Quote Originally Posted by millar
Keeping it simple is what good cooking is all about. Nothing better than a plate of fresh tomato with basil garlic and olive oil and salt and pepper. I treat my Italian cooking much the same way as the stir fry. Just a hot pan, olive oil garlic one veg and pasta. Mix and there is a meal. Zucchini is really good this time of year and my tomatos are coming in.

Thanks for the tip on the ordering. I will get it in when I get home tonight.
Simplicity rocks. And so does harmony. Lately, I have been in to this whole ying and yang thing. I think the wok fumes have disrupted my brain somehow. I hope it gets worse. While I plan a meal, I start thinking; broccoli is crunchy, I should add something tender. Beansprouts! Red wine vinegar is a little sour. But not sour enough. What would happen if I put a little natural orange juice in there, along with a touch of lemon? To sour. I'll pour in a daub of honey. I don't know what it is, but I find my self trying to balance things out. Ying and yang. Light and dark. Sweet and sour. Hot and savoury. Hot and sour. And it has lead to CRAZY things happening in the wok. Like, the other night, I did the whole orange juice and lemon thing. And a daub of honey. And on a whim, I just had to add a touch of heat. So I sprinkled everything with a strong dose of McIlhenny's chipotle tabasco. Which is, it self, both sweet and hot. And a dash of McIlhenny's jalapeno green tabasco, which isn't hot at all, but tangy. I sprinkled in a little corn starch and presto... I had a delicious glaze with all these harmonised flavours. And the veggies were so good... Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, water chestnuts, beansprouts, and bamboo shoots. Tender, crunchy, chewy, and sticky, all in one meal. Oh, and there was marinated tofu in there too. Bar-b-fu.

I am not sure, but I think I am reinventing my self in the kitchen. Reinventing? Rediscovering? Recreating? Hell, I don't know. All I know is, a fire has been lit inside of me. I am back to doing something I love. While I have been cooking this whole time, it was just going through the motions. I am back to being an artist, and I think my wok has become my canvas. I have all kinds of crazy ideas... Fusions of food. Like using tortilla strips in a wok in place of noodles, and adding zesty Latin flare to Asian cooking. Stir fried South Western veggies with a twangy kick. Right now in my mind I am tossing ideas around for a sweet potato and black bean stir fry... I ADORE sweet potato, black bean, and spinach enchiladas. Roast the tater till it's black on the outside to carmelise the sugars inside, smoosh it, and mix with whole black beans, laid on a bed of spinach and rolled in a tortilla, smothered in enchilada sauce, some cheese, and baked till bubbly. I have eaten those since childhood. It's a comfort food for me. And now I am wondering if I could rearrange those flavours in a stir fry. Maybe matchstick the sweet taters. Small thin pieces to cook quickly. Some black beans. Some spinach. And instead of an enchilada sauce, I am wondering if I can make a wok glaze of some sort. Using tomatillos and since they are tart and tangy, making some sort of sweet and sour glaze.

I just had to wipe drool off my chin.

:mrgreen: