Feeling cheated by the arrival of “spring”? Um hum, I hear you.
There are a fair amount of mopers around these parts as well. Why? Ah, you see the puppers were in a tizzy because leur maître, Remi, was out of town for a few days and so they were stuck with…sigh…the girl…me. No big romps in the country. Oh, the utter sadness of sofa surfing and resting weary heads on velvet pillows…
I also felt a touch out of sorts but not exactly for the same reasons. You see, when you spend as much time together as Remi and I do, when one of us suddenly goes missing it is as if an arm had been misplaced. I spend an inordinate amount of time looking for it too. However, one way in which I let my “freedom” sing is in the kitchen.
Now I love to cook, don’t get me wrong, even in the truly closet-like “turn around and there you are” space in our current apartment. It is the “what” that tires me. As I often cook for both lunch and dinner, that is a whole lot of menus to scramble. So when Remi is gone, I don’t think, I copy. Things like the really perfectly balanced goat cheese, radish and arugula “tartine” (I used Wasa crackers instead for the crunch factor) drizzled with fruity olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt from La Tartine Gourmande (minus the endamame–again, Trader Joe’s how I long for thee!). Or my version of Ella Coquine’s “Italian Girl Stir Fry” aka “Pasta sans Pasta”.
It goes a little something like this: chop broccoli into florets, slice up red papers, prepare cooked chick peas. Sauté all of the above with a sliced onion and several cloves of garlic plus more spices than you can shake a stick at (chipolte, cayenne and ancho pepper? Uh, yup), add in enough coulis de tomates to coat, top with a blanket of melted emmenthal and then plop down in front of the most unapologetically girly American movie, because you can.
It was so good that I did exactly that two nights in a row.
And if that doesn’t warm you up (and it will)…?
Find a buddy to cuddle up to and hold on. No matter what might be happening outside of your window right now, the real deal is right around the corner.
PS:
Speaking of Ella, she recently wrote about tracing the path of her jazz vocalist Grandmother, Stella Levitt, who was an established artist in Paris for several decades. Frankly, this story is too fascinating not to pass on, so here is the link. The same can be said for the incredibly unique voice attached to it, so take a listen and see if that doesn’t make your heart take flight. It did mine.
Thanks so much G, it is nothing special, just comforting. For those of us that are NOT in California, that is definitely what is on the menu at this time of year. 😉 Although…the sun just came out…hooray!
Oooh, I don't know either of those cheeses! I will definitely keep a look out for folks can keep their desserts, all I care about is cheeeeese. 🙂 My goodness, I would weigh quite a bit less if it weren't for cheese, I must say! And I meant to write that the tartine would be perfect along with a soup. I hope that you enjoyed it!
You are far, far too kind my dear Virginia!!! I know very well what a fine, fine cook you are–the real deal, just like Remi. The rest of us just blunder along and sometimes get lucky. 🙂 Is it autumn there yet? Oooh, I so wish I could come for a visit! Give Hen my Best, wonderful one that she is…that you both are!!!
xoxoxox
You know Ann, I was a single girl for soooo long in NYC that I always cooked for myself. And I would fall over if I just ate toast! 🙂
I hear you Loree but both of these things are super quick, dirt cheap and delish!
Ooh, I will! Thank you dear Marsha. My friend Julia in Berlin has been raving about different juices…I think the extra vitamins are key right now to get us through the end of winter blahs…
Glad the puppers look happy to you too! Little by little…
Gros Bisous!
I think we all get that way Jackie! For me, when in doubt, through garlic and red sauce at it. You would think I lived in Italy and not France!!!
Nope, nope and nope. And not even with my favorite women asking! But as for favorite all time movies…ah, that I have no trouble…"A Room with a View"…"Roman Holiday"…"To Catch a Thief"…nothing surprising in the least!
Although I have been finishing watching Mira Nair's version of "Vanity Fair" which seemed pretty close to the book (so I don't feel ashamed at all to mention it) until the utter mystery of a Bollywood dance number plopped down to replace what is normally a set of charades. I am at a loss!
Whew. *wiping hand dramatically across forehead*
My goodness, now wouldn't THAT be something? Somehow I can just picture it so easily too…I am cooking! You both are discussing some artist that I have never heard of but I don't care. And yes, good music in the background…