I was really hungry when I got home, so the first thing I did was put some rice in the rice cooker. I cut some tomatoes and a red pepper, set the pepper aside, and put the tomatoes into my large wok with a tablespoon of butter on very low heat. Then I cut a chicken breast half into pieces, intending to cook it separately from the vegetables and then adding it at the end, and I set them aside. I put two pinches of thyme in the wok.
Then I washed my cutting board and opened my fridge, pondering. I took out the top half of a leek (the bottom half was used in an earlier dish). I cut most of the dark green leaves away and threw them out (they're bitter and not terribly suitable for cooking). I slice the light green core vertically and put it in with the tomatoes. Then I took what I thought was the rest of my garlic out from my cupboard (there was still one clove left that I didn't find until later) and peeled it and sliced it and put them in the wok. I then poured some olive oil into the mix, and I also mixed in a couple generous pinches of oregano. It was at this point that I thought to myself that I mixed up the order that the ingredients should have gone into the wok. I comforted myself by smelling the nice aroma the mixture gave despite any potential error.
I heated up another frying pan and put the chicken, unseasoned, into it. I put the sliced red peppers into the wok and turn up the heat a little. I sprinkled a moderate amount of five spice onto the chicken and poured a bit of soy sauce into the frying pan. "This is no good," I thought to myself, "soy sauce and five spice don't go well with tomatoes and garlic and olive oil." So I decided to keep the chicken separate from the vegetables.
As I was finishing up cooking the chicken, I took out a green onion and sliced it up to garnish to chicken and some cilantro to chop and mix with the tomatoes. I served the chicken on a plate and sprinkled the green onion on top. Then I turned off the heat for the tomatoes and I mixed in the cilantro and a few pinches of marjoram. I got a lemon I really needed to use out of the fridge and sliced it into eighths, not really knowing what exactly I was going to do with it. I served the tomatoes on a plate, and after a few seconds of contemplation, I arranged the lemon slices in a circle around the tomatoes. I got some rice (which was long done) and enjoyed my wonderful and delicious lunch. I was especially pleased with the presentation, as that is often something I care very little about when making food.
While I was eating, I thought about how I could possibly have such a meal for lunch. I realized that I did was put good, delicious ingredients that worked well together into the same pan and added some heat. My ultimate realization was that I could only do this if I had delicious ingredients in my fridge and cupboards to begin with. So let this be a lesson to you, to always have delicious food on hand.
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