Dinner for Two

I love to sit down at the end of the day to a home cooked meal. Day-to-day cooking gets me down sometimes but I am fortunate in that my spouse and I share responsibilities. Sometimes I cook, sometimes he cooks and sometimes we cook together. Chopping, slicing, and other preparatory work doesn't feel like work when accompanied by conversation. And a few sips of wine help too ;-).

Ready to Serve

Ready to Serve, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Believe it or not, this was made mainly from leftovers. We made a Chinese fondue on New Year's Eve - a great way to slow down a meal and savour every morsel. We had a bit of leftover beef and lots of vegetables. We enjoy cooking together - we chopped and talked and then sat down for a feast.

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You may notice a few changes on the blog - I have decided to keep a record of the books I am reading this year - with a few short annotations (there is a link at the top) and this month I am participating in a Mindful Writing Challenge - taking a few moments each day to be mindful about something and write about it. Comments there are welcome too!

Cooking

meal, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Nothing like a good stir fry! Too often our meals are heavy on protein and light on vegetables. A stir fry reverses that - chock full of colourful vegetables. No need to add a salad, it's all cooked in one dish. I like the crunch of the perfectly cooked broccoli. No soggy vegetables for me. We added some scallops for a perfect meal.

Feasting

Feasting, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

I spent years as a single mother cooking for an unappreciative audience. I shouldn't say unappreciative - just young people with an as yet uneducated palates. Now they are young adults. My son has become an excellent cook, surpassing my skills, so it was fun to invite him over to dinner and present him with this stuffed trout with mango cucumber dill salsa. The trout was stuffed with a mixture of spinach, portobello mushrooms and dill. It was a great success. Even he had little to offer in the way of suggestions for improvement.

The recipe came from a cookbook by Anne Lindsay. Accompaniment included 3 colours of new potatoes tossed with olive oil and dill and a stirfry of zucchini, 3 colours of peppers with garlic and rosemary. This was followed by a salad and then sorbet with fresh berries. Three day weekends make it so much easier to entertain!

Jan 4/10: Burner

Jan 4/10: Burner, originally uploaded by susanvg.

My new stove has a double burner, the inner one for low simmers, the outer one for hotter cooking. It has already had a workout. I love to cook on gas; its fast response as you turn it up or down makes for fewer disasters! When I first moved into my home more than 20 years ago I was nervous about gas. There had been a major explosion in an apartment building because of a faulty natural gas connection and the memory of the event had coloured my feelings about gas. I soon got used to my stove and grew to appreciate it. And during those power failures, it was always nice to enjoy my coffee!

Day 233: Barbequing

Day 233: Barbequing, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Summer is the time for the barbeque. The air conditioned house stays cool while the hot coals outside do the cooking. With the hot,humid air we have been having, it just seemed like the right thing to do. The cicada and cricket chorus serenaded us as our supper cooked.

We always start the fire with a chimney - a metal cylinder with air vents at the bottom in which we crumple up newspaper, followed by coals. Light the bottom and within a short period of time the coals are hot. Then we just lift the chimney and spread the coals. Years ago the local general store near our country place sold chimneys for about $5. A manufacturer fancied it up, added a handle and sells it for considerably more. Either way, it works beautifully without the addition of toxic firestarters.

Day 49: Making Soup

Day 49: Making Soup, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Comfort food - that's what soup is. I rarely use a recipe - just throw into the pot any vegetables I have around. Some soups include legumes - this one just fresh vegetables. I love the aroma in the house as it simmers on the stove. I smell it now as I write. It's a great way to start a meal or can be a satisfying meal in itself. A great example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts as the blending of flavours creates something new!