More than a Meal or a Moment...

Work of Art Project - Transcript (video on FB)

As a child, one of my favorite places to be was in the kitchen. Whether actively involved in concocting some culinary creation or begging for a bite of a freshly baked bun while my mom bustled from one bowl to another, there was more to the moment than what was to be munched on. Even as a child, I knew that each meal was cooked up with care and consideration, commitment and creativity.

Many evenings, I sat silently on the kitchen floor in front of a heating vent watching and listening to my parents as they washed the dishes. Side by side they scrubbed, and together, they talked about their day. So much more than the moment… How I was drawn to this special space. A sacred space, really, where smells and smiles and savory and sweet somethings were served up and shared.

Having recently embarked on the journey of marriage, I now have an opportunity to make another kitchen a sacred space… a special space to share with my husband. While he doesn’t usually cook with me, I strive to make our meals with the same care and consideration, commitment and creativity my parents did. Along the way, though, I have found, whether it’s pork or pasta, chicken or cheese soufflé, sometimes what is served up is simply common. On occasion, however, there are some concoctions I would consider curious. And then, there are times when a few culinary creations are compelling. Having come to this realization, I decided to investigate the “work of art” that goes in to the making of one component of a meal… a salad.

Common
(Synonyms: usual, ordinary, regular, nothing special)

In salad terms, “common” could be described as basic or bland, a simple, standard side with which all are familiar.

Most evenings, once I have the main course well under way, I set about the work of serving up a simple side salad to accompany the meal. Typically, this tag on is tossed together without requiring much planning or preparation. As I snatch the ingredients from the fridge, there is little feeling about or focus on the task at hand. Time and thought are minimized.

When the time comes to break open a head of lettuce, though, I will admit I often feel a sense of satisfaction with the initial crack. The flecks of water that fly about my fingers flaunt freshness, but it this food flavorful or fortifying? The sound from the split shouts of something scrumptious, but is there any substance to savor? With one eye on the stove and another on the table, I shred and slice, chop and plop with little attention to precision or placement. I randomly rip apart the lettuce leaves and lob them into a barren bowl. Without much care for consistency, the cucumber is quartered and cut. Tomatoes, too, are scored and sliced and sprinkled onto the salad. Finally, green peppers are diced and dropped into the dish. With hurried hands, I turn this heap head over heels, mindlessly mixing this mundane mélange.

Sure… some of the colors are bold and bright and beautiful, but as I set the salad on the table, there is a listlessness in and lethargy about the lettuce. Thrown together in barely a blink, I look on to the bowl and am bored by what I see – basic and bland, a standard side, common. Even as I think about the single bowl set amidst all the others at the table, there is nothing special about this salad.

I, as the salad maker, am unimpressed and underwhelmed. I have little hope that my husband will be tempted to taste. When he does dare to dig in, I am disappointed. Rather than “Ta dah!” the bowl cries “Boo hoo!” as the basic and bland is buried in a gluttonous glob of store-bought salad dressing.

There is no life. There was little love. Much of the lettuce lingered for another day… Common!
So… what about a curious salad? Will it suffer the same fate? Wilted and weeping… unwanted.

Curious
(Synonyms: unusual, strange, peculiar, intriguing)

A “curious” salad might serve as an abnormal appetizer, salivary stimulation, or a taste temptation.

Unlike the common salad, the curious salad required much more planning and preparation, the first step of which was rummaging through my recipes. I knew what I wanted to make and knew, in general, what it would take, but I had to ensure that I had everything I needed to make this spark of an idea truly special.

Once I had secured all the items on my shopping list, I spread them out and took stock of the odd assortment of ingredients that was to be combined into something curious. I took time to think about the color and texture and flavor of each ingredient and how things so drastically different were ever considered to be complementary. In some ways, it is like the union of a couple or uniqueness of individuals that function as a family. Somehow, they work together to bring out the flavor in one another. They enable the curious qualities to shine and the complementary qualities to strengthen.

