Something From "Nothing" (recipe)

We grocery shop every week and a half to two weeks.

Working all morning (grocery stores open at 10am here and I am in the office by 9), combined with a long family lunch, followed by an immediate 2 hour nap post lunch, plus the rainy season (we have downpours most afternoons), and the fact that we have no car, makes grocery shopping quite the task; something that has to be well planned.

So, our fridge often looks like this...

We very fortunate that food here is very natural, however, this also means that it doesn't last as long. Meat spoils quickly, fruits and veggies rot within the week, and bread, don't even get me started on bread. The last loaf I bought had mold on it in two or three days (this led to quite the outburst of pregnancy hormones as I wailed over my two day old moldy bread).

So, since my fridge spends most of its days 80% empty I have to use my amazingly creative culinary skills (which have been lacking during this pregnancy) to create a meal that is appetizing, filling, and nutritious (can you hear the lazy pregnant lady sigh emanating all the way from Ecuador?)

A couple of weeks ago I created a meal that I was quite proud of, so I thought I should pat myself on the back by highlighting my crafty kitchen creation here, showing you all that you truly can make something from nothing!

My ingredients for the entire meal (not including spices)...
Fresh garlic (this is a staple and something we almost never go without in our home)
Baby red potatoes
Tomatoes
A lemon
Brussels sprouts
Smoked pork chops (I served 3 chops for 5 people)


Dish 1: Frying pan potatoes

Drizzle olive oil in your pan and fry up garlic clove halves. Let them cook for about a minute or so (until they start smelling fragrant, but not until they brown).

Dice up some baby red potatoes in to small-ish pieces (I actually used the papa chola here, we don't have "baby reds" per se, but they are very similar).

Dop them in to the pan with your garlic and olive oil (add more olive oil if needed). If you have an aluminum pan like we do then you will need to cook the potatoes on a lower heat and add more oil. If you have a nonstick pan, you probably won't have to worry as much.

Season to taste! I used a smoked sea salt, a French gray sea salt, rosemary, and freshly ground pepper (mixed pepper corns). As a side note I LOVE my infused sea salts and would be totally and completely lost without them. I stock pile every time I visit Seattle. Metropolitan Market is my favorite place to buy them. 

Mix up the potatoes with your herb and spice choices, put on a lid, and let them cook! Stir occasionally.

Dish 2: Oven roasted tomatoes

Get some delicious tomatoes and cut them in to thin slices (see picture below for example).

Grease up a a cookie sheet (or in my case in a roasting pan as I do not own a cookie sheet... yeah, I know, don't get me started) with olive oil and place your slices on the sheet (they can be close together).

Season! Again, I chose a sea salt (French gray) and freshly ground pepper (mixed peppercorns), and drizzled a Fig balsamic vinegar on the top.

See... doesn't that look amazing?! Bake in the oven until well cooked, but not burned (I almost burned mine!). I think I baked them at about 350 for about 45 minutes. (no I don't have a picture of them after they were baked, sorry!)

Dish 3: Blended lemonade

This is a local favorite and is easy and delicious!

Take a big lemon (see photo for example) and trim off the ends. If you have a blender like ours that is not extremely powerful cut the lemon in to fourths. If you have a super blender, like a Vitamix, just stick the lemon in whole.

One lemon will make a small pitcher of lemonade, so add several cups of water to the blender.

Add sugar to your liking (this will vary greatly and you can always add sugar later, so be careful not to put in too much right away).

Blend.

After the lemon is well blended strain out the chunks of rind and the pulp using a fairly fine strainer (you can see mine in the photo below).

You will be left with the juice as shown below. Adjust the sugar and water content to your liking. If it's a hot day you can re-blend the juice with ice to make it slightly slushy, or just add ice cubes to your pitcher.

Here is a picture of the pulp that you should strain out. If you deseed the lemon before blending it you can make marmalade out of this pulp (the seeds make it too bitter for a marmalade), but I will discuss this at another time...

Dish 4: Sautéed Brussels sprouts with honey

I LOVE Brussels sprouts and in our home they frequently show up on our dinner table.

I didn't photograph this recipe step by step as I did with the others, but it is quite simple.

First, stem, halve and clean your Brussels sprouts. If you're not sure how to do this Google it or look it up on YouTube (how do you think we learned how to cut a whole chicken apart?!). Double check them for little worms, as they are prone to attracting these lovely creatures.

Second, grease up your frying pan with olive oil (yes, I like the stuff, no I like it as much as Jamie Oliver does) and drop in your cleaned and cut sprouts. Season as you wish (I typically use Thyme, a plain sea salt, and freshly ground pepper).

Let them cook for a bit on medium high to high heat. When they have begun to change color (from a light "raw" green to a darker green) add in honey. I over honeyed the sprouts in the picture below, so I say for a small frying pan full of sprouts you should use 1 heaping teaspoon of honey.

Stir them well to ensure that they are all coated in honey and let them continue to cook on medium high until the other layer starts to become caramelized and crispy.

Then serve!

Dish 5: Pork chops

I realized with joy when opening my freezer that my mother-in-law had purchased smoked pork chops while I was down and out after my surgery! This was especially thrilling since I had invited guests over for dinner. So I was able to up the anti on this meal by throwing in 3 chops to split between 5 people. I simply pan seared them for a couple of minutes on each side and served. 

I feel like the key to success when creating a meal with very few ingredients is thinking of alternative ways to use every day ingredients. For example, oven roasting tomato slices instead of making a pasta sauce. Or stuffing tomatoes and roasting them instead of serving in simple slices as I did. 

I know I am personally guilty of getting stuck in a routine of how I use a certain food (my Brussels sprouts are a great example! I always cook them the same way), and breaking out of that routine can help freshen up a dish and bring a new life to the few ingredients you have.

What have you created from "nothing" lately? How did it turn out? What recommendations do you have for cooking with a limited number of ingredients?