So, I'm an amateur home cook. But I love to make good food. I was sitting down for lunch with my wife and another young lady this week, who wants to learn how to cook. As a new college student, this is going to be a big life lesson for her. Then, my wife offered her a cooking lesson - from me! Man, that's putting me on the spot a little bit, but I accepted the challenge. Now, what to cook???
Over the years, I've discovered I have a knack for soups and stews. I'm not French trained on consume' or bisque (although I would love to have a grasp on the fundamentals), but if you want a hearty meal in a bowl, I've had some success. Maybe it goes back to my grandmother's famous chicken & dumplin's. When I was in college, I discovered that both my older brother and my cousin had been practicing the art of replicating Gi-Gi's recipe. None of us have done it perfectly, but we get close, even while using different ingredients. Which is one reason I like one-pot meals - you can make changes and substitutions and still maintain the integrity of the dish.
My general approach is the main idea I want to share, though. I try to add flavor (Flay-vah). If I've learned anything from countless hours of Food Network and Top Chef, it's the idea of layering flavors to create a complex dish. And sometimes all you really need to do that is good ingredients and a cup of Kosher salt. (And no, I'm not on the whole sea salt bandwagon yet. Kosher is coarse, and forgiving, so you aren't as at risk of making the dish too salty. Of course you would never use iodized salt in cooking, right?!?!?).
A good soup is probably going to start with a protein (like chicken pieces) and/or a touch of fat (oil or bacon), sweating mirepoix (carrot, celery, onion), seasoning with juices from the protein and the fond (brown bits on the bottom of the pot from the protein), and building with other veggies and some stock or broth. So, a chicken soup would start with some thighs, seasoned, and skin side down in the big kettle in a little oil. Once browned on all sides, I like to add the mirepoix, and a touch of thyme. This is a great base for a bunch of different directions - brunswick stew, chicken noodle, chicken & dumplin's, chicken & rice, or even a white bean chicken chili or roasted corn chowder. Just make sure to season between each addition.
The next step, though, is probably the most important. Don't use water. Why? Guess what water tastes like. NOTHING. Why add water when you could add broth or stock? You can make your own, you can buy it, you can start with boiling some chicken parts before you do the dish. My new Chicken & pastry recipe boils a whole chicken first. More for the stock it makes than anything else. But flavor comes from the layers, and water has no flavor.
So take your base, cover with a stock or broth (save time if it's already heated on another burner). Bring it to a boil, and add your other veggies (frozen are fine, but thaw on the counter first to save time). Frozen veggies don't come seasoned, so pinch with salt. Cover, simmer, skim off the fat, remove the skin and bones. Salt, pepper, and maybe some hot sauce or garlic powder to finish. If you're using tomatoes, I like to add a bay leaf early on.
I know a lot of bland food is out there. But why eat it if you can make something better?
When Job was despairing his life, he said, "Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg?" (Job 6:6). Part of what makes life enjoyable is tasty food. But let me take it one step further.
Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth," Matthew 5:13. I know there were other functions for salt in the first century, but Christians ought to make an impact on their culture, not the other way around. Are we being water or broth? Are we bringing any flavor to the table, or is our message just getting diluted as our culture shapes us? (To use another metaphor: Are we thermostats or thermometers?)
As Titus 2:10 says, I want to make the gospel attractive by the way I live. I want to bring the layers of flavor (truth, discipline, kindness, compassion, love, and correction, etc.) to life. There is a lot of hunger out there for meaningful spiritual meals, and in Jesus we find everything that we were made for and this world can't offer.
But man, there are a lot of brothers and sisters who never learned how to cook with layers of flavor! Here's to flavor and influence, and lots of soups, stews, and chili's this year!
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