Food Porn of the Day!

Samin Nosrat is not only an amazing chef in the Bay Area but a friend/girl crush of yours truly. She’s even featured in November’s Martha Stewart doing an amazing Oakland Thanksgiving. This is because she is radtastic. She’s just one of those people who I am so excited to see succeed because she’s such a badass who cooks phenomenally, has an amazing heart, and is a great yogi, writer, and froyo fiend.

In her latest blogpost (with a recipe for Pasta with Long Cooked Broccoli), she talks about how she is a forager and makes something out of nothing, which, as anyone who knows me can attest, I am and do too.

After all my money had been stolen early on in my Paris adventures, I made a career of taking whatever the cooking-impaired kids in my apartment building had in their kitchens and making it into some kind of feast. The payment for my services: I got to eat dinner too. This girl scout “Chopping Block” ingenuity, dear readers, is especially impressive to people you may have just schtooped or would like to seduce. 

Anywhos, I’m impressed by two kinds of cooks: those who can utilize molecular gastronomy and do a bunch of fanciness serve it with a bunch of chichi chichiness (like, they put rice in MOLDS and stuff), and those who can cook something out of nothing, Mama-style. And you’d be surprised: raiding your kitchen can in times of need can inspire myriad recipes. In a panic in Paris - set off by munchies, laziness, and a lapse in my marketing routine - I roasted sardines (from a can) with chili and olive oil and served them with a lemony garlicky couscous with toasted almonds and raisins.  See? Couscous, trail mix, and sardines CAN go a long way if you know how to work it.

Anyway, this is a great recipe for times when all you have is pasta, broccoli, and maybe some cheese. Great weekday lunch or dinner. And check out Samin’s blog because she’s pretty brillz.