Imagination kicking in.

I actually enjoy the days when I am almost left without food because that is when my cooking imagination kicks in. In order to be a good cook, you have to have imagination. Or you can just follow other's people recipes and stock up your fridge on regular basis. The opposite of me.lol I prefer playing around with cooking. I think it is way more rewarding unless you burn and oversalt your meal or something. Even if you do. Don't get discouraged. Cooking is a lot about trail-error. :)

So what those using your imagination to cook means? It means to go on a scavenger hunt into your fridge and cabinets and look for whatever is left and you can use to make yourself something to eat. Turn everything upside-down if needed. lol After about 10min of being on the hunt for ingredients ended up with this :

• 1 eggplant
• zucchini
• 3 carrots
• rice
• Chia seeds

Not complaining at all. I can work with this for sure. I decided I have enough ingredients to make myself a nice vegetable risotto. Which is one of my favorite dishes to make because everything is done in about 20 minutes and if I don't burn or oversalt something it turns out good. I get basically all my body needs for energy to ensure I can endure my basketball practices.

The preparation.

I started by boiling the water and adding carrots to it right away because carrots take longer to cook than zucchini and eggplant. I cook them separately. I spiced it a bit with Himalayan salt to start with. Until water started to boil I took the time to cut the eggplant and zucchini. When the water started boiling I added the rice to it and started to cook eggplant and zucchini in a separate pan.

I never cook my vegetables on any oils, but rather I add water instead to steam cook them in a way. I don't do it for too long as I want the vegetables to keep as many nutrients as possible, but also that they are not raw. It usually takes about 5-10min to cook them to the way I like them. I add my Olive oil when the cooking is done for the taste and another nutrient boost to my dishes.

For me, the taste is the same if you fry them in oil or steam cook them. But steam cooking is healthier and you are preserving way more nutrients from olive oil and vegetables. Anyways everybody has their own theories for cooking and this is kind of one of my own. I can't support it by any research, but for me, it makes a lot of sense. The more you fry the food the more nutrients are lost.

Finishing it up

Anyways, after about 5-10 vegetables were ready to be mixed with my rice and carrots which have been cooked also. It took about 15 minutes to cook the rice. This is how it looked before I mixed it all up. I added some paprika and pepper to it as my spices. To be honest those two are only ones I had.I really need to go grocery shopping.lol

After mixing it up for about 2-3 minutes I added the olive oil and mixed it up a bit more so everything blends nicely. One minute after my lunch was finished and ready to be served. As you can see I cooked a bit too much so I will probably have some leftovers for dinner. Or maybe as I am writing this I am kind of getting hungry again and I might for a second round. lol I love simple and delicious meals such as this one. Especially with my busy basketball schedule.

20 minutes is all you need for a delicious meal such as this. Invest time in your health my friends. Your body will thank you for it.

O yes, I almost forgot. You are probably wondering what I did with Chia seeds? If you look closely at the picture below you will notice chia seeds added on top of the risotto for some extra nutrient boost. I like to add all kinds of seeds to my meals. Mostly I use hemp hearts, chia seeds, and sesame seeds. You really don't notice them much in your meal, but they are packed with vitamins and minerals our body needs on daily basis.

If you looking for delicious vegan recipes visit my friends Lena blog or visit her Steemit account @lenasveganliving. It is full of delicious recipes you can use to improve your cooking skills. Here is the link for her blog.

So, my friends, I hope you enjoyed reading my post and hopefully will use some of the tips for cooking I wrote about. Cooking is all about trial and error. Pretty much like anything in life. Practice makes better. Have fun with cooking. Explore, make your own dishes, don't be afraid to make mistakes. Use your imagination.

Until next time, Bon Apettite, much love,

dbjegovic 💓

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