Les Bonnes Choses

When I eat out (anywhere), I'm just as interested in reverse engineering my meal as I am in enjoying it. Moreso, perhaps. Far from having the stereotypical bachelor's* limited repertoire of meals I can cook, I've mastered a number of classics in my adult life. Lately, my best meals have been those involving a cheese sauce: macaroni and cheese, cheese and potato or broccoli soup being my go-to favourites.

The reason for this proclivity is not so I can have culinary arts as a fall-back career, but the more practical concern of being able to make something edible out of my refrigerator contents given my grocery shopping habits: First, I hate grocery shopping so in the days leading up to my grocery excursion, the foods I work seldom present an obvious menu. Second, when I do buy groceries, I go completely nuts in the produce department. On one hand, that's how the finger-waggers would say you should shop. On the other hand, it means thins in my shopping cart start expiring at random intervals over the next week or two in a manner not dissimilar to the spontaneous ejection of subatomic particles from a decaying radioactive isotope. Monitoring these decaying food items often results in questions like, "hmm, these green onions and these pears are going to have to go in the bin after tomorrow. What can I make with green onions and pears?" Hence the need to build a library of reverse-engineered food items in my head, for my required food pairings may necessitate unconventional substitutions.

One saving grace, however, has been my box-fan blow-hard 3000 (dehydrator) made to Alton Brown's specifications. After attempting to turn some overripe plum tomatoes into their sun-dried variant, I inadvertently discovered that completely dehydrated vegetables can be run through a spice mill and turned into a vegetable powder. In the case of powdered tomato, it makes pasta sauce extra tangy and thick.


 *These are the sorts of projects one can only do when living alone, and that is the sense in which I am a bachelor. I remain married to my wonderful wife.