“Tuscan Steak with Rosemary White Bean Mash” from French Revolution Food. “Sautéed Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins” from Simply Recipes.

Dinner tonight was one of those monumentally good meals that I think about later and the next day (and the next). It was the holy trinity of weeknight dinners: quick, easy, satisfying. And while I’m no nutritionist, I think it was relatively healthy. But mostly, it tasted super good. There was something utterly perfect-tasting about the filet mignon but adding a smear of white beans to every bite was like icing on cake. The greens were good — I’d certainly make them again — but they were upstaged by the meat and beans. Those beans: I’m already thinking of the next time I’ll make them.

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.

Leftover “Stir-fried Napa Cabbage” from Rasa Malaysia. “Homemade furikake no. 10: Sardines and Pine Nuts” from JustBento. Eaten over rice.