Embedded Files
Group Cooking
By Avery Jordan
Foodstuffs - March 19, 2024As my time at the Purple House comes to an end, I am reminded of many things. I remember the late nights spent with friends during wine night, the movies watched as a family using a projector on the big wall, and the countless adventures and roommates that made my time here so memorable.
For nearly the last 3 years, I have been living at what has come to be known as the "Purple House" I plan to write more on my experience at Purple House later, so I will keep it brief. Located in the Bon Ton (historic) district in Bozeman, MT, Purple House is owned by Donna and Rich, who seem to think that owning a historic house means that they can keep us living in a DIY-crazy house. In short; dozens of layers of peeling paint, AKA "the landlord special", unsealed window trim that loves to trap moisture, and poor insulation that allows for temperatures ranging from 27.5F to 82.5F (both recorded!!). But that is not why we love Purple House... clearly. We love Purple House because there is a perpetual congregation of people. With 5 of us living here, you can always count on having a few extras at the dinner table.
That brings me to the topic of this post. Group cooking. When I first moved into Purple House, we ate together maybe once a month, each making sure we contributed to family night. After 6 months, Dalton moved out and was replaced with Adam, an exchange student from New Zealand. It was odd at first, trying to understand the cultural differences. Kiwis have a big culture of sharing house items, which is alright by me, except when he considered my soap to be a house item. Interesting for sure. He also was accustomed to trading dinner days, each day of the week alternating which roommates cooked for the house. We as a house decided to take up the custom. It turned out to be very fruitful.
Purple House
Purple House
In Fall - notice the continuous "under construction" yard the landlords have been kind enough to give us.
House dinners quickly gained popularity, as it came a nice reprieve to come home most days to a nice home-cooked meal. Having a rotating chore list for the house, Dinners evolved into a competition where the winner would not have to clean the following week. This competition turned our meals fancier and fancier, and it quickly became apparent as to who the chefs were. Jacob, having worked in a kitchen, won most weeks, and on multiple occasions, we had similar dinners as we failed to coordinate what our plans were.
With months and months of these dinners, continuing well over two years, my meals evolved. I learned more and more about how to optimize meals for large groups. One thing of importance I learned was to always make more than you think is necessary. There have been several instances in which I planned on feeding five people, and dinner quickly evolved into a group of eight - or more. Planning for these occasions is complicated, which is why it is just better to plan to feed eight people every night. One other thing I learned is to keep dishes to a minimum. I often am a fan of a one-pot meal, opting to use my enameled Dutch oven to cook a hearty stew, or my personal favorite of Spanish chicken and rice.
One-Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice
One-Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice
Chicken thighs, frozen veggies, and rice come together for this ultra-simple feed-a-lot-of-people meal.
In the future, I plan to walk you through some of my "recipes", if you can call them that. Most of what I cook comes from half-brained scheming, vague flavor profiles, and whatever I can find in my pantry. When I look to cook something, I usually look through a few recipes, take bits and pieces of each, and create an amalgamation of food which ~ usually ~ turns out okay. Want a hint? dark beers are good with slow-cooked pork. IPA? Not so much. On the other hand, (bragging), the first time I made paella, my roommate's brother, who had been to Spain, claimed that my paella was so much better than the 'inedible' dish he was served while in Spain.
That being said, Always try to find an innovative way to cook, and never follow the recipe to the letter. Half of the flavor comes from inspiration, and of course, love. My mom taught me that.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse