Barbara Bretton: Wish You Were Here

What's Cooking?

The Food Goddess is in the Kitchen! I am delighted beyond words to present my friend, my pal, Kali Amanda Browne (daughter of the beauteous and talented Marie) aka The Food Goddess. Enjoy!

We've Gone Soft: After-Surgery Diary of a Tired Foodie

We've had to embrace a diet of soft food in the last couple of weeks to accommodate the after-effects of thyroid surgery. The first night was easy enough: chicken soup! It is comforting, nutritious, and scrumptious and it cures everything.

But it is a bit of a challenge to keep it interesting, nutritious and easy to swallow so as to not irritate Mom's throat. I could easily puree everything, of course, but pureeing is a culinary skill that should be used sparingly in my opinion - unless you are rearing an infant.

The next consideration is ease. I'm squeezed dry of the will to be by the time I get home from my bureaucratic cradle; I need quick meals that require little prep.

The easiest side dish is mashed potatoes, though it's not the traditional dish. After a 10 minute boil in salted water, reserve liquid, pour olive oil over potatoes and carrots and mash. Sometimes I add a few cloves of garlic in the water to add a new dimension to it. Sometimes I crush garlic powder and dried basil into the pot as I mash. If you're into that sort of thing, I've also been known to add a couple tablespoons of Romano or Parmesan cheese to it.

Broiled salmon in a mustard lemon marinade is also a very lovely choice. White fish has also made a comeback into our menu repertoire. It can be poached in a water/vinegar solution or in a little cream with stock until flaky (between 7 - 10 minutes on low/medium flame, depending on the thickness of filets). Any white fish works well here: flounder, sole, and tilapia for instance. Crab cakes, lightly browned in a dash of oil and a dab of butter can be finished off in a minimum of liquid to steam. These will take less than 10 minutes to cook to perfection.

A dash of fresh herbs in the pot in the last few minutes of cooking is always a welcome addition. For the moment, we are avoiding spices so we need flavor from relatively mild sources.

Pasta and risotto are easy to swallow and require little chewing, which puts a bit of a strain on her.

Mushy rice and beans are also perfect for a quick meal (30 minutes including prep!) and it provides a good dose of protein.

Omelets are also a great solution and the combinations of herbs, vegetables and even meats additions are almost endless.

Stewed chicken wings are also a lovely meal. The little drumsticks have enough heft to satisfy the carnivore in me and the middle section has soft meat for her. The sauce is perfect over pasta or potatoes, or even the mash plantains I told you about last month (in archive).

A quick meat sauce with ground beef or pork is a good standby that can be made ahead of time (and plenty for leftovers and a break in the kitchen). Ground turkey or veal is also a good choice, but leaner.

Ordinarily, tapenade and hummus are made as dip. But I think they are lovely as pasta sauces and over boiled or steamed vegetables or fish.

Needless to say, I have been obsessed with food. So my latest visit to the bookstore yielded a natural purchase: In the Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food, by Stewart Lee Allen. Have you ever seen a title more perfectly attuned to the buyer? The chapters are even divided in the 7 deadly sins - with recipes! And to fan my fantasies of bigger and better things: The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry, by Kathleen Flinn - a woman who, after getting laid off took life on and enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu (with more recipes). Inspiration and aspiration, food, life and love - that's what is taking a big chunk of our days right now. We'll continue to enjoy soft foods until Mom can handle heartier stuff, but we will not be bored . . . To steam, to poach, but rarely puree!

You can email me at kali.templeofdoom@gmail.com.