Cooking for One’s Self

The kitchen is its own recipe book.

 

Or more particularly, the contents of the fridge and the food cupboard are a recipe of its own. That's what I learned during the many times I was left alone to fend for myself and act as housekeeper, something that frequently happened ever since I was a kid.

 

There's never a need for me to look up any recipe whenever I need to cook for myself, or to cook according to any tried and true family concoction. I just get stuff and cook. It's a nice exercise of uberraschung; I'm not too certain about the taste of the end product until its finished cooking.

 

Sometimes, I hit pay dirt with some of the combinations I come up with. Like this one:

 

Unnamed Sweet and Sour Broth

 

• Water, four cups
• Tamarind bouillon cube
• Onions, sliced
• Leeks, chopped
• Pineapple tidbits, with light syrup
• Ginger, crushed
• Fresh turmeric leaf, crushed
• Freshly-ground black pepper
• Powdered oregano
• Salt

Dump all in an uncovered pot. Cook to boil. Let boil for at least five minutes. Do not eat turmeric leaf.

 

It's really not bad, provided that I stock my fridge and cupboard every two weeks.