I was feeling a little adventurous yesterday with my cooking... I tend to be a by the recipe type cook but I wasn't in the mood for a recipe, I just wanted good food that was simple and no fuss.

This is a simple meal made from delicious local food that I sourced from our area. The egg dish is made with young local leeks that were simmered until soft in salted water then drained and laid on a plate for form a bed for fried eggs. The eggs were topped with shaved parmigiano reggiano (not from out area, unfortunately Italy is not local!) and snipped chives and parsley. It could easily be roasted or grilled asparagus (or boiled but I don't love it as much as the other methods).


The salad was baby lettuce topped with sliced organic strawberries, sliced almonds and finely chopped sweet onion. The salad was dressed with a homemade balsamic dressing and was enjoyed by all! Adding a little sweetness to a salad is a great way to get kids to it lettuce! Dinner was served with whole wheat sourdough bread - a no knead recipe I am working on.
For dessert I knew I wanted to make a strawberry rhubarb crisp but didn't feel like searching for or trying a new recipe. So I combined a large bowl of chopped rhubarb that was given to me by my sister-in-law, with some organic strawberries that are just beginning to appear near us. I mixed in about 2 Tbsp of arrowroot powder (cornstarch could be substituted) and about a third to a half cup of honey. This was dumped into a square baking dish.
Next came the topping. I decided to use nuts instead of oats hoping for a crunchy topping, so dumped in some pecans (maybe 1/2 cup) to a food processor and pulsed to chop. I think I chopped them too finely and next time I will leave some in bigger chunks to add more texture to the topping. Then I added about a cup of whole wheat flour, some cinnamon and allspice* and a pinch of salt. After that mixture was pulsed I added a half cup of butter cut into chunks and pulsed to get a slightly lumped together topping. I spread it over the fruit and baked in a 375degree oven for about 50 minutes. It turned out really well- the rhubarb was yummy and soft yet tart which was really nice with the crunchy topping and creamy ice cream I served it with.
*I always add a little of another spice when using cinnamon. While I like cinnamon, I really like it when paired with something like nutmeg, allspice or cloves.

All in all it was a successful meal that was born from a desire to use good, flavorful foods prepared simply. I like that kind of cooking and it encouraged me to try cooking as a set of "methods" not only "recipes".


What kind of cook are you? A recipe by the pinch or an guess here or there kind?