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| Chicken and broccoli in apricot glaze |
Just so you know, this is not solely a "foodie" blog, so if I don't regurgitate recipes for you, now you now know why. It's about the art of living well, and since we eat almost every day, the art of cooking features prominently in any life that's well lived.
I grew up cooking because I had an interest in it, and then very quickly I had to know how if I wanted to eat certain foods, so I've been cooking my entire life, but I am definitely not a chef. R.I.S.D.* had a culinary division when I attended that did cafeteria service as part of their curriculum, but since I lived off campus, I have no idea what it was like. Suffice to say, Providence is a Johnson and Wales kind of town, known for its culinary and hospitality programs, so R.I.S.D. pretty quickly focused back on art and design, which is what we do best. *Rhode Island School of Design
But art forms blend into each other, syncing together, forming connections, and creating harmony. Artists tend to approach life in a critical manner, as is taught to us, but also with enjoyment—a brand new day is a canvas to be formed, a page to be written, a song to be composed, an opportunity to make each meal time as good as it can be. That's not to say I don't get tired and let someone else do the cooking occasionally, but since I can do it with such ease and fluency, I do it.
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I look at food labels for many things: caloric content, the amount of chemicals and preservatives, the types of ingredients (the less the better, by the way) and where it's from, because not only do I support local producers, I like to reduce the damage I do to our environment simply because I want say, exotic pickles from Japan. It's not that I don't use imported items when they're called for, it's just I do not think I am the Queen of Siam who needs rare and expensive delicacies because I am some pampered princess. It reeks of entitlement, and I get my hands dirty whenever I can. This thought process becomes part of the making, and that's something every artist understands.
Because I cook in this way, there are no "recipes" for me, because I do not buy based on what someone tells me to do. It's based on season, availability, and what I want to eat. It's about what I want do to with my food, and I encourage you delve deeper into meal times. There's many an epiphany to be gained in such knowledge. In this case, I had in my fridge: chicken breast, fresh broccoli, onions, and I wanted to make a sauce from a lovely jar of apricot preserves. The preserves served as the basis for many a sauce that week, which I'll post for you as the days unfold. It became the inspiration for my dishes.
Rather than slavishly devoted to a network, show, or cookbook, what would you make with what you have on hand? Many a savvy wife and crafty mother does what I do every day, several times day, for her entire life, with no pay and no applause. It's hard work, but like any drudgery, women have turned it into an art form. Take pleasure in what you have, and make it yours. I've provided one of the recipes below as a basis that approximates what I use as guides, but in the end, it's all about me. What do you bring to the table?
