Blog #26: What’s in the Fridge?

Today, I invite you try something a little different with me. Open up your fridge. What would you normally pull out and throw together for lunch or dinner? Well, whatever it is, don’t do it. I want you to look at those same ingredients you’ve been looking at all week and put them together in  a whole, new way! This doesn’t have to be a complicated task. In fact, it can be a mere 4 ingredients, they just have to be 4 ingredients that you wouldn’t normally think to create a dish out of. Let’s all discover the ability to create something new out of the old today. Jay Shetty, (former Monk and social media mogul) encourages us to slightly change our daily routines or tasks in order to keep things fresh and not fall into a rut. Something as small as sleeping on a different side of the bed once in a while. This doesn’t necessarily mean you are changing your routines completely, (as routines are good for productivity) it’s just a way to have a new perspective. So, I’ll go first. ;)

These are the things I’ve decided to put together, from my fridge, for lunch. 

Leftover rice pilaf

a bag of organic power greens (baby kale, swiss chard and spinach)

2 eggs

shallot

garlic

1/2 a tomato

garlic salt

pepper

my last bit of butter from December

I’m going to make a fried rice of sorts. The first thing I’m going to do is chop the power greens and cook them down so that all of the water cooks out and they are in small bite size pieces to be mixed into my fried rice. Then I’m going to scramble my 2 eggs and set them aside. Next, I will chop and sauté the shallots and garlic in canola oil spray. Now I can add the rice and the chopped, cooked greens. Sautee together. Add the scrambled egg and butter. Sautee some more. While this is going, cut the 1/2 a tomato into halves and blacken in a separate, small pan on high heat (I’ve had Thai fried rice with this kind of cooked tomato on the side which I’ve really liked). Let the fried rice brown a little in the butter and transfer to a plate. Throw the blackened tomato on the side and voila! There you have it. A new dish, made out of the same old things. My mom was always a genius at this, throwing together a new dish out of “what’s in the fridge”. Parents are often more motivated in these ways. But hey, we can all do this, and discover something fabulous along the way! What are you going to make today? Feel free to share with me in the comments below. Have fun, my fellow chefs!