What's Happening In My Kitchen? Not Much.

In the last couple of weeks I've had local people say to me, "You haven't posted much on your blog lately. I really enjoy reading it." That made me smile. I don't read the statistics that I could find somewhere on this platform to see how many views a post has had. I don't keep up with how many subscribers I have. I have never monetized the blog. Notice there are no pesky ads? 

All these years I've written it because I enjoy the process of writing. And the length of these posts suit me well. (Did I tell you that I wrote a newspaper column back in the day?) Occasionally I will look back through the 13 years of blog entries and I can see how my family has changed. How it's grown. I frequently look up recipes here—both with the index and the little search box that lives in the top left corner of each post.

My days are different now than they were way back when I started this blog. I think I said last blog post that I haven't tried new recipes lately Because I just don't cook as much as I did. We don't eat as much as we did. Sometimes now instead of cooking supper, we have a snacky supper.

Charcuterie boards or food boards, if you will, are so popular now. In my house these "boards" often coincide with cleaning out the refrigerator. Or making do the night before I grocery shop. I'm trying to squeak one more meal out of what's on hand.

When I arrange my bits and bobs of what's in the fridge on a tray, it's looks like fun. It looks like a treat. Picture what it would look like if I set the bag of pretzel chips, the box of crackers, the jar of jam and the bottle of ranch dressing out. Same foods. But I can guarantee those bags and boxes wouldn't get an "Oh, wow!" from Daddy-O. It's all in the presentation.

I love trays and own so many sizes and shapes. But sometimes I will just grab a cookie sheet or a pizza pan because it's handy. Choose your board or pan, arrange your food neatly, think about the colors when you lay it out. And if possible make sure to have different textures, like crunchy crackers and celery and creamy dip, soft cheese and hard carrot sticks. 

If I were doing this for a party or gathering, I would be much more intentional about on what goes on the board. But the photo above was our actual "dinner for two" a couple of weeks ago. It's as basic as you can get.

Here is another meal suitable for an "I don't want to cook" night. Last week I swore there was nothing here to cook. Daddy-O offered to take me out, but I couldn't think of one restaurant that tempted me. So I looked around the kitchen and spied a container of grape tomatoes. 

And in just under 30 minutes we were sitting down to dinner. This recipe calls for ingredients that are staples in my kitchen—spaghetti, olive oil, garlic, etc. I didn't have the fresh mozzarella it calls for so I subbed shredded mozzarella. Not quite as good, but it worked. If I had not had basil growing in our yard I might have sprinkled on some dried basil. Think beyond the recipe!!!

Be aware that this recipe doesn't make a lot. It feeds the two of us. I have stretched it to feed three by making a big salad to serve along with it.

GRAPE TOMATOES & PASTA (serves 2 to 3)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups grape tomatoes

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut in thin strips

salt & pepper to taste

pinch of sugar (optional)

3 tablespoon fresh grated parmesan 

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

fresh mozzarella pearls

8 oz. thin spaghetti

Heat oil in a large skillet to low. Add garlic, stir and cook about 2 minutes, being careful not to burn it. Add whole grape tomatoes. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes until tomatoes begin to soften. Break up some of the tomatoes. (I used a potato masher to mash up some of the tomatoes—maybe half of them. This releases juices that will help make a sauce.) Season with salt and pepper, add a pinch of sugar if tomatoes are very acidic. Stir in basil.

Cover and let simmer 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes are soft. Grate fresh parmesan over the sauce. Add balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine.

While sauce is simmering, cook spaghetti to al dente. Using tongs lift cooked spaghetti straight into the sauce. (Save a little pasta cooking water and add a spoonful or two to thin sauce if you need to.) Remove skillet from heat. Toss cooked spaghetti with tomato sauce. Poke mozzarella pearls down into the pasta. Cover and let sit a few minutes to let mozzarella melt.

Top with more Parmesan and garnish with basil. Serve.

And our last resort dinner when the fridge is empty is some kind of breakfast food. We spent one night at the lake last weekend. Now THAT is a truly empty kitchen. We have barely been down there this year. But the previous visit I had left a loaf of cinnamon bread in the freezer and I had bought a half dozen eggs that were still good. Daddy-O made French toast that night. He first told me that he couldn't make it because we didn't have any milk (he usually adds milk to the eggs.) I told him to splash a little water in the eggs instead. Think beyond the recipe!!! Beyond your usual. 

There is a little knitting still going on. These delightfully cool days are perfect for porch knitting.  We try to spend as much time on the porch as possible on these perfect days. Knitting. Reading. I even take a keyboard out there and practice piano sometimes.

Some of you have been interested in my jazz journey. The online piano platform I enjoy offers a monthly song "challenge." Four weeks to learn a new tune. I don't always do the monthly song but I love this month's choice, Blue Skies. I'm working on the piano version, but my ukulele version is ready now.