Pining away

It’s not that my kitchen is so great.  It’s narrow and there’s little to no counter space and our stove is wonky and the fridge and freezer are too small.

But it’s mine and it’s mostly functional. and I miss it dearly.

See in this immense heat, it has become a place that I go only to get cold drink after cold drink and in the late evening, take out some salad or cold chicken to eat because really, you’ve got to eat something.

I miss the serenity cooking gives me.  Even when things are going badly with a dish, there is always hope that it can be saved.  I love the zen mind that happens when I’m chopping, stirring and whisking.  It’s like waves lapping against the shore.  It’s peace and quiet.  Mostly, anyway.

It is only the beginning of July and it’s been weeks of such intense heat, even my appetite has faltered (good lord, will it never end?).  I am trying to accept that it’s just too hot to cook and enjoy restaurant fare for my food book clubs and restaurant reviews.  I am trying to enjoy the “extra” time that I have now that I’m not in the kitchen for 2-4 hours a night.  I am trying really, really hard.

But it’s not working.

I guess that’s how I know it’s serious, that it’s complete and utter love, that it’s something that while I can live without it now, I can’t live without it forever.

Once that cool weather hits, you’ll be lucky to find me doing anything else.  I’ve got lists in my mind of dishes I want to conquer, pies I want to try and bake and meals that I want to create to sell to a nearby cafe.

And for now, I will try to be patient while the sun pours in our windows, heating up the joint and giving our cat various placed to sprawl until 9 p.m.  I will begrudgingly have salads and sandwiches and cold chicken (pictured above) for dinner as sweat pools in the crease of my arm.

But I’m telling you, that first hit of crisp, cool air – the place is going to be stacked to the ceiling with homemade food.

Just try and stop me.

Hell’s kitchen – part 3

By the time Saturday arrived, I was dying to cook something incredibly involved and time intensive.  The weather however, was so lovely and hot that all thoughts and plans of doing anything in the oven had to be postponed.

Instead, I broiled steaks, marinated in a rich blend of herbs and spices, grillled olive oil drizzled asparagus spears and thick slices of orange pepper, and served some fresh grape tomatoes, Bibb lettuce, tabouli bought at the farmer’s market in the morning and some leftover bean salad.

While this concoction drew raves from my fella, I was disappointed.  I wanted to get right in there and create something wonderful and complex.

The following night I couldn’t do anything too extravagant as I was prepping for an interview with an author, so I not only had to finish the book, but prep the questions for the early morning meeting.  I threw together a turkey stir-fry with cashews and jasmine rice.

I know this might sound elitist, but I’ve always thought of stir-fry’s as meals that you make because:

1.you don’t know how to cook or

2. you’re too tired to make anything else.

I just wanted something healthy to sustain us while my fella and I worked into the night.  I have to say that it was absolutely delicious, thanks to fresh veg from the farmer’s market, juicy turkey strips and a little drizzled sesame oil, fresh ground five spice and topped with cashews atop of perfectly cooked rice.

But I still felt like a lazy bastard for doing a stir-fry.

Hell’s kitchen – part 2

Or at least they should have, except that this week all of my events fell within the same time period, so instead of being at home, cooking my little heart out, I ate out every night from Monday to Friday.

Monday and Tuesday evening,  I had my food book clubs (4 of ‘em!),  where we meet in a restaurant that I’ve paired with the region of the book we’re reading each month.  This month we went to Zin, a high-end Chinese restaurant in Yorkville, where the owner Rockie created a special fixed price menu featuring Hong Kong delicacies, like we read about in our book of the month, The Piano Teacher.

Because I am hosting for 4 clubs over 2 nights (not including the other 2 I host earlier in the month), I get to eat twice.  The first night I had garlicky, incredibly tender Rack of Lamb with rice and broccoli.  The following evening, I tucked into Duck Breast served with a rich Thai curry sauce and snow peas.

I am grateful for the chance to have eaten there twice, as both meals were simply divine and for the first time in this book club, we had 100% satisfaction from our members.

Rockie also included a 1 lb. Lobster on the fixed price menu, which I’m going to go back for, as well as a bunch of interesting dishes on the regular menu.

Wednesday night I did a restaurant review – Northern Italian, which was okay.

Thursday, I got together with my Mom and she treated us to Chinese in the Beach – egg rolls, sweet and sour chicken balls, chicken chow main and Chinese fried rice, all for the insane price of $8.50 a person!

Friday, I was determined to make dinner at home, but my fella decided to take the afternoon off and we ended up downtown looking at furniture.  We wandered around until sudden hunger impaled us and we went for sushi nearby.

So just to reiterate:

Mon – Chinese

Tues – Chinese

Wed – Italian

Thurs – Chinese

Friday – Japanese

Burning questions

I have all of these questions that have been milling about in my mind:

1.  Do you favour a particular burner on the stove?

2.  A food blog asked a great question this week – is there a food that you can’t keep in the house because it’s bad for you or you’ll eat the whole container, etc.?

3. What’s the last exciting dish you made?

4.  How far in advance do you plan your meals?

5.  What’s the last thing you ate?

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

I would never get any writing done

With this fabulous pencil/spoon, I would never get any writing done.  I’d just be dreaming about all the soups I’d be making, the meals I’d be creating.  Nice problem to have though…