As I set about to assemble this salad, I was much more careful as I collected, cleaned, cut, and combined. Unlike the common salad served up in a communal bowl, I decided to make this curious salad more personal by serving it up on individual salad plates. To start, I sorted through half a bag of baby spinach and set the leaves in a strainer. Then, I showered the spinach under running cold water in order to rinse and refresh their nutrient-rich roughage. I then peeled a portion of a cucumber, more careful about quantity and quality. Knowing that each component of this salad would be seen, I was much more concerned about conformity as I quartered the cool cucumber. The red onion, sure to add a zap of zest to the meal, was slice and diced into the tiniest of tidbits so as not to be overbearing in any one bite. In addition to these fresh ingredients, I portioned out the other pieces of this peculiar puzzles and placed them in individual glass bowls. Fun frills like the feta and fruit were fanned out around the plate, ready for garnishing.

Before assembling the salad, though, I had to attend to two other more time-consuming tasks – the dressing and the sugared walnuts. Both proved to be somewhat challenging, but worth the extra effort.

Dressings have the potential to draw out or accentuate flavor. In an attempt to avoid the Ranch ruination, I started a dressing from scratch. Seeking to complement the ingredients included in the salad and the salad as a whole, a curious combination of several spices, sugar, solvents, and suspension substances was used. Each ingredient was poured into a salad dressing carafe we received as a wedding gift. This special dispenser added sentiment to this salad.

The final touch, sugared walnuts, was added with my husband in mind. He very much enjoys eating walnuts, so I was especially excited to be able to top off this curious salad with a kiss of caramelized crunch.

When it came time to carry this curious creation from the kitchen, I did so with care. I presented this personalized plate with pride and anxiously awaited my husband’s reaction. The first sign that this salad was more special than the last was when my husband drizzled rather than drenched the dish with dressing. And, I was pleased when he commented on both the aesthetics and the taste.

This curious salad was savored as special. Time was taken. Tiny, thoughtful touches were applied. It was rare but rewarding for both my husband and me.

Compelling
Synonyms: spellbinding, transfixing, mesmerizing

As I consider what constitutes a compelling salad, descriptors like mouthwatering, satisfying, and complete come to mind.

Once again, before assembling this salad, I had to ensure I had everything I needed on hand. With a need for a few unusual items, like Romaine lettuce, mandarin oranges, pineapple, and chow mein noodles, a special shopping trip was in order. Several of these items were prepackaged, which reduced the preparation time; however, placement tended to be more tedious. The cucumbers, a staple in all the salads, ended up being a distinguishing feature in this creation. As a result, presentation took on a primary role in making this salad more compelling than the others. Rather than quarter and cut, I decided to slice the cucumbers on an angle. I then spread these long slices across one side of a large dinner plate. It almost looked like the tail of a pale peacock. As I fanned out the slices of cucumber, I felt more like an artist than a cook, like I was creating something artistic, not just edible.

On top of this fanned frame, I neatly nestled the light and leafy lettuce. On top of this, I sprinkled the green onion and avocado bits, which were to provide contrasts in texture and taste. For a splash of color, the mandarin oranges were added. Like the orange slices themselves, I smiled. These subtly sweet segments were especially bright against the green backdrop. For added punch (and crunch), the chow mein noodles were also sprinkled on top. This exotic ingredient also provided variety in terms of shape, contributing to the artistic element. I felt as if I was painting a picture, adding layers of colors and textural contrast with each ingredient.

To complete this picture, an “inkwell” was added. Set in to the side of the salad, was a small glass pitcher in which would be placed an individual portion of the homemade salad dressing. This extended the element of personalization explored in the curious salad, communicating to the person to whom it was served, my husband, that he was special. As I placed the pitcher on the plate, I felt as if I was sharing something special, a piece of my heart hidden in this gastronomic gift.

Like the curious salad, planning and preparation continued to be paramount. Since this particular salad featured grilled chicken, I had to begin the process the day before, marinating the poultry overnight. When ready, the chicken thighs were cooked quickly on a grill, sealing in the flavor and juice. Once cooled, the chicken was sliced into long, narrow pieces and precisely placed on top of the hearty heap of lettuce.

With this picture painted on the plate, I presented it to my husband not as an add-on or an appetizer but as a work of art. It evoked in me, the salad-maker, neither a sense of serving something substandard nor of sheer sentiment, but of satisfaction. This was not something common or curious, but complete… compelling.