Grab Cooking

What happens when you're just too wilted to make a meal?Or if you don't want to trek through a heat wave to the grocery store? You grab cook. Look through your fridge, freezer and pantry and pluck out anything you can use to create a dish. It's a challenge but a fun one using whatever's on hand..

The ingredients to make a good grab dish should be veggies and meat. However cans of beans and sauce can also be included in the recipe.I tried this when I just did not feel like heading out in sweltering temps  just to get lunch. There was a can of chickpeas which was only bought for aqua faba (see yesterday's post), peppers and half an onion. Grape tomatoes,always a must have, looked appealing. Perfect to create a fun and colorful salad. The onion was finely chopped as was the pepper. The chickpeas  and tomatoes were added next as was the fresh parsley I had around.A simple vinaigrette dressing was all it needed and    voila  a refreshing , yet substantial lunch for a ninety degree day.Salads are one of the easiest grab meals because you can grab this and that to create a surprisingly hearty , yet ;light dish Vary the veggies.You can even use canned or steamed ones.Left over meats are great in grab salads. You could even make a chef's salad using last night's barbecue . Try ham in a broccoli and string bean salad. Grilled steak is good with just lettuce and tomatoes. Have ice berg lettuce? Grab it and turn it into a tasty wedge with bacon, tomatoes slices, and a home made dressing using mayo, oil, vinegar and anything else you find.

Grab meals can also extend to cooking too.Eggs make the best grab cuisine ingredient, Add three or four to chopped spinach leaves, tossed in some minced garlic and fry. It becomes a tasty omelet, easy  to make and easy to eat.Turn it into a sandwich by placing quarters on toasted bread. Sub in chopped green peppers and it becomes the filling for the classic Sicilian sub sandwich. Add a can of tomatoes  or fresh ones , some chopped garlic and you have the classic Piedmontese uovi e pomodori, a warm weather favorite.Make sure there's plenty of Italian bread for the last. If it's a cooler day you can combine whatever you can get your hands on for a tasty hodgepodge soup. Start with bouillon cubes and add  odds and ends in the soup pot.This is also a good time to use up those little scoops of rice or pasta.Desserts can also be part of grab cuisine. One of the most fun is the take on Eton mess. This classic British dessert  and a favorite of the brothers Windsor, is made with broken meringues, fruit and whipped. cream. I had leftover Nabisco chocolate wafers, a ton of strawberries and blueberries and whipped cream in a canister. Lsyer the cookies  even the broken ones with the fruit (you don;t have to have berries, bananas and pineapple work just as well),and top with a generous squirt of whipped cream. Sub in ice cream for whipped cream if you have any handy.

Grab cuisine is the way to cook during these impossibly hot days. Check your fridge, kitchen and pantry, grab what you can and create. You'd be surprised what you can make with whatever's around.