7.30.2009

in the quotidian

under soapy hot
water and most banal chore
skin glows red with joy

7.27.2009

day 28

day 28 on kitchen island. everyone has deserted me, and i am left to fend for myself. luck was on my side this evening, though, and i was able to spear a small fish.

* * *
okay, so i'm not really stranded on an island, although when it comes to cooking i often feel that way. i'm giving it my best attempt, though, and with the friends i have and the knowledge they have i should be able to make at least 4 dishes come 2012.

on saturday i ate quinoa for the first time. people had boasted about this complete protein, and after eating it, i see what all the fuss was about. this dish had a basil-lemon dressing and was served cold with craisins and raspberries. tonight i was determined to recreate it, but dominicks had no quinoa to be found, so instead i bought cous cous. the end result was nothing like the dish from saturday, but considering i dumped all the ingredients for the cous cous into the pot at the same time as opposed to letting the liquid ones boil first then adding the cous cous, i'm pretty pleased it's even edible.

i truly did cook up a small fish--a salmon. that was terrifying. try cooking a meat that's the same color before it's prepared as it's supposed to be after it's prepared. these things should come with some kind of bell or light to indicate their ready. i think i cooked it in a little too much oil, but that's probably for the best as it helps mask the fish's overdone texture.

to add some green to the plate, i did up some broccoli and green beans very plain but tasty. they went well with the salmon unlike the cous cous which was sort of like eating peanut butter with bacon-- i've done it, but most wouldn't.

i paired this dish with a screw top red wine that had been allowed to breath for exactly 7 days. because this was a last minute discovery and a much needed drink, it was consumed at a slightly cooler temperature than typically recommended--refrigerator temperature.

no fires, no food poisoning, no trips to the hospital.
all in all, quite a success i'd say!

7.26.2009

once, i was a little girl, and i didn't ask questions. i talked to strangers about their dogs and favorite colors. in the middle of the day i would announce an evening concert and perform a tap dance wearing a polka-dotted leotard and pink plastic pearls. i yelled when i was angry, and i cried when my animal balloon popped. i didn't hesitate.

then, i was very old and reminiscing one early morning, huddled into the paisley comforter, unable to sleep because of aches. i contrasted this little girl to the decades that ensued and wondered where all that uninhibited zest went. moreover, i wondered why i wasted all those years--all those years that went by like tics on the second hand--worrying rather than doing.

7.17.2009

this and that

oh blog. how you've been neglected.

because of this. and this.
and also this [but not this].
and a few other things, which are unlinkable.

but after this, this will pick up again.
and then there will be this: