Making dinner is
the most satisfying part of my day.

Leftover braised turkey and carrots remixed with udon. Brussels sprouts with fresh breadcrumbs and a little Parmesan cheese. I almost ate cookies for dinner tonight. I was very close. But dinner is satisfying, even when I’m not particularly hungry and very tired — so I made dinner with last night’s leftovers and a brick of flash-frozen udon, which is a staple in my freezer. The broth — from when I poached a chicken this summer — was also from the freezer. The sprouts turned up while I was digging around for the parsley — quick steam; add butter, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste.

Leftover braised turkey and carrots remixed with udon. Brussels sprouts with fresh breadcrumbs and a little Parmesan cheese.

I almost ate cookies for dinner tonight. I was very close. But dinner is satisfying, even when I’m not particularly hungry and very tired — so I made dinner with last night’s leftovers and a brick of flash-frozen udon, which is a staple in my freezer. The broth — from when I poached a chicken this summer — was also from the freezer. The sprouts turned up while I was digging around for the parsley — quick steam; add butter, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste.

Pasta with sautéed zucchini, basil and lemon. Long beans with toasted breadcrumbs. It’s hard to not shop impulsively when everything at the farmers market looks so good. Early yesterday afternoon, as I found myself strolling around the Union Square Greenmarket, one of the things I ended up buying was a rather large bunch of basil for $3. This is a fairly irregular purchase for me and for a second I almost didn’t buy it. In fact, I put it back. Would I use it all? As a single person, I feel like that’s often one of the Big Questions: can I finish this by myself? I could have found smaller bunches at another stand but I was already buying these lovely variegated zucchinis and the long beans (and the eggplants)… So I ran down some dinner ideas in my head and decided I could work it out. I got it home, put it in water and set it in the fridge. Whenever I open the door, the scent of basil wafts out. It’s hard not to put it in everything and far too easy to linger in front of the open fridge. I worked the basil into every cooked meal since I bought it: I used it in last night’s panzanella; I added some to this morning’s potatoes, which were incredible by the way; and tonight it worked really well with the zucchini and lemon. My rather large bunch is more normally sized now. At least as far as this week and this basil goes, I think I know the answer to the Big Question. Yes, I can eat this every day and not get bored. I will finish it by myself.

Pasta with sautéed zucchini, basil and lemon. Long beans with toasted breadcrumbs.

It’s hard to not shop impulsively when everything at the farmers market looks so good. Early yesterday afternoon, as I found myself strolling around the Union Square Greenmarket, one of the things I ended up buying was a rather large bunch of basil for $3. This is a fairly irregular purchase for me and for a second I almost didn’t buy it. In fact, I put it back. Would I use it all? As a single person, I feel like that’s often one of the Big Questions: can I finish this by myself? I could have found smaller bunches at another stand but I was already buying these lovely variegated zucchinis and the long beans (and the eggplants)… So I ran down some dinner ideas in my head and decided I could work it out.

I got it home, put it in water and set it in the fridge. Whenever I open the door, the scent of basil wafts out. It’s hard not to put it in everything and far too easy to linger in front of the open fridge. I worked the basil into every cooked meal since I bought it: I used it in last night’s panzanella; I added some to this morning’s potatoes, which were incredible by the way; and tonight it worked really well with the zucchini and lemon. My rather large bunch is more normally sized now.

At least as far as this week and this basil goes, I think I know the answer to the Big Question. Yes, I can eat this every day and not get bored. I will finish it by myself.

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