If you wait long enough and sufficiently starve then you'll arrive at the perfect meal to satisfy you.
Plus you'll be so hungry that everything tastes excellent.
Tonight dinner was one large sweet onion and one small potato. Butter. A pint of commercial beef broth, a single slice of thick-cut bacon, four bay leaves and two mint sprigs.
Oh, how I restrained my impulses. Flavor ideas flew through my head and were all rejected. All the possible Asian enhancements. All the customary western flavor enhancements. All the South American enhancements available, all rejected in favor of plainness and simplicity.
Cream, out
Worcestershire, out
Soy sauce, out
Liquid smoke, out
Tamarind, out
Garlic, out
Ginger, out
Fish sauce, out
Celery, out
And so it went.
Mirin, out
Wine, out
Vinegar, out
Toasted sesame seed oil, out
Mushrooms, out
Sugar, out
Chile powder, out
Chile sauce, out
Whole fresh chiles, out
Dried chiles, out
Cheese, out
Sour cream, out
All the spices were out. The entire cabinet unused.
Anchovy, out
Masa harina, out
Egg, out
Then I thought, "stop thinking of things." I taste-tested. Perfect.
An emersion blender did the job of a standing blender or processor, and that does save a lot of dish cleaning.
Yesterday I watched a video of a woman who poured a bowl of dashi into a larger bowl. Then poured a small bowl of soy sauce into the larger bowl. Then poured a small bowl of sugar into the larger bowl. Then poured a small bowl of mirin into the larger bowl. Then poured a tiny bowl of sake into the larger bowl. Then poured a small bowl of chopped green onions into the larger bowl. Then poured a ramekin with a pre-measured amount of salt into the larger bowl. Then cracked five eggs into a bowl and poured them into the larger bowl. Then poured the larger bowl into the bowl for the mixer and I thought, "you got no respect for the dishwasher." All of that could have gone directly into the bowl for the mixer. Or whisked in the lager bowl. Gawl!
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