It's not called welcome to my pantry for nothing.
I recently loaned my friend Jami the Joy of Cooking. I think it may have changed her life. She claims to be reading whole sections and trying recipes almost daily. She fondly refers to it as "The Joy". She came over today and wanted a curry recipe using squash and potatoes. I gave her World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey and when she found a recipe she began asking about ingredients.
"What's fenugreek?"
"An Indian spice. I have some if you need it."
"And curry leaves?"
"Maybe in the freezer but I might only have kaffir lime leaves"
"Desiccated coconut..."
"Yes I have that, too."
"You have desiccated coconut?"
"Jami, I have sweetened coconut, unsweetened coconut, and frozen fresh coconut."
She asked about a few more things and finally I had to put my foot down, "Jami, I am not your pantry!"
She was still flipping through the book later and she said, "I can't believe you have desiccated coconut."
"What do you think desiccated coconut is? It's just dried coconut."
"Oh."
posted by leedav @ 9:36 PM
4 Comments:
Mmmm, kaffir limes leaves. I made some Thai fish cakes recently that include them. So delicious, dipped in sweet chili sauce! Is it lunch time yet?!?
Lisa- So, wait, do you eat them raw dipped in chili sauce?!
No, they are fried fish cakes, served with the sauce for dipping. I was writing pre-coffee...
they are very good, especially if you like the kaffir lime flavor!
"I am not your pantry"--hee hee. It can be hard to try new cuisines at home, though, if you have none of the pantry staples. I've avoided tackling Thai food for just that reason...too many spices and things to stock up on. And it's not like I use my stash of Indian staples all that often...
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