The Ingredient House

Last year sometime my daughter was talking about her youth and commented that there was never anything to eat in our house. I was surprised by that because I seemed to be buying groceries all of the time so, I disagreed. Apparently when my kids came home from school there was nothing to snack on. Oh we had rice cakes and crackers, but nothing really good. In fact, they were often disappointed when they threw a tofu wiener in the microwave and it wasn’t what they had hoped. FYI tofu dogs look very similar to meat dogs. Well, until they are microwaved. Looking back I understood what she meant. Treats were something that we bought on Friday movie night. I don’t care for pop so since I bought the groceries, there was never pop in the house. It was something we bought when we had company coming or a barbeque. Some sort of get together. Recently my daughter was chatting with her friend when the friend asked her this question. Did she grow up in a snack house or an ingredient house? After a little explanation Drew realized we were an ingredient house.

I love cooking shows. Years ago the was one where the chef would skulk around outside a grocery store and approach people as they left. He would ask if he could come to their house and make a gourmet meal with whatever food they had on hand. I always knew they would love my house because I had everything they could possibly wish for. Whether it is spices or various vinegars, I have it. There is always fruit, veggies and a wide variety of cheeses. The pantry is full of every dry good known to man. I am not one to eat a lot of meat but I usually have frozen shrimp, some chicken thighs, a little bacon and some pork chops. In the freezer. No matter what I am craving, I usually have what I need to make it. Canned, dried, frozen or fresh I have it. So it is obvious my kids grew up in an ingredient house.

In the evenings if I am craving a little something I have to head to the 7-11 or make it. My son once said we can eat as much of any treat we want as long as we have to make it at home. So although I indulge now and again in a bag of chips, late at night you can find me in the kitchen slicing potatoes thin, tossing with oil and Cajun spices, tossing in the oven to crisp them up and then enjoying my snack. Best chips ever. I always have cauliflower on hand to make spicy cauliflower wings and homemade yum yum sauce for dipping. There is always a bar of brocco chocco which is dark chocolate made with broccoli sprouts. Sounds horrid I know but wow is it amazing when you need just a hint of chocolate with your tea. I buy semi sweet chocolate chips to bake with because they taste like crap. I won’t eat them. Recently I tried my hand at making wontons. They were pretty tasty and took forever. But I would do it again.

That is the thing with an ingredient house. You always have what you might need when you want to try a new recipe. But more importantly you have what you need for any meal. I am very much into Asian food lately so I have a wide variety of rice, coconut milk, even rice paper. If I am craving an iced coffee, I have sweet condensed milk on hand. Although my kids don’t like the texture of tofu, they don’t know that I use it in my chicken fried rice. Without the chicken usually. I make my own kefir. I got into sour dough last year and now there is sour dough starter in everything. Muffins, bread, bagels, and even English muffins. I hate throwing out the discard. And my grandkids will eat the sour dough banana muffins because there are chocolate chips in them. I realize I have become my mom in many ways. Don’t waste food.

When we were young money was tight. The meals I made for my family were very lean on meat and big on veggies and fillers. Two loin pork chops slightly frozen and then thinly sliced were marinated, stir fried with a ton of veggies and served with rice. It fed two adults and three hungry kids. They didn’t realize just how little meat we ate. I make a lot of vegetarian meals and my adult kids like some but not others. One daughter loves lasagne but isn’t keen on my veggie version. I make a meatless shepherds pie that my son will eat but prefers the meat version. Yet everyone loves my one pot quinoa. No meat. Lots of black beans and veggies. Its all in the spices. Its amazing. I do spend quite a bit on food these days as I prefer to shop local and as gmo free and organic as possible. But the meals are still simple and tasty and made from scratch. I am not a great cook. But I find there are some things I make that are truly delicious. I can never order risotto in a restaurant because I know I will be disappointed. Mine is exactly as I like it.

My daughter thinks she is a treat house because she wants the treats we never had. But I don’t think she really understands she is actually an ingredient house as well. Kind of a hybrid. Yes there are boxed granola bars and some potatoe chips in the cupboard. And the kids like crackers and of course those goldfish kind. There are cheerios which I never allowed. Long story there. And other cold cereals. But when I babysit at her house and the kids want a bedtime snack, there is yogurt and cheese. Peanut butter and Nutella. Loose popcorn not bags. There is fruit. And leftovers. Because they cook. Meals. And her cupboards are full of spices and oils and sauces and all the things that an ingredient house has. She isn’t a weird granola cruncher like her Mom. She is a Mom who is raising 4 kids very much how she was raised. There are just a few more treats in the cupboards. And I think she is killing it as a Mom. And I have learned to have a few more treats for the grandkids. I just don’t buy them until they are coming over. I would just eat them all. There is a reason we never had treats.