Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The challenge of an empty fridge...

Around the universe, there are very few things that are more frightening or more worrisome than an empty refrigerator.  I think that it fills us with horrors of starvation and dehydration when we open that large door and see the absence of food or drinks.
 What can be done?  For people like me, something must be done immediately.  It must be my patriarchal thinking taking place.  Traditionally it was the male primate that brings home the kill for his family and when I look in there and I see nothing of value to eat, it makes me feel like less than a man, or at least less of a monkey.  As the house-husband who cooks the food and as a chef, it worries me as I know that if I cannot get food in there, then the kids may find something horrible to eat, like fast-food. While working on my holistic nutrition degree, I became fully aware of what is in some of my favorite fast-food items.  For instance, chicken nuggets that have many many other things in them besides chicken and a breading. More importantly, why is high fructose corn syrup needed in the bun, the hamburger, the fries and the drink?

For a person like me, I want a nutritious meal on the table for my 2 kids and wife every day.  A vegetable, starch and a meat, maybe that meat 5 times a week, but a protein source at least each day.  Filling that fridge is my job, no, my duty as a chef and father to make sure that there is something there for my family that will not rot their brains or their bodies.

If you look closely at my empty fridge example, you can see some things that may spark some inspiration of food items to cook.  There is some yogurt, butter and eggs in there, which is a must as I practice my pastry chef cooking all the time, but you can't eat healthy by eating pies and cookies all week.  Strawberries, pudding and rice are on the lower shelf.  Maybe the rice can be paired with some veggies and strawberries and the pudding make good desserts. Down below in the drawers, I have some apples, key limes, celery and carrots.  I do have onions and if you have any culinary knowledge you know that I could make a mirepoix for a good soup extra flavor profiles for a dish later on. 

What does your fridge look like?

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