Today’s recipe turned out so well I had to write this out just as soon as I could. Sometimes “freestyle” works, and it’s good to take notes for later. Yes, there are certain principles involved because after all these years I kind of know what I’m doing, but chance and more than a little good luck must have been with me too.

Essentially, this dish is about being opportunistic, reading the leftovers correctly, and then using what little skill I have.

The situation was as follows: I had some shrimp from the previous day’s meal – so that’s something that absolutely needed to be used right away. Then I had some leftover white rice, that had been cooked with a little celery, along with some vegetables.

I immediately started thinking “gumbo” but I didn’t have any stock, or any turkey, or okra. But the spirit of the idea moved me forward from there.

I did, however, have a couple of chicken tenders. So I chopped up the chicken, sautéed it in the pan – teaspoon or two of olive oil and some sea-salt – along with some fresh onion and garlic, then kept it moist with white wine vinegar. I added a pice of white fish that had nothing else planned for it, then introduced the rice. Next I stirred in a can of Hunts diced tomatoes along with some fresh parsley from the garden and a tablespoon of soy sauce, and – once it was all hot -the shrimp too, chopped into fairly small pieces. I moved the mixture to one side of the pan, turned the heat down, covered my skillet, and let the vegetables heat alongside the rice mixture.

You’d think white wine, but this meal actually paired extremely well with a light “Pernicious” IPA.

Bon appétit – DEREK