Dishes you’ll hug
Plates filled with abundance of seasonal, local goodies something to be grateful for
Plates filled with abundance of seasonal, local goodies are something to be grateful for during the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
People are saying that when life returns to normal, when the threat of the virus is not so great that it dictates every aspect of our lives, we will be changed. We will, collectively as humans, have a new take on life. We will not take things for granted, nor will we take people for granted. I wonder, is this possible? After what’s happened in our own communities, it sure does feel like we will be changed.
For now, as we emerge from our quarantine state, the world feels new. Things we did before without a thought and which we couldn’t do for a long while are becoming possible again and as I go through the motions, I’ve felt wonder at pretty ordinary things (and at times, felt a tinge of shame for not being struck with awe at those same things before.) Everything I eat, everything I do, everyone I meet, feels like something or someone
I should stand in awe of in our changed world.
In the spirit of finding newness and awe in ordinary things that perhaps I took for granted in the past, I made a list of some of the most recent inspiring events and I’d like to share them with you. Here goes:
A simple hug. I know, I know. We aren’t supposed to hug. But this hug happened quite by accident and it was remarkable. Just recently, I met up with an old friend. She’s the one who gives the kind of hug we all love and crave. She wraps her arms around you and doesn’t let go, not for awhile. She holds tight. Without thinking and because it had been so long, we went in for a hug. Sheepishly, we parted and for what it was worth, we socially distanced for the rest of our visit. But, man, her hug felt good. I miss hugging and that one
will have to carry me, ‘til it’s safe to hug again.
A bowl of warm berries. We can eat berries any old time, can’t we? So often that berries don’t seem that great or special. But this bowl of berries I ate, let me tell you. They were better than any other berries I’ve had before. Here’s how this great bowl of berries came to be: I saw the red, red strawberries laid out at a local farm stand and I was so taken with their beautiful glow that I bought too much, which led to a pie, and then salads and cereal topping and when the last few berries were threatening to shrivel before they were consumed, I took a bowlful to the porch and ate them. This bowl wasn’t adorned with anything at all. They were just strawberries, warm and juicy strawberries that tasted more strawberry-er than any others I’ve eaten. I tossed the green tops into the garden and for a few wonderful minutes, it felt like life was good, really good.
The farmer’s market. Let’s face it, the farmer’s market is a little weird right now. There’s no music. No lingering, no touching vegetables. But walking through the market, I was struck by how many people believe in supporting local farms and how many want to feed their family well. So they come to the farmer’s market, wait in lines, follow arrows and directions to get a bag of vegetables and fruits and other good things, all because it’s the right thing to do. And that leads me to foods I purchased recently from farmers in our region. Fresh, locally grown foods that I see with new eyes. The colors and varieties, the wonder and possibilities. Had I not noticed such beauty there before?
With the bounty of food available, I’ve been cooking a lot. There have been pies and pasta sauces and more salads than my family thought possible.
This chimichurri sauce is a good way to use up the tops of beets, radishes and even carrot tops. Chimichurri is a fresh sauce with Argentinian roots; similar to pesto, but without the cheese or nuts. It’s got a splash of red wine vinegar, plenty of garlic, and the earthy touch of fresh oregano. Traditionally, chimichurri is a blend of oregano and parsley, but I’ve switched it up and traded the parsley for whatever bitter greens you’ve got. The sauce has a bite from the greens, garlic and vinegar. We like to douse steak (or any meat), roasted vegetables, bread and just about anything else you can dream up with this brilliant green sauce.
The salmon and noodles dish is a simple, delicious meal for a hot summer’s night. As much vegetables as noodles, the sauce coats it all generously and makes it kind of slurpy. The only stovetop work is boiling the noodles, and the rest is done on the grill. This recipe relies on sesame for flavor, in the sauce and on the seeds that adorn the top. I like to toast my own sesame seeds (because they taste better that way), which is often a lesson in patience. Pour a few tablespoons of raw sesame seeds into a dry skillet and set over low heat. It typically goes something like this: the seeds are pale yellow, pale yellow, pale yellow and then suddenly: burned. So stay close and stir a lot.
In different times, sangria fruit salad is something I’d make and bring to a big party. But we aren’t having big parties (something I will surely look upon with wondrous eyes when we do) so why not have a small batch? I love sangria and always scoop up the soaked fruit that sits in the bottom of the glass, for its sweetness and alcohol bite. This salad is more salad than drink, and while it’s not quite as boozy as an actual sangria drink, you don’t want to get this mixed up with fruit salad for the kiddos. Add a few mint leaves to marinate, then remove them before serving. Each bite has the bright taste of mint, sweet fruit, and a finish of wine and citrus liqueur. It’s a dessert, a cocktail of sorts, a side dish. It’s fun for adults and feels like party food. Even small-party food.
The list of my awe-inspiring things could go on and on. There was a tiny, tiny toad in my garden. The size of my pinky nail! Such cuteness! And there was a long, slow, solitary walk at dusk a few nights ago. It was meditative, contemplative and mind-clearing. There’s my husband, who I looked at recently and felt joy in knowing and sharing my life with him.
Will we, as a community, be changed after COVID? Will we stop and admire the beauty of red berries? I don’t know. Maybe even a pandemic cannot stop humans from acting like humans. But just maybe the new normal will include being in awe, taking nothing for granted, and giving great big bear hugs to the people we love.