Recipe: a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.

In the kitchen there are two camps of cooks. There are those like myself, who follow recipes, often to a T. Be it our own recipe or that of someone else, we respect the work that went into creating the meal and its said recipe. We find it difficult to disregard the instructions, to deny certain ingredients their rightful purpose, though what we lack in ingenuity we make up for with diligent perseverance and hopefully, a well-crafted meal.

The other philosophy for cooking is almost perfectly antithetical. There are many people like my wife, who find recipes frustrating and too particular about the food-making process; and instead, provide a new interpretation of the recipe. Or, even more deviant (from the other side’s view), they attempt to create a new, never-before-done meal of their own genius design. Sometimes the meal is fabulous and deserving of notation (isn’t this ironic?) Or, often in my experience, the spontaneity falls flat and copious amounts of salt tries to save the day.

Even though I write rather sarcastically on this dichotomy, we all know it exists and we all know our camp. At this point in my “culinary career” as a home cook, I am proud of my allegiance to the ‘recipe-following group.’ Though I must admit, there is a traitor inside me. I do, on occasion, dream of creating a meal of my own creation. After years of following other people’s ideas, I like to think that I have developed a basic, if not intermediate knowledge of cooking trends and “rules.” That said, I am also cognizant of my weak palate and often rely on my partner’s unbelievable ability to taste nuanced flavors. As a team we are surely the N Portland dynamic duo of home cookery.

It is humorous – these opposing groups. Every time I talk about food with someone else the issue will arise. “Do you like to follow recipes?” A member of my camp will follow-up with, “what is your favorite cookbook?” And then the conversation unfolds. If, on the other hand, I come upon a member of the spontaneity-type, our shared feelings on food quickly diminish when I ask, “what’s your favorite cookbook.” Luckily, there are many other topics that fall under the conversational umbrella known as “food.” And my chatty self moves on to the next subject.

As you might expect, this tension of ‘following the rules’ vs. ‘breaking the rules’ is the theme in this week’s menu. On Wednesday my wife and I took the holiday to visit a hot springs in the mountains of Oregon. While I drove we talked about the menu for next week. The plan we developed is more of her creation than mine; something that makes me really happy. Of all the chosen meals, there were two that I knew I wanted to eat and coincidently they both contain meat and have a recipe. And of course, as a recipe-following cook, I know what to expect with the dinner. My wife on the other hand, serves the other group and proposed several meals that have no guidelines or ingredient list per se. Working together, our food-focused minds created the following:

• Chicken tikka masala with rice
• Grandma Dolly’s Kale Soup (not my grandmother but a friend’s)
• Baked acorn squash with roasted beets, rice and mushrooms
• Pan-fried catfish with swiss chard, beet greens and mashed potatoes
• Baked potatoes with cheese sauce and steamed broccoli
• Vegetable pie (what’s in this is currently unknown)

The first two meals have a recipe and everything else will come together on its own. This menu is unique for the very reason that most of the meals will favor spontaneity over reading and measuring. It’s true that some of the spontaneity is lost by the very act of planning the menu, but when we do the shopping we will have to base our choices on the whim and not a recipe’s ingredient list. Probably the most striking aspect to the plan is that we are not incorporating any of the meat we bought last night from the lovely farmers of Afton Field farm. That mentioned, you can expect a lot of lamb recipes for the next several months, cause we got ourselves a good 15 pounds last night!

Oh, the possibility!

Related posts:

1. Seasonal and then some (weekly menu 4)
2. Where have all the simple meals gone? (weekly menu 12)
3. Hearty Food Returns (weekly menu 18)
4. Does eating seasonally equal eating “American?” (weekly menu 6)
5. A simple menu (weekly menu 2)

Tags: afton field farm, cooking, Food Politics, Recipes