Catching up

I haven’t been doing a very good job at writing lately.  There are a few reasons for that.  Mainly, it’s that all of a sudden I’ve gotten a lot busier.  And going hand in hand with that, I haven’t been doing much cooking… or, at least, I haven’t been doing much cooking that merits any particular notice.  Here’s what I have been up to instead:

1. Remember how, a few weeks back, I mentioned I was looking for employment?  Well, I am pleased to say I am no longer looking.  As of last week, I am once again a productive member of society.  Suddenly I have somewhere I need to be and something I need to do for eight hours at a time – it's pretty crazy.  Unfortunately, my new schedule sometimes requires me to work evenings, which, when you add that to the two to three evenings a week when I’m swimming, leaves me few evenings for cooking big dinners. 

2. For the last two weeks, I’ve been dogsitting for a family who is out of town on vacation.  Or I could say, for the next two weeks, I will be dogsitting for a family who will be out of town on vacation.  Two different families, two different (elderly) dogs, two different houses with unfamiliar kitchens and nearly-empty refrigerators and pantries, making for almost a full month of not living in my own home, but not exactly being on vacation, either.  It leaves me in a kind of culinary limbo, trying to find the pans and pantry basics I’m used to having on hand in my own kitchen.  At this point, I’m much more likely to steam some broccoli, boil some pasta, open a jar of pesto and call it a day than to try to cook anything too complicated.

3.  I turned 23 last weekend.  That means I made another chocolate cake (hooray!), but how many times can you really write about the same chocolate cake in one month?  (Note: the answer to this question is NOT the same as the answer to the question, “how many times can you eat chocolate cake in one month?” which is, in my experience, roughly equal to the number of days in the month times two.)  For dinner on my birthday, I went out to Paesano’s for a punchy salad of arugula, raddichio, and endive with a rhubarb vinaigrette, a light ravioli dish filled with asparagus and topped with delicate seared scallops, and a delicious slice of warm polenta cake to finish.  A very satisfying meal, but sadly, one without pictures or recipes to share.

4.  So that family I’ve been dogsitting for the past couple of weeks?  They’re on vacation in Thailand, visiting palaces and temples and old stomping grounds, and eating mouthwatering Thai food for two beautiful weeks.  Ten years ago, they used to live in Thailand, and once in a while, when I’m very lucky, they’ll invite me over for dinner when making some Thai dish.   Over the last couple of days I’ve been perusing their Thai cookbooks, but even the most basic recipes call for things like shrimp paste and galangal root – not exactly familiar territory for me.  But that doesn’t stop my Thai food craving, so I decided to head down to the local Thai restaurant and take out some green curry.  Twice.

Sweet and spicy with luscious eggplant, bell pepper, and tofu atop fragrant jasmine rice, I just can’t stop eating it lately.  And since one order makes for at least two meals, that means that much less cooking.

I don’t expect I’ll be cooking writing much in the next couple of weeks, either, so thanks for your patience until I’m back in my own kitchen.  Until then, here’s to hoping you’ve found your own green curry-type craving to keep you busily and happily eating!