Happy Easter, everyone!
Egg hunting aside, these days, I’m looking for humor anywhere. And just yesterday, I noticed something I already have in a small frame in my office. It came from The New Yorker magazine, which – on the theory that nothing is as funny as the truth – years ago had a habit of commenting on newspaper blurbs in that sly way that got me addicted to the magazine in the first place.
From the Boston Globe, a personal ad: Portsmouth SWF, 26, seeks SWM, Catholic, must love cats, 26-30, at least 5'9". I’m loving, honest and waiting to hear from you.
The New Yorker comment: You sound nice, but your cats are too old and way too tall.
Now, this may or may not be your style of humor, but I will tell you that I laugh – or at least chuckle – every single time I read that.
Humor isn’t easy to come by these days, and after a day of perusing the newspaper – I’ve sworn off TV news – I am eager for comedy or at least light fiction. Speaking of which, I just finished reading Delicious!, by Ruth Reichl, and found it thoroughly enjoyable.
I will also confess that the Kitchen Goddess is getting a little weary of cooking. Shocking but true. I’m reminded of a young friend of mine who is a truly top-notch jazz pianist but gave it up to become an airline pilot. When I asked him why, he said, “When you have to work 24/7 on it, it takes some of the joy out of the craft.”
So it occurs to me that you, too, might be a bit weary. And you might like a few recipes that can accommodate the oddball assortment of pantry items at your house. [KG note: To reach the recipes for these dishes, click on the recipe title to link to the appropriate post.] For instance, if you have eggs, canned tuna or salmon, frozen spinach, a bit of milk and a bit of flour, you can make this Tuna (or Salmon)-Spinach Soufflé. The dry mustard and lemon rind are nice but not mandatory.
Does this Chick Pea Soup with Tomato and Rosemary pique your interest? It’s the soup I suggested making in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Seems like we are in the same “hunker down” sort of time.
And a pasta concoction I put together once, upon arriving after a long trip, to an empty fridge and no desire to grocery shop: Farfalle with Tuna, Artichoke Hearts, Spinach, and Capers.
Risotto is one of my go-to meals, because it rarely takes more than just the one dish to make the meal, with some fresh fruit on the side. And my grocery store always has butternut squash. If you can get containers of it already cut up, all the better. If you don’t have arborio rice (what?!), use long-grain rice. The texture won’t be quite as creamy as with arborio, but you won’t have to make a trip to the store. So here’s Butternut Squash Risotto:
Finally, for dessert, this one is de-vine (as we say in the South) and will serve several people for a couple of days, or just the two of you for even longer. Strawberry Bavarian Cream: frozen strawberries (or any frozen berries), cream, gelatin, eggs, sugar, and milk – in a blender, so almost no work at all.
I hope at least one of these looks good to you, and that you are being careful and staying safe. And I hope you are finding little bits of humor to lighten the load.