A Recipe for the Non-Cook Husband

My wife works nights on some days and this after she has done a few hours on her day job. The least I can do for her is prepare dinner while she takes a nap in readiness for the night. Now, growing up with four sisters and a mother, all of them great cooks, I never touched a hot pan growing up. Even after I got married, I only cooked under duress and very rarely at that. Recently though, I have taken a greater role in the kitchen and it's not too bad, I realize. I cook only for my family though. No one else.

For lack of earlier training, I therefore approach cooking like a science - putting stuff together with an expected result in mind. This requires some preparation, knowing what I'm making, having the ingredients, the measurements, how long to cook what - all that stuff. When I don't have time and am disorganized, I treat cooking like jazz. I improvise.

That's what I did today. Due to errands and time constraints, I did not have time to think through a recipe so I cooked a meal on the fly. Here's the recipe, and we're cooking for four. Remember this is not Chef Emeril. This is hubby trying to survive.

Ingredients:

400g Polish sausage (Polska Kielbasa)

Peeled baby carrots

Small purple onion

Half a red tomato

Flavored salt

Crushed cardamom

2 cups white rice

1tbsp olive oil

Method:

Sausage Stew

Eyeball about a tablespoon of olive oil pour onto medium pan. Place it on the stove and turn heat to medium. I generally don't like to overcook my onions.

Cut and dice the onion and throw them in the olive oil.

Cut the suasage into this slices and add to the onions and stir occasionally.

Dice the tomato and throw into a blender.

Grab a small handful of the baby carrots and also throw in the blender and blend until evenly mixed and no big chunks remain (for lack of kitchenese.)

Add the mixture to the sausage and onions and stir till well mixed. Sprinkle over with a little flavored salt. Cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Rice

Add two cups of rice to the pan (not the flat kind - see picture)

Pour water over the rice until it is completely covered. Eyeball about a tablespoon of olive oil and pour it into the pan. Sprinkle about a quarter of a teaspoon crushed cardamom over into it. Cook on medium to high heat. When the rice rises, turn the heat to medium low stir and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes. You may have to stir a couple of times.

Your meal should be ready in 15 minutes tops. I forgot to cook vegetables. You can add cabbage or spinach but I won't go into that since I didn't cook it.

Serve the thick stew with chunks of sausage over the lightly spiced rice and enjoy.

P.S. My kids said they liked it and two hours later, at least they are still alive.