Wednesday, December 8, 2010

What's for dinner?


During a time in every one's life, one lives alone. This can have it's positive and negative aspects. One of the best comments I have ever heard about living alone is that there isn't anyone home to smell the milk carton and confirm, that yes the milk is NO GOOD!! In my opinion, the milk is always no good as I do not, and will not drink a glass of milk. Not even with homemade cookies, chocolate cake, or anything. I just don't like it. I will drink hot chocolate or a cafe au lait (half coffee and half hot milk). But this post isn't about milk as I could sum make it very short and sweet:

I DO NOT LIKE MILK

I was lucky because I never had to drink milk as a child either. My dad didn't like milk and I must have inherited this "dislike milk" gene!! We ate absolutely everything that was put on our plates as children, so if we drank water or a coke (drank them both at dinner), it was fine. How many children crave salad, fish, and vegetables?..... my brothers and I. So, what does this have to do with living alone? I don't ever have the change of milk going "bad"! I purchase the cartons of milk that have a shelf life of a year or so, and use it for cocoa and coffee. I do get calcium from other sources though. Being single, one can have ice cream for dinner and no one will mind, or miss, the vegetables.

So if I'm not having ice cream for dinner, I certainly will not purchase frozen meals!! No, I think I deserve to eat something more than a peeled back box top that has been microwaved to perfection! Yes, I will make an entire pan of lasagna, a roast, quiche, cassoulet, or moussaka for dinner! I enjoy cooking and think I'm worth the effort and the healthy benefit of fresh foods. I used a can of condensed soup in something the other day and I swear I could taste all of the added sodium (and this comes from someone who used to salt pickles). I have grown accustomed to making my own chicken, beef, and vegetable stock. Once you try the homemade, you will not want to purchase the canned variety. The one food I will bring home as "fast food" is Chinese food! It takes too long to make the soup, eggroll, and main course during the week (yes, I've done it).

So a nice meal, complete with appetizer is not uncommon in my house, nor is a dinner of cookies and coffee. I will admit, the coffee can keep me up too late on a work night, but I just suffer the consequences in the morning.

Cook as if you're worth it!! Forget the fast food (even though I'm a hamburger and french fry "junkie"), and boxed frozen meals. Enjoy your dinner by savoring every bite. I have to put the pasta on to cook now, as my Greek spaghetti sauce has been simmering for a few hours and is ready to eat!

2 comments:

  1. I'm totally with you on both the drinking milk thing (ugh!)--maybe it's because we're Mediterranean types--and on the forget the fast and/or frozen food front. Greek spaghetti sauce sounds interesting. Do you have it posted somewhere?

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  2. Spaghetti sauce is one thing I never measure. Make a regular meat sauce with tomato base, add red wine, oregano, basil, garlic, and about 1/2 tsp cinnamon per 1 1/2 pounds ground beef. You can up it to 1 tsp if you really like the taste of cinnamon. Cinnamon is very traditional in a lot of Greek savory dishes.

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Ingredients I must have in my kitchen (It's a long list, but I try and have these items on hand)

  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Cheese
  • Cumin
  • Curry
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Fresh Bread
  • Fresh Cilantro
  • Fresh Fruit
  • Fresh Garlic
  • Fresh Parsley
  • Greek Oregano
  • Kalamata Olives
  • Lemon ( At least 3 or 4 ALWAYS)
  • Peppers (Wax, Jalapeno, banana)
  • Red Wine Vinegar
  • Regular Olive Oil
  • Rice
  • Salad Ingredients
  • Sea Salt
  • Spanish Olives
  • White Balsamic Vinegar