Sunday Sous: Degaje

I have always had a thread of perfectionism running through my culinary endeavors. If I’m going to take the time to do something, I want it to be right…I want to minimize any risk of failure or sub-par results. That has translated to many last minute (or mid-recipe) trips to the store to get ONE ingredient…mostly because I can’t stand the thought that the absence of this one item might ruin the outcome.

These days, I’m cooking more often and feeling more adventurous. I’m getting inspiration and ideas from recipes about how to pair flavors and textures, but I’m feeling bolder about reworking the recipes to my own tastes (and especially to match the contents of my refrigerator).

In Haitian Creole, there’s a word that represents the flexibility and resourcefulness of the Haitian people. The word is degaje (pronounced day-gah-ZHAY) and it means “to make do.”

So this week’s episode of Sunday Sous is all about making do with what happened to be in my fridge last night. The Arteest and I returned from a glorious weekend in Ashland with his family, seeing a Shakespeare play and enjoying the sunshine. By the time we got home at 9 pm, there was zero chance I was going to make any grocery store runs…but I still wanted to do a little cooking, in my Sunday night tradition.

PITA CHIPS
First I made a quick batch of whole wheat pita chips to use up some pita that was leftover from last week. This literally takes ten minutes from start to finish: cut each pita into eight wedges and separate the two layers to create thinner, crispier chips (for a total of 16 chips from each round pita). Spread out, rough side up, on a cookie sheet. Spray lightly with canola or olive oil spray. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 7-9 minutes, until crisp. Remove and cool, then store in an airtight container. These are our favorite way to eat hummus or mehumarra, but also great on their own.

TANGY ASIAN SLAW
I opened the produce bin and found a half head of green cabbage, some cilantro, a green bell pepper, a bag of carrots. I whipped up a big batch of Asian slaw with a dressing comprised mainly of rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, lime juice and brown sugar; shredded the cabbage and carrot in the Cuisinart, finely chopped the bell pepper and cilantro, and tossed it all together with a handful of peanuts. Yum!

WHOLE WHEAT PASTA WITH GARLIC, MUSHROOMS AND TOMATOES
Then I noticed a neglected Rubbermaid container with a handful of tiny tomatoes and 3-4 mushrooms. I sauteed some garlic and onion in olive oil, threw in the sliced mushrooms, and simultaneously boiled some whole grain spaghetti. Added the chopped tomatoes to the mushroom mixture at the end, and tossed it all together with the pasta, fresh ground pepper, some fresh grated parmesan, and about 1/4 cup of the pasta water.

It felt great to use up the odds and ends of things that were lingering in the crisper, and to have a head start on lunch and dinner for today. And everything I made was tasty and relatively healthy. I can feel myself slowly but surely letting go of the need for perfection, and embracing the joy of making do. So go forth, my friends, and degaje!

Advertisement