Simple dinner

"It does not cost much...It leaves you filled with peace, and the house filled with one of the world's sweetest smells...probably there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation...that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread."

-M.F.K. Fisher

We are getting some much needed rain and what better thing to do than crank the oven up to 450˚ and bake a loaf of hearty, walnut and thyme-filled bread.  

On my way home from work, I ran into a friend who yelled across the grocery store "Hey Sally - what's for dinner tonight?" She commented that I haven't posted in a while, which is true, I told her the same thing I had told my brother who had demanded pictures of Monday night's dinner, "I'm living in the moment," I responded.  It's cliche, right? It was the best thing I could come up with but I did decide to post tonight in honor of both of them and in honor of my dinner which was fresh baked bread, Bulgarian sheep's cheese, olive oil, crushed garlic, and Chilean wine.  Bon appétit to me and to you, too! 

before: preparing my loaf of bread: thyme and walnuts 

after: but before I smothered the bread in olive oil and garlic

And now some food for thought:

"A bad day for the ego is a good day for the soul." 

Think of the times you have been humiliated or life has shown you that you are incapable of something you so thought knew you capable of doing (I can run this marathon without training, I will face my boss who treats me poorly, etc.).  You try and fail.  It hurts your pride.  But if you take just a moment to reflect on it, it's not that you're incapable or a bad person it simply is what it is and your soul grows from that.  We measure success and growth on money, homes you own, the car you drive but how many people are OK with their soul?  Our society has no measure for soul growth.  How many people realistically face challenges in their lives and can accept when they are incapable of completing a task, of asking for help, or simply succumbing to their limitations?  How many people can wake up in the morning and be happy with themselves, knowing they give their all and their best and accepting that that is their life, their ability, their limit?

I urge you to reflect on your actions, to love yourself, and to accept you for who you are.  And...eat what you love and to your health! 

Made in Monterey

The best way to thank someone for something is to cook them dinner, in my humble opinion.  It's more personal that way, I think.  Also, cooking is a creative art and relaxing, you get to be alone with yourself in the kitchen creating something, something that someone else (or you, yourself) will savor.  I don't know about you but I find peace in cooking, I relax (especially when I drink a glass of wine and listen to good music while I'm cooking, jejeje).  I had a "Thank you" dinner scheduled last night for a friend who did a huge favor for me...so I decided to try to go local... 

Yesterday on my way home from work I stopped at the Monterey Fish Company (at Wharf #2) to see what was fresh.  They had recently caught Monterey Bay Rock Cod, among other fish, but that looked good to me.  I bought a couple fish and the nice young guy scaled the fish and gutted them.  I asked if I could watch and he showed me how to swiftly and cleanly gut a fish, something I have never done before.  It will take several poorly gutted fish before I can do it with his grace.  I also bought squid but did not prepare it last night, I'll keep that for another post.  

Thank you fishies, for letting me eat you 

I went with simple: extra virgin olive oil (grown and pressed in Watsonville), Crane Lake Sauvignon Blanc (from Napa Valley), rosemary (that I picked at work), thyme (that I picked in my aunt's garden), Meyer lemon slices (that were given to me from my friend's tree), salt (oops, Himalayan salt that I bought at the store) and garlic (that I found in my parents' kitchen which surprisingly enough CAME FROM CHINA!).  Well, I try to do local.  

I put 2 super long pieces of foil on a baking sheet, perpendicular to one another, laid the fish on the foil and generously poured olive oil, salt and the herbs over and in it.  I had cut some slits in the fish and stuffed the slits with herbs and chopped up garlic and inside the fish I placed thin slices of the lemon and more garlic and herbs.  At the end I drizzled the fish with some white wine and sealed the foil, making a tent like structure.  I put it in a preheated oven (at 375˚ F) and baked it for 20 minutes. 

seasoned Monterey Rock Cod 

 The green beans (from the Farmer's Market) were blanched then tossed in olive oil and butter that had thyme and almonds frying in it. 

green beans from the Farmer's Market

Voilà

Yum!

Dessert was honeydew (farmer's market) with lime  (farmer's market) squeezed on it and fresh mint (aunt's yard)...refreshing!