Majida Rashid
Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.
– Ludwig van Beethoven
Sometimes boredom is a prelude to creativity. Here is why. One day, years ago in Bahrain when I used to spend hours in the kitchen, I got bored and lay down on the couch instead of making dinner. After a while I enthusiastically went to the kitchen to make chili and found out that I only had ground meat and spices. But I was in the mood of making something new. So I searched the pantry and the fridge and found flour, chicken bouillon cubes and a packet of frozen mixed vegetables that I usually microwaved. I had to cook dinner and I didn’t want to go shopping. We never ate sandwiches.
“Then what could I do with these three ingredients?” I thought.
While I have learned shortcuts to save time, I used to cook two meals a day in those days. Three if cooking porridge and boiling eggs is counted as cooking a meal. Thanks to my mother for instilling the importance of freshly cooked healthy nutritious meals. I don’t know if my mother would have approved of the shortcuts.
Another lesson mother taught me was the dedication and focus of a cook. Once when I was visiting her in Pakistan, my other siblings came to see me. My mother was cooking for all of us and she was so detail oriented and poured her heart in her cooking. I thought I would give her a respite and cook a meal here and there. So one afternoon I embarked on making a curry. As I was frying the chopped onions I realized my toddler, who had just learned to walk, was missing. In panic I ran to find him. He was discovering things around the house. When I came back to the kitchen some of the onions had fully browned and some were still yellowish. I continued cooking. I noticed my mother was uneasy but I didn’t know the reason. The curry was served for dinner. The next day, when mother started cooking she said, “Amma Jee (which is what she called her mother) used to say, ‘What woman is that who does the chores around the house while cooking?’”
For the politically correct ones, I would say if the remark is sexist then so be it!
Of course, I didn’t like her remark because I was trying to support her. Only later did I realize the importance of what she said. Chefs are highly paid for their dedication to food.
Now back to my story. Besides the three ingredients I also found some leftover sour cream and successfully made something delicious which even won an award as well. My mother’s words ring in my ears whenever I cook this yummy dish. You will see why.
The Award-Winning Mysterious Dish
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 ounces unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6-8 cups water
3-4 chicken bouillon cubes
14 ounces frozen mixed vegetables, carrots, beans and peas
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
Instructions
Heat the oil in a medium pan.
Add the butter and melt it completely.
Lower the heat and add the flour, stirring occasionally.
Keep standing next to the pan no matter how enticing it may be to use the time for something else!
The flour will bubble after a while.
Add the black pepper and cook the roux for three minutes.
Slowly stir in the water with a whisk. This prevents lump formation.
Dissolve the bouillon in a little hot water and pour into the pan.
Bring it to a boil.
Add the frozen vegetables and cook for about 5-10 minutes. The time can be adjusted to achieve the desired tenderness.
Whisk the cream and add some soup, a little at a time so the cream is slowly acclimatized to the heat.
Pour the cream into the pan and give it a few boils.
Serve immediately.
Serves 3-4.
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Foodie Majida Rashid lives in Texas. Food and cooking are her passion. Her presentation about her love of food can be viewed on USA Today’s network: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0xi566VSPo – We Spread Love Through Food
@Frontiers_Of_Flavor Her philosophical writing can be read at apakistaniwomansjourney.wordpress.com.
