Alas and Alack? No! What’s For Dinner Maddie is Back. Apologies for the long simmer, the back burner, the stewing. Oh the stories to follow, but for now, we pick up where we left off. Something about cooking? Ah yes…
Sometimes we cook for the love of cooking, sometimes we cook just for love, and sometimes we cook for both. Cooking is an expression of love, whether it’s gourmet or grilled cheese. For love we can cook an entire meal solo for a crowd, or we can cook en masse, collaborating and dancing around each other like a grand ballroom waltz. I watched such a dance of love in my sister’s kitchen in Uganda recently as some of her birthday dinner guests arrived 6 hours early; yes, 6 hours early. Something about the growing waves on Lake Victoria that necessitated an early crossing. And so, we were now serving lunch as well as dinner, which, in an area as remote as my sister’s home, you’d think would be stressful. Not for my sister and her husband, who cook both for love and for the love of cooking and have a pantry brilliantly stocked for three bountiful months. Their kitchen is a massive open space with a huge slab of olive wood for a counter, the tree from which was found and dragged into the workshop by them. There is no fancy name brand range with signature red knobs; just a couple of burners with propane tanks barely concealed beneath. It’s about the cooking, the space, and how they move about it together. And their wonderful guests knew intuitively how to fall into step within that space. There is an intimacy to working in a kitchen together and, like all intimate acts, it works with some people and not so much with others. On this day, I was voyeur, not cook; a wonderful privilege as I listened to their laughter, felt their rhythms, and breathed in the aromas as they began to burst from the pans. I watched the beautiful Sarah sashay in behind my sister, fluidly relieving her of the massive knife and assume the onion chopping without missing a beat. It was like a salsa dance, each knowing what to do and whose lead to follow. I watched the bulge of the muscle in Jean-Jaques’ forearm as he cut the bread in a way I’m certain only a French man could do. And I watched my sister and her husband do-si-do about the kitchen like actors in a musical film you just want to be in so badly.
And the fruits of their labours of love? Divine! Make it for lunch as a stand alone meal, or as a starter for dinner. The only urging I have is to use the best chorizo you can find as the flavour is powerful amidst the delicate tomatoes so it must be good!
Ingredients:
What's For Dinner Maddie? 