Creativity in Cooking

At Vegetarium, cooking is part of our daily tasks. Every day, one of us cooks for the others. And because the food available here is quite limited and depends on the seasons, we have to figure out how to cook differently every time. It’s also a way to avoid having really simple meals every day, like boiled potatoes and lentils. Most of the time, there are also leftovers from the day before, and we try to use them in our cooking and make them into something that feels like a fresh meal.

Before coming here, I thought I knew how to cook, but once I arrived, I felt like a beginner again. The habits I had at home weren’t really possible here: no frying in oil or butter, so things are either boiled or cooked in the oven. Obviously, there is no meat, cheese and eggs are quite rare, and sweet things are even rarer. The main foods here are vegetables, legumes, and starchy foods. So, I had to learn how to make more elaborate meals, how to use spices (there are a lot!), dried herbs, and whatever we have growing in the garden.

It felt even harder at the beginning of my stay because there were very few vegetables available. Nowadays, we have peppers, zucchinis, and tomatoes, but at that time, it wasn’t their season yet. We mainly had to base our meals around potatoes, carrots, and beetroots, besides the legumes.

In the beginning, it was mainly mashed potatoes, soup, boiled vegetables, and rice. Now, I manage to come up with a new recipe every time I cook. I’m just experimenting with new things and ideas that come into my mind. I feel like I’ve become creative in the way I cook, and I feel like I could cook with almost anything now.

We started making pizzas out of chickpeas, lentils, or polenta, with toppings made from different herbs and vegetables, ratatouille, tarts, fries (with any vegetables that could work), some kind of bread in the oven… We also make cakes and patties with leftovers. I once even made cookies with leftover porridge from the day before.

Honestly, I look forward to going back home and showing my new skills to my family.

Zoé