Cooking up the good life

Argentina is in the Southern Hemisphere…which means that it is winter here.  We arrived to weather that, by Minnesota standards is not terribly cold-30’s at night and 50’s during the day, but there was something about transitioning from the 95 degree humidity, to this chill that crept deep into my bones.  I just couldn’t warm up.  Meanwhile, I had been devouring  fresh salads with broccoli and kale from our garden, cold cheeses and home made sangria, and find myself in the midst of winter vegetables.

I found a wonderful produce shop in the Mercado Central-I have been there twice already.  It is a tiny stall with piles of vegetables and fruits-while you stand amidst the spinach and beans, the men (young and old) who run the place select your goods. You pick a number and wait to be called-then there is a flurry as they brush past you to grab your goods. There is a giant squash-probably 1 1/2 feet across and they will chop off a big piece for you, the spinach is big and tough, there are beautiful hand shelled fresh beans called “porotos” that are white with purplish stripes, and I bough a bag full of fresh honey.  All of these foods have gone to good use already-in fact we haven’t eaten out once yet.  With my limited repertoire of ingredients-I am relying on lots of garlic and olive oil, I have created a few simple and delicious meals.

fresh "porotos" beans cooking with carrots and potatoes

Still finding a way to have a salad- with winter spinach, fresh mozzarella, tomato and avocado

Solana, my great helper, at the kitchen table

I have been spending the last few days trying to outfit the kitchen-a fun, and exhausting task for someone who has been building a well stocked and beautifully flowing kitchen for the last 15 years. I see this as an exercise in both efficiency and openness.  What do I absolutely need, and what can I live without?  So far, basic tools-wooden spoons, pots and pans, bulk ingredients and good containers for them are most important.  They need not be fancy, in fact I am pretty simple that way, but there are basic things one needs to move smoothly in the kitchen.

There is so much more to say-about food, and everything else.  What do I do with all the food waste???? Right now, it goes into the garbage-it is almost painful every time I toss something, but so far, there is no evidence of an alternative waste stream….this is on the list of things to explore.  In the mean time, I will keep cooking.