Following Instincts Unleashes Creativity

A lot of us are creative in many areas of our lives. But enter the kitchen, pull out a cookbook, and sometimes you set aside your imagination.

In Cheryl Sindell’s perfect world, people listen to their inner urges to create and only resort to recipes as guidelines. They are intrigued with new combinations, challenged by what’s in the cupboard and moved to create something with a twist and a flair.

Sindell, author of “Cooking Without Recipes” (Kensington Books, 1997), offers the following advice on unleashing your creativity in the kitchen:

Use cookbooks as your inspiration, but remember that recipes are meant to be changed to suit your style.

Be daring with ingredients, adding a little of this and a little of that. Don’t have an ingredient on hand? Open your cupboard and see what appeals to you.

Be creative with leftovers. Beans from one meal can be added to soups, burritos or pasta salad in another.

Eat what’s right for you. If you’re usually a vegetarian, but you desire fish, then indulge. Watch your fat intake, but listen to what your body’s telling you.

Looking for a recipe for tonight? Here are some of Sindell’s possibilities:

Chunky-Vegetarian Sauce: Open a can of pureed tomatoes. Add a can of cored, peeled tomatoes and your favorite cut-up vegetables (chopped onions, bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, eggplant, fresh tomatoes), along with such seasonings as garlic and fresh or dried basil and oregano. Simmer the sauce as long as you want and spike it with a couple of tablespoons of wine vinegar for zest. Serve over pasta.

Southwestern Pizza: Add cornmeal to a basic dough recipe and use salsa for the sauce. Cheddar cheese, grilled chicken, avocado, red and yellow bell peppers, green chilies, chili powder, minced garlic, cilantro and red pepper flakes give pizazz to this pizza.

Improvisational Stir-Fry: Heat oil in a wok or skillet. Add fresh onions, garlic, mint and ginger (they should sizzle). When browned, add chicken, shrimp, scallops, strips of flank steak or a combination. For vegetables, use snow peas or snap peas, spinach or bok choy, bean sprouts, frozen veggies (to save time) or anything else you can think of. If you need more liquid when everything is cooked, add chicken broth and thicken with cornstarch. Season with soy sauce and serve over rice.

Hurried, Curried Rice: Saute an onion in a little olive oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add 1 cup of quick-cooking rice, 2 cups water, a small handful of raisins or currants and a teaspoon or more of curry powder. Simmer with the lid on for about 10 minutes or until cooked. For a complete meal, saute chicken, lean meat or shrimp with the onion.

And here’s a final thought from Sindell: “Believe in yourself, and the dishes you make will be unique.”

, DataTimes