Kitchen I love you
In your walls, no masks, no fear
Safely you hold me
The world has gone mad, filled with death and uncertainty
But you remain unfazed, familiar, steady
I feel your floor beneath my feet
 
Your cabinets with dishes, glasses, pots and pans
Drawers of silverware carefully arranged
Your pantry holds pasta, rice, cans of red tomatoes
Tuna, oatmeal, a dazzling display of riches
Refrigerator filled with lemons, grapefruits, greens spilling over drawers and shelves
Eggs set neatly in a tray — safe and unbreakable
 
I open your doors to find all that I need
A bunch of kale; an onion gently covered in brown, paper-like wrapping
Your countertops ready for food to be magically transformed
Sink shining, anticipating dirty dishes and silver
 
My heart beats to your rhythm
The rhythm of smells & tastes, sounds and sights
The chopping of onions, garlic, eggplant and pepper
The sizzle of oil in the cast iron skillet on your stove
Aroma of caramelized tomato paste with fresh oregano
All melding together into flavors that delight
 
Vase filled with roses and lilies bursting with color
Lasting at least a week until he buys me more
Candles lit, challah baked, wine poured for Sabbath prayers
These we still say joyously.
 
Kitchen I love you, but you have grown quiet these days
Do you wonder what has changed?
I thought you had all the secrets
You give forth food 3 times a day
I know your hidden crevices filled with forgotten staples — some gone bad
I’m with you more — new dishes to try
Bread to bake, sauce to stir
 
And yet, like me, you find yourself more & more alone
No family or friends grace your presence
Where are they?
Their hugs and smiles, laughter and conversation
Are you waiting for them with me?
Perhaps for a time when we can all eat and drink together
When you can once again share your abundance
 
Till then keep your cupboards full, your counters clean
Your magic fully alive
Kitchen, I love you
Please stay with me, hold me, keep me safe

This is one of those comfort foods that I've been making for years.  I'll list the specific ingredients that I use, but it's so adaptable that you can switch things up with your favorite meat (or if you're a vegetarian beans) in the rice, favorite salsa, etc...

This takes 1/2 hour to prepare start to finish and serves 4 people.

Ingredients:
Rice
-1 1/3 c brown rice (I use boil-in-bag precooked rice)
-2c TBS olive oil
-1 lb chopped turkey
-16 oz. salsa (8 oz. Trader Joe's Salsa Autentica, 8 oz.Garlic Chipotle Salsa)
-3/4 c Trader Joe's shredded soy cheese blend

Chopped Salad
-2 TBS olive oil
-1 TBS lime juice or balsamic vinegar
-1/8 tsp cumin
-1/2 avocado
-3 scallions
-1/2 pint grape tomatoes
-2 c spring mix lettuce
-10 pitted kalamata olives
-tortilla chips

Steps:
1) Prepare rice
-Submerge package of rice in 1 quart of water in microwave-safe bowl
-Microwave for 10 minutes
-Note: you can also put bag of rice in 1 quart of boiling water for 10 minutes
-While rice is cooking, heat 2 TBS olive oil in large skillet at medium heat
​-Add chopped turkey & brown for about 5 minutes
-Add salsa
-Reduce heat to low
-Add 1 1/3 c of the cooked rice and combine
-Add soy cheese and combine

2) Prepare chopped salad
-put 2 TBS olive oil in large bowl
-add lime juice or vinegar
-chop 1/2 avocado, add to bowl, stirring to coat the avocado so it doesn't brown
-chop scallions and quarter tomatoes, add to bowl
​-chop olives, add to bowl
-chop lettuce, add to bowl

3) Serve
-place rice mixture on a plate
-cover with chopped salad
-arrange tortilla chips around rice and salad

Enjoy!

What I love about cooking is that it is so forgiving.  You can always add a little more of a little less of an ingredient or tweak a recipe so that it includes a favorite food or spice.  This is true of the recipe listed below.  Don't worry if you don't have the exact ingredients.

It takes about a 1/2 hour to prepare.  Most of the time is for sauteing the onions at low heat so that they are soft & sweet.

I often make couscous with veggies for lunch. You can refrigerate or freeze extra portions.  It's pretty simple to make, and it's good for you.

Ingredients:
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 tomato, chopped; or 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced or chopped
1 TBS lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup dried couscous

Steps:
1) Saute onions
-heat olive oil in a large skillet over low heat
-add the chopped onions & cook these for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally so they don't brown

2) Make couscous
-in a saucepan boil 3/4 c water
-add 3/4 c dry couscous
-stir well
-remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes

3) Saute other veggies
-add red pepper to onions; cook for 5 minutes on low heat
-add garlic and stir for 30 seconds
-add spinach & cover pot for a few minutes until spinach starts to wilt
-stir veggies so that spinach leaves melt into the other veggies

4) Mix everything together
-stir in lemon juice & oregano
-stir in couscous and serve

This recipe was the inspiration for this blog.  It's my take on a dish created by James Beard Award winning chef, Alon Shaya, who's restaurant in New Orleans is one of the best I've ever eaten in.  I've added tofu and switched up some of the vegetables.  So yummy!

The recipe is a little complex and takes about 1 1/2 hours to prepare, but it's so worth it.  You can make each step separately and the roasted veggies and tofu are tasty on their own -- just add a sprinkle of lemon juice or vinegar.

Ingredients:
large pot of water
2 TBS salt
1 eggplant
1 red pepper
8 oz tofu (1/2 container)
1 onion
1/2 cup Israeli couscous
4 sprigs of fresh oregano or thyme
1 cup lightly packed parsley leaves
5 cloves of garlic sliced
1 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup assorted olives, black or green, pitted and halved
8 fresh basil leaves, torn

5 Steps:
1) Prep 
- preheat oven to 375 degrees
- bring pot of water w/ 1 TBS salt to a boil
-chop eggplant, pepper, onion and tofu into approximately 1/2 inch pieces & mix with 1/4 c olive oil and 1 TBS salt
-measure 1 c dry Israeli couscous
-slice garlic & chop herbs
-measure 1 c  tomato paste (~1 1/2 6 oz. cans)
-chop olives
- tear basil leaves
​
2) Roast veggies
- spread out veggies and tofu on 2 rimmed baking sheets
-put in oven for about 15-25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until eggplant is tender and lightly browned

3) Cook couscous
-add couscous to boiling water & cook for about 6 minutes till chewy with a slight bit of texture
-drain and set aside

4) Saute herbs and tomato paste
-warm 1/4 c olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat
-saute herbs and garlic for ~1 minute till garlic is fragrant but doesn't burn
-stir in tomato paste and continue stirring to break it up for 10-15 minutes

5) Combine everything and eat!!
Mix together roasted veggies, couscous, caramelized tomato paste, 1/4-1/2 c water, olives & basil

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