The man or woman in charge of food preparation within a home does not have to suppress his or her creative urges, in order to produce healthy fare. He or she can do some creative cook and still give a family with nutritious meals. Furthermore, each such food can contain a large number of natural foods. Our shrinking world has provided cooks with the ability to combine creative cooking with the presentation of dishes that contain a focus of natural foods. That shrinking world has aided the introduction of new and different ethnic foods.

For example, more than thirty years ago, one young man from Iran spent a year in the United States. When he returned to his native nation, his mom asked him what dish he would most like her to make. His reaction hinted at the lack of creative cooking in the household where he had been staying. He asked his mom to make a thick Persian soup called ash. That thick porridge happens to contain all manner of natural foods. Yet thirty years ago, it could not be found in any American restaurant, or prepared using a package of properly cut and mixed vegetables. Today, that is no longer the case.

Today, one can walk into certainly one of America’s Persian restaurants and order a bowl of ash. After eating that dish, a diner will well feel inspired to try some creative cooking. He or she will need to get into the kitchen and attempt to create a similarly thick soup. Indeed, this author knows of Americans who have done simply that. Unfortunately, few American cooks can conceive of the high number of chopped herbs that must be utilized to make a pot of ash. Yet Persians are very polite, when served an American’s attempt at creativity. Their desire to talk in a polite manner will usually disguise their lack of appreciation for the absence of all the expected vegetables.

In fact, the connection between Persian food and creative cooking began some forty plus years ago. It began when Gourmet Magazine showed readers how to make one dish that contained natural foods. That dish was stuffed grape leaves. One hostess served those stuffed leaves at a neighborhood party. The next day, certainly one of the female guests at that party was describing that item to her two daughters. That mom didn’t realize that her one daughter would later marry a man who had grown up in Iran. He had been served stuffed grape leaves on many occasions.

A female who once lived in Iran and later taught home arts to middle school students has done a good job of summing up creative cooking. She understands that is best to begin with a fairly easy dish. For example, on the evening when she entertained the Persian father of two of her students, she served white rice with the certainly one of the sauces called khorsh. She wisely chose not to have a go at creating a Persian polo. That is a combination of rice, meat and either dried fruit or chopped vegetables. As it cooks in the pot, a delicious crust forms on the bottom. Known as tadiq, it is a part of the food that Iranians really love. Young Iranian children call for it with the same tone and force that an American child will use to request a delectable sweet.

Tags : cook, creative cooking, food, natural foods
Categories : Cooking