Simple Pleasures...

Every once in a while, you come across something so simple, so minimalist in nature and so damn basic that you almost laugh at the very thought of its existence. If you blink, you may miss it. If you think too hard about it, you lose it. If you over think it, you f#*@ it up. If you just relax and enjoy it, well...you enjoy it! This is one of those items for me. For those that know me well in the kitchen, you know I tend to try to push it when it comes to ingredients and compositions of such. I enjoy simple when I eat most days, when I am just seeking mental soothing, total comfort and palate bliss. But when I cook professionally, it does not give me the stimulation like that of something more complex, more intricate, with more layering of flavors and sensory arousal. It doesn't turn me on. For me, it's like music...if I am just lying around on a cold, quiet night being brain dead and scanning various a cookbook looking for random acts of culinary goodness to contemplate, then a mellow, cool, simple tune will do, but most of the time, especially when I am awake, I want it loud, hard, fast, and full of aggression! Push it or go home right??? Otherwise, why do it. To each his or her own. The point of this post other than to convey my views on the simple is to offer up one of my favorite simplistic bites in the fall...here is a tray of warm, glistening, spicy and sweet pumpkin seeds delicately balanced with a savory edge and intoxicating textural element. Simmered first in butter, garlic, habanero chilies and arabic spices for the making of a flavored butter to cook with then fried crisp, tossed in sea salt, white pepper, sugar, and cinnamon. Tasty treats. In a word...Simple!