After more than a month’s absence from this journal, I’m sure the question on everybody’s mind is, “What did you have for dinner?”
Well, since you’re asking, I’ll tell you. As a matter of fact, it really was quite a satisfying meal for several reasons. First of all, George is in Africa with Luke right now. (This is not the reason my meal was satisfying, but rather serves as backdrop for what I’m about to tell you.) When I dine alone, I usually go for the easiest, quickest fix. Scrambled eggs and fruit. A healthy, organic, frozen entry zapped in the microwave. That sort of thing. But tonight I cooked, just for me. You see, thanks to George’s efforts before he went to Africa, our garden is producing an abundance of wonderful, fresh veggies. Right now we have two varieties of green beans, broccoli, and sweet onions. The first planting of corn is almost ready, and some plump green tomatoes promise to ripen soon. Then there’s the side garden bursting with herbs–rosemary, thyme, and mint.
With all this delicious goodness at my fingertips, how could I reach into the freezer for an Amy’s Lasagna–even if it is the “Garden Vegetable” variety? No. Cook I must, and cook I did.
From our garden I used a handful of green beans, a half dozen broccoli florets, and a small sweet onion, diced of course. I added baby carrots and chopped a glove of garlic. While a couple tablespoons of olive oil heated in the skillet, I went outside and snipped some fresh rosemary and thyme. I sautéed all these ingredients together with freshly ground pepper and a little salt until the onions softened and the beans and broccoli turned bright green, then I let them simmer covered for five minutes. It smelled so good!
I scrambled an egg into the mix, sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese, and let that melt while I toasted a slice of sesame French bread. I’m telling you, people (since you asked), this was one of those What-About-Bob dinners that make you want to purr with pleasure after every bite.
And my fingertips still smell like rosemary. Mmmmm.
While we’re on the subject of food, if you’ve never tried Agave Nectar, you should. We bought some because George is allergic to honey (did I mention George is in Africa?)–an allergy he developed after keeping bees and getting stung repeatedly. I’m a fan. Of Agave Nectar. And George. Not bee stings. (And just that quick, Julie Andrews is singing in my head.)
So, yeah. I won’t try to tell you everything that happened in the past month. To sum up in chronological order, we celebrated our 29th anniversary, Jacob’s 27th birthday, Mother’s Day, and Curtis’ 26th birthday. My niece got married, I spoke at a women’s spring program, and my alter-ego, Marge, spoke at a retirement party. Also, George left for Africa. (Did I mention that?)
Though I’ve been slack about posting here, I’ve done a little better on my photo blog, where you can check out shots of Curtis’ birthday dinner (since apparently you’re into that sort of thing). Right now I’m participating in Project Blue, hosted by Anna Carson Photography. If you like to take pictures, you should stop by her site and join the fun.
I’ll try to kick this livejournal back in gear. Meanwhile, thanks to anyone who still stops by here. And, even if no one does, at least now I have a permanent record of what I ate for dinner.