Salmon Belly Noodle Stir Fry For Two

One of the greatest joys of being a foodie is cooking for other people. This past Christmas I spent five hours in the kitchen crafting a five dish meal for close friends and family and although it was highly laborious and required much strategy and coordination, I got the utmost reward from seeing the smiles on the faces of my guests as they enjoyed my special stuffing and buttery turkey and all the accoutrements. I am used to being on the cooking end and have always dreamed of one day finding a partner to share my love of cooking. The idea of spending time in the kitchen with someone who loves food as much as I do and whipping up dishes together has been high on my wish list.

So when I met the Cute Gardener this past year, I was thrilled to know that he loved to cook. And not only did he love to cook, he grew his own fruits and vegetables as well. Learning the idiosyncrasies of each other’s palates, trying adventurous meals out at restaurants and long conversations about food ensued. Of course, inevitably we had to cook for each other as the pocketbooks started to bulge under the weight of our constant meals out and the fun of trying each other’s food began. Not the fancy special occasion foods but the every day at home dinner meals that occur on regular old weekdays and nights in.

This past weekend, I was treated to a beautiful stir-fry made from simple, fresh ingredients with some exotic dashes thrown in.  

Udon noodles, salmon belly to marinate, onion and oyster sauce

 Fresh bok choy from the garden

 Slightly sweet and lovely pea sprouts

 Exotic asian mushrooms

Stir fried with chicken broth into a mellow and belly filling one plate meal 

 Simple gin martini spiked with the juice of a fresh lime

The best part was realizing that our simple everyday meals are really different, doubling the potential for us to enjoy and share different types of food together, trading off the cooking duties or deciding to collaborate and create new things conjured from our individual and very different taste buds and combined to create entirely new things. The opportunities abound.