Living in the mountains, as he does, our friend has the exact opposite method of cooking of mine.
We are two, and I usually cook for two, or two plus planned leftovers.... for two.
He is one and he usually cooks for an army.
He has one tall refrigerator with no freezer; one tall freezer and one chest freezer.
Getting down the mountain for fresh produce is not always an option. So, when he buys fresh, he buys a lot and cooks it all within a few days, making curries and soups and stews to fill his freezers and augment his dry stores of rices, pastas and beans.
I have few photos - neither the ambiance or his kitchen are conducive to photos - we were eating, drinking and talking - not thinking about blogs, but this is what he made while we were there:
Escudella. This is a Catalan dish, heartier than a soup but with more broth than a stew. It had whole pieces of chicken in it, on the bone with skin, as well as white sausage and blood sausage, chickpeas, carrots, onions, turnips, leeks, cabbage, and I didn't ask what else. He had made a huge kettle (12 litres maybe) a day or two earlier, fed some neighbors as well as us and froze the rest.
Samfaina. Also a Catalan dish, very similar to Ratatouille. Catalan cooking experts would argue that it is the precursor to Ratatouille as is the Catalan language is to the dialect of Provence. It's a simple dish of courgette (zucchini,) aubergine (eggplant), onions, garlic and tomatoes. He had about 3 litres left to go in the freezer.
Escalivada. A Catalan staple, this is roasted red peppers
and aubergine (eggplant). He roasts the vegetables in the front of his
wood-stove. When the skins are properly black, he peels them, tears
the tender veg into strips, layers them in a dish and drizzles with
good olive oil. This doesn't get frozen but eaten at every meal until gone.
Escalivada is served on Tomato Bread, another Catalan staple.
Tomato Bread: Toast a piece of good, country bread. When done, rub it vigorously with a split clove of raw garlic. Cut a small tomato (the special kind, for tomato bread) in half and rub well over the bread, squeezing slightly. Drizzle with olive oil, salt if you like and eat, either as is or piled high with Escalivada, anchovies optional.
Tomato bread is eaten with every meal and on it's own as a snack. If you buy a baguette sandwich, you will discover that the interior has been smeared with garlic and tomato before the sandwich is made.
I made the much more boring Christmas dinner consisting of a Roast Capon, Mashed Potatoes with Leeks and Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Mushrooms.
I decided not to stuff the bird, but, instead filled the cavity with 2 well-pricked lemons and some sprigs of rosemary. I put a paste of butter, Dijon mustard, rosemary and paprika under the skin and basted it with white wine.
We were pleased.
It was tender, moist, and the gravy was (IMHO) fantastic!
Our friend promptly divided up the leftovers into freezer containers....
Leaving me no hope of having one of my favorite breakfasts the next morning: a slice (or 2) of bread smothered in hot gravy.
I had to have Tomato Bread with Escalivada instead.
And stinky cheese.
Poor me.
