Being prepared is everything.
It's not enough to have done the shopping. Eating whole, fresh food in season means that you're spending a lot of time washing produce, chopping, and thinking creatively about how to put things together so the meals are interesting. Then there's the cooking.
I try to do some batch cooking to have things on hand when I'm busy or feeling overwhelmed. Today I got home from church, spent, and could do little beyond reaching for a couple of roasted chicken legs I had in the fridge and a handful of nuts. I'd gone to the produce market up the street to pick up a few things, and the bags sat on the kitchen floor for about an hour before I put things away. My fridge is feeling way too small these days. I probably should do a clean out and get rid of anything I don't need right now. I'm nodding my head as I read this on the screen. And kind of laughing at myself because I know I probably won't.
What I did do today, besides drive to two different grocery stores, was to make garlic confit. My son taught me this little trick a couple of weeks ago when we had lunch together at his place. It was so much simpler than going out and trying to eat to plan. I'll talk about restaurants another time, but understanding that it's simpler to cook at home than to go out to eat right now makes things so much easier. Charlie, who shares my love for cooking, picked up a steak and some shrimp, which he served with a colorful salad. He prepared the shrimp with a blended garlic confit he'd made, and made a simple sauce to zhuzh things up with the confit and some cherry tomatoes. It was fabulous.
What I love about this is the level of support I'm getting from so many of the people in my life. Sure, there's the occasional, "Oh come on, just a little bite of [this or that] won't hurt." (Yes, it will.) But I've been gratified by the level of support I've been receiving. The day I had lunch with Charlie, he told me he really thought about what I've been eating and how to make it feel sumptuous. This is something I've been doing as well, and to have a different set of eyes on it has given me other creative possibilities for my meal prep.
I tried his method today and it turned out wonderfully. I'm looking forward to drizzling it over fish or nut-crusted chicken, or using it as the base for simple sauces. It up-levels everything, and with limited options this kind of creativity is everything. I've been reminding myself that limited does not have to be limiting.
So here's the method ~
Fill a small baking dish with a single layer of peeled garlic cloves. Cover with extra virgin olive oil and place in a 200 degree oven for two hours. When it cools a bit, put the garlic and oil in a blender with the zest and juice of 1/2-a whole lemon and an herb or herbs of choice. I used fresh dill. Blend til nearly smooth. Put it in a glass jar in the fridge and shake or stir before using.
I have a day off tomorrow, so I'll take the time to do some batch cooking, organize the kitchen for the week, and get a few other things done around the house so the rest of the week runs smoothly and has fewer stressors. Chance may favor the prepared mind, but traversing the green wilderness needs its own kinds of preparation.
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