This year for Lent I am trying to do what I did last year, which was, ahem, give up meat. It is not that big of a sacrifice for me because I like vegetarian cooking. It is more exciting than cooking meat in some ways because for the most part I think it is harder and more creative.
Except nothing could be harder than trying to get that steak right! Remember that? What a hassle that was. Eventually I gave up.
Anyway. Giving up meat isn't terrible but it is an inconvenience. To try to make things easier I have informal themes for the week. One week was sort of Italian week and another was Eating Well week, all the recipes came out of Eating Well. I am like Leonard Pennario, endlessly creative.
This week is Hippie Week. All the recipes are hippie food!
As my brother George said to me the first time we went to hear the Grateful Dead in California, Deadhead food is good food. And yesterday, I have to say, I was very happy when Howard came home and sniffed and said, "It smells good in this house."
It must have been the roasted beets. I had beets roasting and this other dish involving fish and escarole and mushrooms, from this old Moosewood Classics cookbook I just scored at Savers.
Today I went back to that book and it is Homespun Pot Pie.
It ended up taking, let us say, a little longer than the book said it would. Half way through I checked online and there were reviews praising the recipe but saying how much work it was.
One person wrote: "I made this for Christmas dinner."
For Christmas! That is the greatest. I love when someone is making something for Christmas and I am making it for Monday night dinner. And we did enjoy it. Here is a picture of Howard eating the pot pie.
Oh, dear. I am afraid this Lent is not doing me a lot of spiritual good. Well, at least it is making me a good cook. Perhaps in Purgatory I will be able to shorten my time by putting in time in the kitchen. I can cook for the other poor souls in Purgatory.
I am going to have to be buried with my Savers cookbooks.
No comments:
Post a Comment