The delight of a balanced meal is sometimes lost on a single diner. Is it the effort it takes, lack of time, or just not the right ingredients? Probably, all of the above. It does not have to be a chore, or costly to eat like a royal, just a little planning and creativity. Tonight was one of those cold winter evenings that my body craved some comfort food. I had a fresh butt steak in the fridge, half of a baked potato from last night's dinner, some blanched broccoli and half tomato. In the crisper were the last five fresh mushrooms.
Let me make one thing clear. I hate leftovers unless they are in the form of stew or chili, which seem to get more flavorful the next day. I do love recreating leftovers into a new delicious meal. I always keep freshly blanched vegetables in the fridge. On a recent vacation, I discovered an electric teapot. I love tea, only Lipton, black tea. I am a tea snob in this respect. What I discovered it this teapot is the bomb for blanching fresh vegetables. I get a deep bowl and strainer filled with fresh vegetables and pour the boiling water on the vegetables until the bowl is full. Done! Perfectly blanched vegetables to use in any meal.
Another thing I love is cooking in cast iron. The great thing about this method is you keep your food nice and warm by eating right out of the skillet when cooking for one.
For dinner this evening I cleaned and sliced my five fresh mushrooms and seasoned my butt steak. I sliced my leftover baked potato into wedges, seasoned with olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper and placed in the oven to brown.
Then I heated my single-serving cast iron skillet, put a little olive oil in the pan. When the pan was really hot I placed the steak in the pan to sear until browned. Flipping the steak it is topped with the fresh mushrooms and put it in the oven to finish. Then I slice one thick slice off my fresh tomato, cut into wedges, and topped it with cold, blanched florets of fresh broccoli.
My table is set with a cute placemat. The cold tomato and broccoli salad are sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. Time to eat like a royal.!
