It seems like simplicity is all the rage right now when it comes to food culture. Now I am not talking about Paleo or Farm to Table cooking. You may have heard of the new app Not Recipies launched by the popular foodie blog Food52. It's all about things you've made a million times that you could explain how you made them in a few moments. Think that conversation you had with your neighbor about making asparagus where you shared that you like to use a little lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt to give the steaming water a bit of a punch.
Most of the food that well practiced home cooks make is dead simple. For example, the classic combination of Bread, peanut butter, honey to make a perfect sandwich or maybe the ratio of oil, cheese, basil, and nuts you use to make pesto. There is a beauty to this simplicity and it makes for a rich comforting way to eat.
But I think there is another important comment on this trend that might be lacking in the Food52 overview. It is the fact that only those who regularly cook have this sort of intimacy with their food. As a regularly practicing home cook, I have tons of these little ways of doing this or that. That are like muscle memory.
If we succumb to the ease of a package or go out five nights a week do we build this intimacy? And is the lack of practice what separates many from a more fulfilling way of eating? It makes me think of the Michael Polland documentary Cooked and its' food industry experts who tout the death of the home cooked meal replaced with cheaper outsourced versions. Focusing on monetary costs as we make these decisions might miss the other unintentional expenses we incur by not cooking. What do you think?
And as I leave you on that thought, I wanted to share my dead simple salad dressing ratio. It takes a few very simple ingredients and leaves you with a flavorful dressing for most any salad. 1/3 acid 2/3rds oil a few pinches of spice. This is perfect for making at home or on the road.
The Lemon Version
Ingredients
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 1/3 of a cup of high-quality extra virgin olive oil
- 4 turns of the pepper grinder
- 5 turns of the salt grinder
- 2 garlic cloves minced
How-To
- Cut the lemon in half and juice into a bowl - remember to remove all the pips
- Add the oil to your mixing bowl
- Mince up your garlic cloves and add them in
- Mix it up and spice with salt and pepper based on your taste
- Toss with salad - I love it with spinach, shaved fennel, parsley, and sliced cucumbers
Foodie Collaboration
We are working on a kit that will have all the makings for amazing salad dressings and more packed to go. You can see a mock-up of the packaging to the right.
To get things kicked off with this new product we'd love to get a few foodies to try them out and create a recipe to share. If you'd like to be one of those foodies please fill out the form below and we'll get connected and set you up.
