Gaining A New Perspective On Recipes

I am re-discovering my cookbooks.  Since the change in my diet, the overall view I have on food has evolved.  It's true that going to restaurants can sometimes be a tiresome challenge of trying to make a meal out of the menu offerings.   Yes, there may be more items on my list of can nots than cans.  To some, the thought of never eating bread or any kind of wheat or grain again is impossible.  Add in the removal of legumes, processed food, refined sugar and most dairy and it becomes unfathomable.  It can be a lot to wrap your head around.  Heck, it took me the better part of a year to adjust to a whole new diet.  Now, as I approach the two-year mark, it's just my way of life.  

I do not focus on what I am no longer eating.  Instead, I prefer to savour what's actually on my plate.  Good quality meats, local fruit and vegetables, nuts, seeds and the occasional dessert.  Even some alcohol in small quantaties.  I do not feel as if I am missing out or that my food is in any way lacking.   I have even found that with the subtraction of an option, brings the addition of new ones. A food that you used to hate becomes a staple after you get bored with the basics.  How I ever disliked coconut I will never know.  When it comes to food, there is a method I use to form new opinions.  If I enjoy the taste, but am getting hung up on the texture, I will eat that particular item everyday for at least a week until I become accustomed to it.  If the flavour is the problem, I will look up at least five different ways to prepare or eat the food in hopes of finding a way to enjoy it.  After that anything I still don't like I will try to revisit in the future.  It doesn't work for everything, but it forces me to at least try it from more than one perspective.   

One of the aspects I have been enjoying the most about my time at culinary school is learning the proper techniques of preparing a dish.  Once I know the ingredients, and how they contribute to the end result, I can then go back and alter the recipe to fit my dietary needs while still maintaining the central integrity of it. In my Northern Italian class we had a rack of lamb that was coated in a mixture of panko, fresh herbs, garlic and olive oil before it was seared then baked in an oven.  I replaced the breadcrumbs with almond meal and continued on with the recipe.  I had to keep a closer eye on the lamb since my coating was more easily burned, but it turned out perfect.  Some recipes, like the lamb, only require the smallest tweak to work for me.  Others, half the ingredients must be replaced and the entire methodology changed.  The fun is in the challenge.

In the same light I started to think about some of my favourite cookbooks. I have a few that are specifically paleo, filled with recipes I know I can eat, but the majority are not.  Over the past few weeks I have been going through my collection with an eye for recipes that will work for me.  The process is bringing me back to books I haven't touched in years.  Recipes that were overlooked or forgotten are centre stage again.  I have to say looking through cookbooks is my happy place.  It relaxes me more than yoga ever will.  As I read through recipes I can practically taste each dish.  Aromas flow off the pages, often leaving me salivating.  Each picture or ingredient list sparks my creativity and urges me to get into the kitchen.  Knowledge can be found in every recipe, even the ones you are not fond of. 

I am about halfway through my cookbook collection. The sticky notes are dwindling, the excel chart of recipe locations is growing and more food awaits me on the horizon. It's time to eat.

G.