It was Orzo good

My oldest son helped me make chocolate chip cookies earlier this afternoon and as his mind was preoccupied with cooking, he asked what we were making for dinner. I told him I wasn’t sure yet. He walked over to my row of cookbooks, pulled out a couple volumes and started peering through them. As he pulled out a pasta cookbook, I remembered a box of Orzo I’d had in my pantry for a while. I suggested we make pasta and now we just had to pick our toppings. He started thumbing through the pages of the pasta cookbook but I reminded him that oftentimes the best recipes come from our own minds. I brought him over to the refrigerator and we looked at what we had. Zucchini, peas, Crimini mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, salami, olive oil, and butter caught our eyes. Dinner was right around the corner.

Growing up, my sisters and I did a lot of cooking, and my sister Kendis was always randomly picking items out of the pantry and making the most amazing dishes. She didn’t use recipes – she created her own. While recipes are helpful and help us explore new tastes, I believe our instincts can often create delicious and exciting food.

Our dinner tonight was Orzo, cooked al dente (just a little bite left in it) and blanched frozen peas mixed with 1 ½ tablespoons of butter. Available toppings were freshly grated Parmesan cheese, small diced tomatoes, sautéed red onion, Crimini mushrooms and zucchini, and crispy salami (I thinly sliced white wine salami and cooked it over medium high heat in a sauté pan until it was crispy). It was comfort food at its best and it didn’t come from a cookbook.