I wake up after sleeping in late and glide down to the kitchen. I treat myself to lovely breakfasts of fresh fruit topped waffles, omelets, or homebaked muffins and steaming cups of tea. After whiling away the morning with a good book I have a lunch of fresh vegetable salad or a bowl of soup and fresh baked bread. I play on the computer, do some work, wander around, etc. until I sit down to a nutritious and organic dinner. Salmon and couscous? Sweet Potato and black bean chili? Eight Vegetable Stir Fry? I will close the evening watching some deep, philosophical film and have sorbet or something before I drift into sleep.
That is the initial thought. However, when it comes to crunch time I am inevitably hit with the need, to, well...eat like a child. Bring on the tunafish sandwich on white, the hot dogs and baked beans, the bologna, the fish sticks and mac-n-cheese! Load on the oreos, the Honey Nut Cheerios, the PopTarts, the soda. On Nachos, on popcorn, on pizza and...so on.
This time I tried to be better, honest. I can't say that I have succeeded completely, but I haven't ordered pizza once. I have had convenience food, but I find a bit of comfort in the fact that they are Amy's Kitchen Organic frozen meals. I am a fan and at least I have had some vegetables. My favorites are the Veggie Loaf Whole Meal, Broccoli Pot Pie and the Indian Mattar Paneer. I have been supplementing by digging into my stash of watermelon (sprinkled with some fleur de sel, divine!), oranges, strawberries and grapes.
And I actually cooked for myself. I made linguine with red sauce and had it with a glass of wine (a Carmenere/Merlot to be exact) and a cup of cherries. I have included photographic evidence. Some may argue that spaghetti and meat sauce is still a kid's dish, but I would argue that there is little of the Spaghetti-O about this. I tweaked a recipe from Southern Living slightly and I think it is a lot better than bottled.
Recipe:
1/2 pound mild Italian sausage
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce (I used Muir Glen)
1 6 oz can tomato paste
3 cups water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Some Italian herb blend--a good couple of shakes
1 to 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
Cooked Linguine
Shredded Parmesan
1. I buy bulk sausage when I can, but you can just cut sausages open and get the filling out. Cook the ground beef and sausage in a large skillet (or Dutch oven) over medium heat for about six minutes. Stir it to break up the meat into crumbles. Add onion and garlic and cook for four more minutes or until the meat is no longer pink and the onion has softened some. Drain and set aside. Wipe the skillet clean.
2. Combine the tomato sauce and the next 8 ingredients in your skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. A splatter guard is a wonderful device for times like this. I keep mine just slightly off so that a bit of sauce is exposed. I think it lets some moisture evaporate while protecting most of my cooking surface, but I could be wrong. Add the sausage mixture and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 hour and 30 minutes or until it thickens. Serve over the pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.
It was satisfying and filled the house with the homey scent of cooking. All in all it was a success. I prefer cooking for others, but it was nice to treat myself.
Tonight I was back to the usual. I had fried egg and Ore-Ida Crispy Crowns with Heinz Ketchup and green peas....I guess there is no keeping the kid down. I hope Adam comes home soon so I will be inspired to eat like an adult again. If only for a meal or two.
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