Hi everyone. Now that the kiddies are in bed, I can tell you all about a great new website and discussion group, www.cookingwithfriendsclub.com . They have been hard at work, trying to get women to see the benefits of cooking with one another for fun, efficiency and to learn from one another.
Cooking with others is a GREAT way to learn the basic skills of cooking, even if you are just a shopper or cleaner upper, watching a friend cook. I have spent many an afternoon in front of friends, family, even babysitters who pick up new skills and tricks just by observing and I have learned from others as well.
We need to start with small, reachable goals and wipe away those self-defeating thoughts that tell us that our efforts will result in a mediocre dish or a meal that our kids won’t eat. Again, cooking is a skill that we must learn, like everything else, and we need to practice, learn from our mistakes, learn from others, maybe cook
with others and get the support we need to make the cooking happen.
Here’s a healthy and EASY recipe for Chicken or Fish that you can make alone or with a friend:
4 Boneless Chicken Breast halves (or 4 pieces of salmon or other fish pan fried in a little canola oil until opaque in the center)
1 TBS peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup veg. or canola oil
1/4 cup scallions, white and green parts chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
2 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
salt to taste
Steam chicken over simmering water until white in the center. Make sure it is not raw so cut into it and look. Guests or family will prefer a cut into piece of chicken over raw chicken any day!
Meanwhile, stir together the ginger, scallions, oil and salt in a bowl. You can add more ginger, scallions or salt to taste but one at a time.
When the chicken or fish is done, drizzle with the soy sauce and sesame oil and serve. Let each guest or family member have their own little bowl of scallion ginger sauce. Kids especially love their own little bowls for sauces. As a reward for accompanying me to the Asian Food Store today, I let my daughter pick out little japanese dipping bowls for all her siblings for just $1.99 each. She was thrilled!
Enjoy
3 Responses
This sounds delicious. How else could I prepare the chicken besides steaming it? Also what type of fish would you recommend with this sauce? One more thing…whenever I buy ginger I end up throwing most of it away after using just a little bit for a recipe. Suggestions….
Hey Alma-
I wholeheartedly agree. On the one hand I’ve been cooking for years and have been lucky enough to occasionaly produce something sublime, but more importantly been able to knock meal after meal out instictively and w/o fear. A big part of this was due to the desire to impress my wife. Unfortunately she isn’t around anymore and I found myself wondering ;what do I do now? who do I cook for? Afterall cooking is completely social, and just ain’t no fun alone. Fortunately my neighbor felt the same way. Once again I find myself hunting oddball recipes, picking weird ingredients and more importantly giving in to the moment and collaborating.(this also helps w/cleanup and wine consumption-all good things) What makes this esp. interesting is doing this in the Dirty South after spending all my life in NYC.
Yeah, c’mon y’all!
ps-Maddie? Try searin’ them thar sumbitches. Much more flavor then steaming.
Maddie, Alma once gave me the brilliant suggestion of peeling the whole ginger root after you buy it and then storing what you don’t need in the freezer in a plastic ziploc. It also makes it easier to grate when it’s frozen.