I hate wasting food. More than that, I love that crusty stuff that forms at the bottom of the pan whenever you’re making something. I also have a penchant for getting the last drop of sauce out of a bowl (use some bread!), licking the cookie beaters, and eating the skin of things like acorn squash. Most people think I’m crazy, but in reality I’m just a bottom-feeder. Someone needs to eat the scraps, and I’m telling you, this is seriously the best part of a dish. When I scrape out a pot to serve some sassy vegan dish for people, I am just hoping that I will get some of the slightly charred, fantastically flavorful bits.
Now at work on Tuesday my girl Melissa told me that in Spain, they call the “crust” socarrat. The word is usually used to describe the layer of rice that forms on the bottom of a paella pan, but in my case…I’ll likely use it a little more broadly. There, they even fight over rice crust. It’s beautiful-all the sudden I’m not crazy, but I just live in the wrong place. I’m not complaining if it means that I will end up fitting in, in Spain.
Jambalaya socarrat!
At work, we made this kick-ass Jambalaya…but I was more interested in the bottom scraps. I mean check that picture-I swear the flavor floats to the bottom or something.
Today I decided that the hardest part about being vegan is not the no dairy and no fish, it’s the stigma that people carry with them about vegans. There’s a questioning of my decisions more than I have ever had. But while there are a lot of quiet vegans, this girl ain’t one of them. Feel free to question my choices-but don’t think for a second that I won’t question yours right back. :-)
