I started to type the following sentence. Actually, truth be told, I did type the following sentence and then I deleted it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about food lately.
I deleted it because as soon as I typed it I realized just how often I start off with the same leading statement. I’ve been thinking a lot about … lately. It’s sort of funny, but that’s kind of the point here – to write about what I’ve been thinking about. Books, names, dining room layouts, holiday cards. Food, family, blogging, light fixtures. Running, coffee shops, anxiety, death. I guess I’m all over the place, and maybe the one thing that ties the loose ends all together might just be a declarative statement at the beginning of my ramblings.
I really have been thinking a lot about food lately – in fact, I had a post almost completed just over three weeks ago – one post of many that seemed too trite to actually publish in the midst of all our worries. I had gotten several requests for various recipes – usually via Instagram – because I often photograph my counter at some point in the process of making dinner. I like that simple way of documenting what we are eating even though I’m not interested in writing a food centered blog at all. There’s always a point where most everything is prepped and starting to simmer when I look down at the ingredients and think about how pretty they look there and I take a photograph of my 18″ of counter space next to my completely average oven. The lighting is bad, and the food isn’t styled, but it’s what we’re eating for dinner, and we are all about to sit down together and eat it. Occasionally, by some miracle, there is little to no complaining from the oldest child and passable manners by the younger one, and everyone’s happy and grateful to be together and fed.
One of the little things that I miss about my niece involves my dinner making Instagrams. More often than not, I’d post a picture and within seconds my phone would buzz on the countertop next to me and I’d see her sparklediva “like”. Then I would laugh out loud, and sometimes even call her out for liking the photo – especially when I knew I was making something I knew she wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. Then her mom would comment on a photo, about how good dinner looked, and I’d give anything to be making it in her kitchen – just to give her a break from hospital food and fast food take-out and the endless frozen lasagnas. Food can be a good source of conversation, and much more. Dinner is often a centering point in the day, and missing out on those moments in the kitchen can throw off rhythms in a way that isn’t always so obvious until you are sitting in a hospital room wishing you were sitting at the table with healthy food on the table and half-obliging children next to you. The last “conversation” I had with my niece was over the brown sugar clafoutis with pears I was making for an office birthday. She was in the hospital, and I told her I wished she was with me to taste test the finished result. She responded back with an I wish and a zillion exclamation points. I want to make it again, for Thanksgiving, and then cry over it as it bakes.
Some people describe themselves as stress eaters. I’m a stress non-eater. When I’m tense and anxious or worried I usually forget to eat, or refuse to. I like to eat, but only when things taste really good. I think my ability to taste is the first thing to go when I’m stressed. I’ve learned over the years that not eating never ends well – I could point to many examples of this in my life where food sort of disappeared off my radar for awhile – postpartum, exam weeks, work projects, late night hours on last minute projects. I am getting better at dealing with this as I get older (and wiser?). Sometimes it just means stepping up to the countertop, knife in hand, food to be diced and thrown into a pan, heat on the stove, garlic and butter and onions and salt. Savory first, sweets last. That’s my pattern as I can see it now, more clearly than when I’m in the middle of it. It’s been a bit of an escape for me the past week or so, forcing myself back into the ritual of making dinner has been bringing taste back to me and to this house.
The ritual of eating for me now is very much tied to the process of making. Don’t let the photos fool you – it’s not fine dining on an endless array of selections around here. I’m actually fairly boring (stuck in my ways) in my habits. Almost every single morning of every single day all year long I make a pot of old-fashioned oatmeal, and serve up three bowls of it with a little milk, a little brown sugar, and some dried fruit (usually raisins). I actually order oatmeal most breakfasts out, as if I haven’t had my fill on all the other days. I eat a handful of almonds late morning at my desk because we don’t keep tree nuts at home and I.love.them.so, and then I eat leftovers for lunch, or the occasional take-out sushi from the grocery store when we polish off all the dinner at home. Dinner is the shining star for me – it’s my dessert. I love to make it, I love to eat it, I love how warm and content and nourished I feel for the rest of the evening.
Below are some quick links to recent recipe requests. If I’ve missed any, please let me know. You are welcome to follow me on Instagram as well. (It’s not all food, I promise.) Button in the sidebar. I talked about Blue Apron here, we’ve used it four times now, and have started making some of our favorite recipes again on our own.
Cauliflower Steaks with Spinach Gratin Blue Apron Smitten Kitchen had a similar recipe yesterday, minus the spinach
Mushroom Bourguignon Smitten Kitchen
Purple Plum Torte Smitten Kitchen
Brown Sugar Clafoutis with Pears Orangette
Pasta with Yogurt, Peas and Chile Orangette
Burst Tomato Galette with Corn and Zucchini Smitten Kitchen
Supper Tart The Splendid Table
One Pan Farro with Tomatos Smitten Kitchen
Hooray! Thanks for the links 🙂 Are you vegetarian or just have a preference for vegetarian meals? We’re moving in a more plant-based direction at our house and we need all the inspiration we can get.
My husband is a vegetarian, and so we all are by default. I was never a huge meat eater anyway, and I don’t love to prepare it, so it’s just a special treat at restaurants for me.
My girls eat meat in restaurants as well. They also love a good hot dog occasionally, and absolutely love bbq – ribs, pulled pork, etc.
We have an incredible Deli just across the street from us – we probably pick up sandwiches there once a month. I get the Memphis Stax – pulled pork topped with slaw – and F and I split it. E gets the Chicago dog – plain, just ketchup (boring), and M gets the Panino Fresco which will convert any meat eater into a veggie ordering machine at a deli. A slab of fresh mozz slathered in house made olive tapenade. It’s so big it makes two meals.
I do think in general that a veg diet does contribute to better overall health, so I’m grateful to have married into that sort of lifestyle. In the early years we ate a lot of boring veg meals, but there’s really nothing tasteless or bland about vegetarian meals, and there’s an overabundance of inspiration and variety out there. (And our doctors love us!)
I’m a stress non-eater also, even though I know that not eating makes an already stressful situation (whatever it is) even more miserable.
We are really bad about getting stuck in food ruts, so I’m hoping to add some of these recipes to our regular rotation!