Tag Archives: simple food

Law of Diminishing Culinary Returns

Posted on October 30, 2009 | 2 comments

Chowhound has an interesting piece this week on a subject dear to my heart. I recall making a complicated meat sauce, boiling noodles and basically spending four hours to turn out a lasagne for my husband and I. I asked how he liked it and he said it was “OK.” Now I make the ten-minute version and he likes it just fine. After the four-hour lasagne, I made chicken breasts sauteed and finished with lemon and capers and the result? “Wow! That’s the best chicken I’ve ever had!”

The most time consuming meals I’ve ever made include a cassoulet I made for my family over 20 years ago (now they have a kit with the appropriate sausage, duck, duck fat et al) and an entire side of salmon covered with scallop mousse and topped with 1/2 rounds of zucchini to look like scales. Plus deep-fried parsley as a garnish. That was for graduation from cooking school for my family, godparents and my cousins.

I now buy mainly local ingredients, the best I can find, and don’t mess with them. Local organic butter, good olive oil, local produce. Pop things into the oven or onto a hot grill and they’re delicious. We just bought an inexpensive patio grill so plan to use it even with snow on the ground! Simple things like grilled radicchio (tossed with salt and pepper and a little olive oil) taste fantastic when browned a bit on the grill.

We mainly use healthy ingredients, OK too much beef but that’s Jim’s preference, not mine. I’d have more fish if he weren’t allergic to anything that swims. We splurge on occasion and have scalloped potatoes with half-and-half, or buy a pint of chocolate ice cream (I add milk and a banana and make a milkshake for breakfast).

The holidays will be interesting this year. Jim can’t take any time off from Sunday until Christmas so we won’t get to Thanksgiving at Nanny’s, my first in eight years to miss and the first Jim will miss in his entire life. I may actually have to cook a turkey! We’re talking leftover soup and sandwiches for two weeks! I’ll need to work on that menu and figure out if I can get him to like Brussels sprouts. Cheers! Dee

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Posted in Education

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Life

Posted on July 4, 2009 | 1 comment
Patriotic Zoe

Patriotic Zoe

In the end, what one does with his/her life is what is most important.  Today, Jim had the day off (unpaid, of course because he’s a consultant).  We drove to the Big City to check out a country/western store where he got one shirt, I got three.  All had red, white or blue in them so each was 15% off.  They do also have golf bracelets available, which are not normally found.  I wear two, both magnetic.  Left hand eight 1,000 gauss magnets, right hand 11 magnets at 1,200 gauss apiece.  It holds at bay my arthritis, ten years at a time.

Then we went to get a gift for Jim’s Dad, had lunch at a local diner and headed back up the hill.  It took 1.5 hours to go 20 miles.  And I was very upset to get home (after dropping off Jim, who was snoozing in the car) after lines at the grocery and drycleaner, to find that my garage was blocked by a non-existent new neighbor who’s only here for the weekend but chose to park in front of our garage to unload.

All the while I was trying to remember why I’m here and what we’re doing.  SO, we had two lovely steaks on the grill, NY strip rubbed with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Organic frozen french fries.  Corn on the cob with sage butter.

Simplifying our life, especially after the 1.5 hour  commute, was a choice to see fireworks from our deck upstairs rather than brave traffic and parking once again.  A muted, brief fusillade came from The Canyons, then another community farther away let go with their brief barrage.  We’ve lived next door to the largest land-based fireworks in the US for five years so didn’t need to be underneath them to have a brief celebration or pre-celebration of our nation’s glory.  It was a few quiet moments watching in the distance with my love and our dog.

I put on my fishermans’ knit cardigan from the ladies in Oban, Scotland and it warmed me up twenty degrees.  It was perfect.

There is a tax for living here, though.  I put on my Utah plates today (Jim did but I went and did the inspection and got them) because I had to, so I now have a dual registration with our home state.  For a state that welcomes temporary residents it’s already cost us $200 for the car and $100 for the dog.  Do wives need to be registered?  Whoops, wrong state to ask that question.

Our bird cranes seem to have left as of a week ago, but construction cranes abound as they finish off this shopping paradise next door.  The great thing is that when it’s done we don’t need to see or hear anything.  The guest bedroom is loud during the day, especially when I open up in the morning to get cool air in to close off for the afternoon when it may get to 80+ outside.  Other windows look out on the nature preserve and aside from walkers, runners, strollers, and the like it’s quiet out there.

It’s good to have a bit of time to read.  I didn’t bring a single book with me and our neighbor just gifted me with her cookbook which I will read and review.  I’m no pastry chef so really appreciate what they are able and willing to do to further their art and science.

I’m thinking of a new feature for this blog.  Give me a day or two and I’ll flesh it out for you.  Meantime, read, write and recommend this blog to your foodie friends.  I dispensed with the ‘rithmatic so you owe me that one!   Cheers and Happy USA Birthday!

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Posted in Editorial

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