How to cook when you have been cooking all day.

or getting creative in the kitchen with Ali

Since I cook for a living everyone assumes that I come home and make amazing dinners. Well, part of that might be true, but also not. Cooking all day is really rewarding in so many ways. I mean I have a tattoo that says “feed, love, serve” so it’s obviously something I enjoy. But while cooking can be inspiring and a chance to be creative, at the same time it can be a job, and exhausting, So when I get home after 8 hours on my feet of cooking or baking, sometimes my brain turns to mush. But I still need to get dinner on the table, so what do I do?

I actually have a few strategies. The first I call OMG. Just start sautéing onions, mushroom and garlic. Well, I don’t always have mushrooms on hand, but there is always onions and garlic. Then I might add some greens to the pan; kale, collards, spinach. Then I pick a “quick” protein. So it could be a can of beans, some already cooked chicken or canned fish or the always popular “just put an egg on it.” And then I’ll decide on a starchy carb to bring it all together. This could mean roasting some potatoes. Or cooking a quick cooking grain like farro or quinoa. Or maybe I have some leftover cooked grain in the fridge, since I always make sure to cook extra any time I make some.(*Pro tip.) Especially something like rice which takes a bit longer so is great to have on hand. Then if I am feeling a little more creative I might whip up a quick sauce. My go to is a tahini, lemon and maple sauce. But any nut or seed butter and citrus is a great starting point. Think peanut and lime, pumpkin and orange. But if I’m feeling lazy then  maybe just honey mustard, salsa, yogurt, pesto. Always keep plenty of condiments on hand! And there you have it.

Another strategy I use is to pick the vegetable first. Let’s say I have some broccoli or cauliflower I want to use. I decide what goes well with that veggie or what else I might want to use. Last night was a perfect example of this. I had a head of broccoli that needed to get used, and a few big sweet potatoes. So I turned on the oven, cut up the broccoli and sweet potatoes (peel or not, your call) tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper and put them on sheets trays. While they roasted I decided on a protein. I am a big fan of soaking and cooking dried beans and then freezing them individually, so that you literally have a can of beans in the freezer without the can and for half the price. But feel free to just open a can of beans if that’s more your style. I want to add some flavor to my beans so heat a skillet with some olive oil and chop up some onion and garlic and slowly heat. If I have some greens in the fridge (which I almost always do) I will add those as well. As they wilt I will add the beans and let them simmer while the broccoli  and potatoes roast. When everything is ready I will put  the beans and greens in a bowl and then add the broccoli and taters, and maybe top with some nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese, something a little salty. And finally maybe some sunflower or pumpkin seeds on top for crunch and more nutrition! This meal also could work just as well if you cooked a batch of quinoa or rice or farro while the broccoli roasted.

The third strategy is my clean out the fridge burrito. I am sure cleaning out the fridge is not a new strategy to you. But making the clean out fun and creative is always a challenge. And in my opinion, anything rolled up as burrito is instantly better. See what’s in the fridge that you need to use up and decide on the best method for combining and using them. As an example, I had some lentil stew left over, but not enough for a whole meal. I also had some cooked rice, and a few random roasted veggies. (Remember to always cook for future you!) So I grabbed my tortillas, filled each with some warmed lentils, rice and veggies. Then I added some hot sauce and a sprinkle of goat cheese (but feel free to leave out or use another cheese.) Goat cheese and lentils are magic together though! Then heat up your skillet, add some oil to the pan and give your tortilla a good crisping. Or if you don’t feel like waiting or crisping, then just roll and eat.

The final method is kind of a fun one, and it’s for people who might not know what flavors to use or how to combine things in a new way, and it involves GOOGLE. So let’s say I have broccoli and chickpeas that I want to use. Two random ingredients that people have in the house. So I google Broccoli and chickpeas and let google finish the sentence, or just hit enter, or the “I’m feeling lucky button.” Here’s what a recent search came up with for me.

Garlic broccoli stirfry with chickpeas

20 minute broccoli and za’atar chickpeas

Chickpea and broccoli sheet pan dinner

Lemony broccoli chickpea bowls

Almost alfredo broccoli and chickpeas

I could go on…… This is a really fun method when you are just not feeling creative but don’t want to make the same old thing.

So here you go. The “magic formulas” on some of the ways I come up with new dinner ideas and no recipe needed.

Also, let me recommend one of my FAVORITE books about cooking but is not a cookbook. I call it my idea bible. There are two different ones. The one I use most of the time is called “The Vegetarian Flavor Bible” and the other is the original “The Flavor Bible.” I find the vegetarian one incredibly useful for almost everyone, whether or not you are a vegetarian. It just presents every vegetable and what flavors, foods, or cooking methods pair well with it. I find most people really struggle getting enough variety in their vegetable preparation and consumption. And we all know that we need to “eat more veggies” for so many reasons. But that’s a newsletter for another day.

Any secret methods you have for getting creative in the kitchen? I’d love to hear about them!

And I’d love to know if this post was helpful or even mildly entertaining… let me know by clicking the “heart” “like” button !