Fusion

I've decided that one of my favorite things about my current living arrangements is that I cook for myself, meaning I can fix whatever I want and will only have to answer to myself. For example, yesterday I fixed butter beans with onions sauteed in olive oil and grenadine syrup with garlic, cinnamon, and parmesan. You have no idea how delicious they were (and very pink). I would never just throw grenadine syrup into my onions if someone else were going to eat the food, but since it was for me, why the 4377 not? And today I was fixing some cheese and spinach tortellinis, and I prepared my own sauce. It started out kind of standard - stewed tomatoes with plenty of garlic, "Italian seasoning" (a McCormick herb blend), a little olive oil, and some salt. Which is about where I would have left it if anyone else were going to eat it. But because they weren't, I figured, 'what the heck,' and threw in some cinnamon, a lot of paprika, some chipotle hot sauce, and some milk to make it creamy. And it was incredible. Similar story with the honey-nutmeg black-eyed peas with extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Or this morning's improvised recipe for huevos rancheros. Or the soy-dogs with cinnamon and garlic. Or the Pero (like Postum but they still make it) with a little cocoa in it this afternoon.

You may have noticed that cinnamon and garlic are pretty common to these dishes. This is because I don't have a lot of spices/seasonings, but I've got cinnamon and garlic. And they are pretty much good in anything, especially together.

Thinking about it though, I do make some pretty fantastic food for other people - over the Thanksgiving break I fixed enchiladas verdes with green chile, mole verde, and crema fresca for my family. But I didn't add any cinnamon. So I guess I'm just a little more conservative in cooking for others, though I'm still an amazing cook. Let me tell you, every meal you eat that I didn't prepare, you're missing out.