New flavorful fare…

I am a cook. I love cooking, and even more, I love to cook for people. It gives me so much joy when I make something delicious and watch people enjoy it. 

Whenever my sister Jen comes to VT, I have the menu and the shopping done. I don’t mise en place or prep anything because we like to cook together. 

When I stayed at her house last week, she had the menu and the shopping done and didn’t prep anything either.

Her children were away with her ex, so she had an opportunity to make anything I told her, except fishy-fish, lol. She wanted me to try some flavors and dishes she loves.

It’s fun watching her prep and cook. Jen is a pediatric dentist which is evident in how she cooks and bakes. Everything is done precisely and methodically.

I love that she tastes her food along the way and adjusts the seasoning. She is reading the book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, which was a culinary game-changer for me. You can also watch the four-part series on Netflix. 

We had Shakshuka on Saturday night with roasted potatoes. I wrote about shakshuka in an Eggs in Purgatory blog post a few months ago, but this was my first time having it. 

It was delicious and comforting. The eggs which were cooked in the flavorful tomato sauce were done perfectly. The dish was delicious, something I would make for brunch. 

Monday, she made a Lebanese omelet, another thing I had never had before. The omelet was full of veggies, parsley, and mint. The mint was the ingredient that made it different from other omelets; I was surprised I liked the mint so much. It was light and full of flavor. 

Monday night, we had my favorite dish, a roasted beet salad. The beets were piled on a pool of an herb and olive oil vinaigrette topped with avocado and dill. 

The flavors all worked together, with the sweet roasted beets being the star of the show. I will be making this one when beets are in season at the farmers market. 

She also made a Middle Eastern lentil soup with the beet salad. I was expecting a thick and dark soup and what we had was the complete opposite.

The lentil soup had rice in it and was topped with caramelized onions. The soup was brothy and light. The caramelized onions were the hero of this dish. The soup has so much more flavor than it looked. It was yummy.

I was the sous chef, chopping onions, garlic, and herbs. I cleaned up as she cooked. It was nice to take a backseat and let someone else cook for me. 

I had no urge to take over like I usually would in the kitchen because I wasn’t familiar with any of the dishes. 

I am so glad Jen shared these dishes and flavors with me; each was a pleasant surprise for my taste buds, plus the time we spent in the kitchen was priceless. 🙂