Sometimes, my dinners are not aesthetically pleasing! I know, what a shock. As a person who works full time and has a variety of responsibilities and interests, I can become too busy to make every single meal I’ve ever made beautifully aesthetic. Does it mean my non-aesthetic meals don’t taste good? Not at all! Sometimes, the uglier meals can taste the best. Even though this meal is not ugly, I could have plated less sloppily. Was it a delicious meal nonetheless? Yes! I made this recently as a meal of throwing things together and hoping they balance well. I started with marinating chicken with lemons and lots of spices, including cumin. Once marinated, I sautéed in a pan with a splash of olive oil until golden brown on both sides. I finished cooking the chicken in the oven to keep the chicken juicy. I also make saffron rice for the first time. You have to grind a couple of saffron threads in a Mortar & Pestle until a fine powder is created. A tip I saw online was once the saffron is ground, add two ice cubes into the Mortar & Pestle to absorb all of the saffron. This prevents any waste of this expensive ingredient. In the middle of cooking my rice, I poured the saffron mixture into the rice, which gave the rice a bright yellow tint. I also made a quick cucumber tomato salad and homemade tzatziki as sides to accompany the chicken and rice. The Tzatziki is a sauce consisting of Greek yogurt, cucumber and fresh dill. Both of these brightened up the dish and balanced the flavors. I also made Zach some sautéed tofu, which I added a small portion to my plate as well. This meal came together with juicy, flavorful chicken, aromatic rice, fresh cucumber, acidic tomatoes, as well as a creamy, bright Tzatziki sauce to round out the dish. I highly recommend making this meal and I would love to see your pictures of how you turned it into an aesthetic dinner!
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