By Cynthia Nelson
Hi Everyone, Most people will tell you that when they travel, they stay clear of hotel food except for the occasional room service. This is so mainly because it’s usually pricey and often lacks taste. I happen to be one of those people but I’m here to tell you that if you find yourself in a room outfitted with a kitchen, making your own hotel food can be a treat and cost effective too.
I know that the first thing you’re going to say is, “who wants to cook on a vacation?” Truth be told, not many of us do but sometimes the cooking bug just bites you; also, when confronted with fresh produce, meat and seafood it becomes hard to resist not picking up some of it and taking it back to your suite with a kitchen. And that is exactly what I did when I was travelling recently. I had done something similar back in 2006 while on vacation and doing it again re-emphasized some things:
► You don’t need a lot of kitchen tools and gadgets to create tasty food
► You don’t need a lot of spices and herbs to create flavourful food
► Cooking does not have to be complicated
► Cooking does not have to take a long time
► This is my kind of fast food
I’m excited to share the three simple meals I made with you because they are meals that you can create in your own home and if I can make them in a hotel-room kitchen with a knife as my main tool, one pot, one pan, a salt shaker, pepper shaker, cooking oil and a little bottle of all-purpose seasoning, then you can too.
Let’s start with the salmon and green onions. I seasoned the fresh Atlantic salmon with salt and pepper and pan fried it. In the same pan, I added the green onions that I simply cut in half; they got a little charred and were tender and delicately oniony when eaten. This dish was made in about 5 to 6 minutes.
Next was the steak and onions. I bought the steak pre-cut and seasoned it with salt and pepper and all-purpose seasoning. Because the steaks were thinly cut, I pan seared them and they were done in a minute. To the same pan, I added the sliced onions that picked up all the flavourful bits from the meat left in the pan. The onions were so sweet and the steaks tender and flavourful.
And then there was the rice dish. I am not sure what to call this dish as it was something I made up as I went along. However, it turned out to be a really tasty and satisfying one-pot dish. I cut up some Italian sausage, diced half a white onion, sliced 4 green onions and chopped a bunch of cilantro. I sautéed the white onion and sausage together then added the green onions and cilantro and seasoned with salt and pepper. That took about 3 to 4 minutes. When it was finished cooking, I set it aside.
In a separate pot I cooked some rice by steaming it. When the rice was done, I added the sausage-onion-cilantro mixture it and stirred it in, all the while fluffing the rice by using a fork. The entire dish was done in 25 minutes.
I have made the point of giving you details of time and clearly outlining how I made each dish and that is to emphasize what I said earlier, that cooking does not always have to be complicated or take a long time and that you don’t need a lot of tools, gadgets, aromatics and flavourings to make tasty food.
This hotel-room cooking underscored for me that once one has quality ingredients, there is very little that needs to be done to make it tasty, whether it is by the method of preparation or the seasonings we add. Granted that there are certain dishes that require us to really “go to town” when it comes to preparation. At the same time, we need to balance it by allowing the freshness and flavour of the ingredients to come through, to shine, to make us taste and remember why it is that we like it in the first place. Simple preparations are also a way of introducing ourselves or loved ones to new ingredients.
The other point I am trying to make by relaying my hotel-room cooking experience is that even people who are not that experienced in the kitchen can make these dishes and without the prep work! These days many things come pre-cut, already cleaned, peeled, pureed and diced and even if they aren’t I’ve found that vendors are willing to do the job for you, some for free and others for a small fee. Just think of how many meals you can make, all you have to do is season and cook.
The next time you travel and find yourself somewhere with a kitchen. Or why not challenge yourself to make something without the frills in your own kitchen, you’d be surprised at how resourceful and creative you can be.
Cynthia
tasteslikehome@gmail.com
www.tasteslikehome.org
