Lately I’ve been working on making sure perfect isn’t the enemy of good. And that includes doing things at night. My brain turns off promptly at 3:30pm and afterward, best of luck getting me to form memories or complete tasks other than the muscle memory work of assembling and eating dinner.
When I was halfway to my favorite grocery store last Friday at 7pm without a plan in the world I thought, might as well. Sure, there was a half baked list in my purse, but it only got me so far. I woke up Saturday morning like a college student trying to piece together the events of a boozy brownout and remembered staring at ginger thinking, I should buy ginger, and then just didn’t do it. Barely good, miles from perfect.
What’s important is this: I managed to purchase the correct amount of olive oil, pasta, soy milk, tofu, Pecorino and almost enough shallots. Every staple except for rice! Thankfully I also did a small shop at Aldi last week that turned into a cheese spree.
Tonight, roasted red pepper mac and cheese. One XL roasted red pepper from a jar, one block tofu well pressed, one ounce grated Pecorino, a splash of cream, a spoonful of Bomba sauce, pureed. Later that will coat macaroni with pasta water, sharp cheddar and smoked gruyere. Under the broiler until bubbly and brown. Served alongside another yard romaine salad. This one will be tossed with a basic vinaigrette made from the vinegar in a jar of pepperoncini, golden raisins soaked in the same liquid, chopped pepperoncini, green onions and crumbled seed crackers.
Oh, and if you don’t like reading about salad with every meal, um, come back in mid-June *laughs in gardening.*
I love the salads in every meal, and that they don’t feel obligatory—they sound delicious and remind me that I love salad and also want it with all my meals. Thank you!
I love your sensibilities in creating dishes that make sense out of randomness from the fridge and freezer. And, it just so happens that I often have some of same things that you have.
Now, what to do with that CSA bok choy, tat soi, and great abundance of snow peas…🤔