Minimalist cooking: a meal so basic, messing up isn't an option

After pulling into the grocery store parking lot, my friend and I realized that we had no idea what we wanted to cook for dinner. Rather than digging through my Pinterest boards via iphone, we decided to improvise on the spot. We surpassed the store's array of spices and herbs, thinking it would be interesting to put mother nature's goods to the test and see just how flavorful our food could be with only minimal add-ins. After some contemplation, we left the store with an avocado, two pieces of raw, organic chicken, an eggplant, and a bag of brussels sprouts. The only additions to be used were olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and ground, black pepper that we already had at the house.

To back our idea of ultra-simplicity, our cooking strategies proved to be basic as well. They consisted of cutting up the eggplant and sautéing the pieces over the stove in just a bit of olive oil, laying the brussels sprouts out over a baking sheet and drizzling some balsamic vinegar over them (we put them in the oven for 20 minutes at 450 degrees), cooking the chicken over the stove in a pan (lined with some extra-virging olive oil to prevent sticking), and adding the sliced avocado onto the chicken after they were fully cooked. That's it.

For the lack of ingredients used, this meal didn't taste as bland as you would imagine. In fact, it tasted pretty great! It just goes to show that you can prepare a healthy, delicious meal with very few resources (or cooking skills for that matter). Now you officially can't use the excuse "I can't cook", or, "I don't have anything to cook with" to justify a trip to the drive-through.

Not in the mood to cook up a fancy, complex meal? Give simplicity a chance! Your tastebuds just may be pleasantly surprised!