Do you have daydreams? I do– a lot. My daydreams have variety. Like lofty ambitions, a vision for the company where I have my day job, projects for the house. And of course, I daydream about food. No, I don’t constantly think of satisfying my hunger, but I daydream about possible recipes.
I daydream about recipes during idle times a few idle minutes at work, while waiting for something or somone, while driving (of course, my eyes are still on the road, don’t worry).
Quite a number of these recipes actually became true and got published on this site. A recent top of mind example is my roast chicken with sausage and apricot stuffing, a very rich and delectable creation. So for me, daydreaming about recipes is the start of my creative process in coming up with easy but fabulous recipes. How’s that for productivity!
I also daydream and imagine recipes when I don’t have time to cook. This is my present situation. I’m swamped with so many projects, deadlines. And ironically, three scheduled vacations out of town and out of the country are getting in the way of getting down to work at the kitchen. I’m not about to start complaining though.
So in the meantime, allow me to share with you some of my daydreams, which come in the form of quick and easy recipes.
Daydream 1: Cream Cheese, Rockets, and Angels
Sauce: Saute garlic and cooked angel hair noodles in olive oil. Add cream cheese, pancetta, toasted pine nuts. Top with rocket/arugula and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.
Daydream 2: Four Peppers and A Roast Chicken
Marinate the chicken with a mixture of olive oil, butter, and lemon. Then rub with 4 kinds of peppers — black, white, cayenne, and paprika. Sprinkle salt on the chicken. Add a 3 whole heads of garlic in the cavity. Yum!
Daydream 3: Roasted Porkloin with Scarlet Filling
Butterfly the porkloin. Fill the middle with garlic, onion, and dried cranberries that have been marinated in lemon juice and sugar. Wrap the porkloin with Canadian double smoked bacon. Baste with butter. Bake in the oven at 175 C for about 1 hour.
Daydream 4: Prawns in White Wine Fantasy
Marinate the biggest prawns you can ever get in a mixture of white wine, lemon, and garlic for about an hour or two. Spread the prawns on a baking pan, greased with butter. Sprinkle finely minced garlic on the baking pan. Sprinkle with a generous amount of grated cheddar cheese. After baking, sprinkle with finely chopped chives.
Daydream 5: Peanut Butter Mousse Decadence (inspired by Nigella Lawson’s quick chocolate mousse)
In a pan, melt some chocolate chips, peanut butter, and mini marshmallows. It’s the marshmallows that will hold everything. Transfer to small souffle cups. Top with vanilla ice cream and coarsely chopped reeses that have been dipped in rum. Flambe the reeses by using a blow torch or match. 🙂
If you get a chance to make any of these dishes, do tell me how it goes. 🙂 I believe these daydreams will come out very delicious. I will make them myself one of these days. But wow, these daydreams are getting me hungry — and it’s 12:58 a.m.! Oh well. I will have to make time for these recipes very soon.