
2. Slightly browned coconut milk is the best artery-hardening base for a non-desert sauce in the known universe.
On the first point, I did what any self-respecting geek would do: went to the internet. I tried to find a vegetarian substitute for fish sauce, and came up with a preparation for light soy sauce that seemed to take more time to make than the resultant peanut sauce. So, I did what any self-respecting vegetarian would do: went to the co-op and asked my friendly neighborhood granola specialists what to do. (Turns out, the prep doesn't have to be as in depth as my original internet search led me to believe. It ain't going to taste like real fish sauce no matter what you do, so don't bother with all the prep.)
Anyway, long story short. I am sitting here, with a bowl of peanutty and spinachy goodness (in the making of which no anchovies were harmed), that - while not tasting exactly like the more expensive version across the street - tastes a heck of a lot better than my previous attempts at making a peanut sauce from scratch.
Now for the tweaking of the recipe to begin...
Posted by silsby at April 19, 2005 08:49 PMHail Chef Topher!!
Did you invent a new word for that title?:) How is it different from plain ole Culinary? Glad you are finding a bit of diversion from theatre and computers:).
RoRo's Shawnee Choral Society presented a fine concert Sunday evening. Met a young man afterward who said he graduated from THS in 2001; Remembered you as one of those Upperclassmen. I can't remember his name.
Aren't you proud of me, figuring out the solution to my blank desktop problem?:)
"Looks Like It's Gonna Rain".....I hopa, hopa, hope!!
Posted by Pa Pa at April 20, 2005 11:24 AMYes. That is a made up word based on "culinary". I'm a big fan of neologisms.
This isn't a chosen diversion from theatre and computers, though. This is out of necessity. I would go broke if I continued to eat out at the restaurant every time I felt the desire for this particular peanut sauce.
Posted by silsby at April 20, 2005 12:26 PM