In a semi state of exhaustion this evening, I plopped the baby in the walker and got cooking. I had no idea what I was making. Ever done this? I call it fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants cooking. It's when you just start pulling things out of the fridge, the pantry, the spice jar -- hoping you can pull together something edible and with no road map or recipe to guide you other than hunger.
Luckily, I had some decent ingredients on hand: a pound of Alaskan Sockeye salmon, a bunch of (slightly wilted) basil, garlic, olive oil, fruit, and a package of really good pasta that I dug out from the back of the pantry and suddenly remembered splurging on it at the market a few months ago.
What to make? Pesto. Yes -- definitely, pesto. I got the Cuisinart fired up, then started steaming the salmon while sending the pasta for a dip in the salted boiling water. While tossing a few crackers to the baby, I chopped up some random fruit (hey -- we have to get our five a day!). Fifteen minutes later, dinner was ready. Five minutes after that, dinner was devoured.
I have been under the weather, so putting together a decent (and healthy) meal felt good -- both because it was nourishing and it was an accomplishment.
Which brings me to Part B of this post. Ever found yourself singing a song, and you catch yourself belting out some ridiculous line that's way over the top WRONG? So, I had a jazz CD on, and some vocalist was doing a rendition of "My Favorite Things." I start singing along, and "doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles" somehow turned into "CRISCO with noodles." Now, I wouldn't touch a canister of Crisco with a 10-foot pole, so I have no idea how this slipped in there. I suppose it could have been worse, maybe "DISCO with noodles." But somehow, right now, that sounds kind of fun.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Haphazard cooking -- and singing
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3 comments:
OK- I have to know, if you do not touch Crisco, how do you make a good pie crust. A real, roll it out, use ice water, Crisco, Robin Hood flour pie crust?
BUTTER! I find that a real 100% butter crust is just as flakey as those made with Crisco. My mom and sis are converts too. ; )
Frankly, "schnitzel with noodles" doesn't sound all that appetizing to me. I picture pastry with pasta...oh, wait, I'm thinking of "streusel." Never mind.
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