Thursday, January 18, 2007

mise en place

When I cook, I don't typically do a "mise en place," simply because I think it dirties a lot of extra bowls, which I later must wash. (Boo on dirty dishes.) However, the ingredients for my lunch yesterday were so pretty, I decided to arrange and take a picture! Before:

example

Add heat and some stirring, (and some water to the couscous,) and you get:

example

YUM.

Segue . . .

A few weeks ago, I bought some oranges at the co-op. One day, I took one to work, and began to peel it. I yelped! Why? Because the flesh inside the orange was a reddish-pink color, almost like a ruby red grapefruit. I tasted it, and it tasted like a very fabulous orange. The sticker told me it was a "cara cara" orange, which I had never heard of before! I bought more at the store last weekend, just to be sure I wasn't going crazy:
example
They are quite tasty. It's fun, eating a pink orange! It's also an oxymoron, but then again, new produce does tend to keep things interesting.

8 comments:

Judy said...

Working in small apartment kitchen, I often use mise en place. Sure, it dirties a few extra dishes, but it keeps my so much more organized. Your meal, and mise, look fab.

And that orange! I'm not much for citrus fruits, though I do eat oranges occasionally, and that one makes me want to eat one right now. I have never heard of that type of orange, but I will definintely look for it now.

Anonymous said...

Hi Catherine

Mmmmm...that orange looks great--was it sweet like an orange or more tart? I will have to walk to the Wedge and pick some up this week. Thanks for the tip!

I am going to make the Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy tonight, and I think I will blend it rather than just mashing the chickpeas based on what you and Melody said.

I hope your lunch was as good as it looks!

Coutney

Anonymous said...

Very beautiful lunch! So colorful. Cara Cara oranges are on sale right now here so I can't wait to pick some up.

funwithyourfood said...

Is it a blood orange? those things are so cool!


Teddy

bazu said...

I'm so jealous of all my fellow bloggers and their beautiful cara cara oranges. I've never seen one! Why, oh why, do I live in the boondocks?... I did have a raspberry orange though, the flesh is red, and there's a faint raspberry aftertaste. Pretty cool.
I love your mise en place- it does dirty up bowls, but it saves loads of time.

Kelly said...

Those oranges look great. I really should not read your blog over lunch. My mouth is watering.

Harmonia said...

Great new profile pic!

LOVE the picture of the orange slices, too!

Happy Weekend!

Crystal said...

What else will you use those little bowls for? At least that's my reasoning everytime I use them.

The orange looks like candy - yum!

-Crystal