Cooking
Today was something of a waste. I couldn’t get to sleep last night so instead of being up at 6:30 I slept until almost 8:00. I then stared into the vast wasteland that was the refrigerator, and realized I needed to go to the market. Sounds simple, right? But no, you end up running to multiple stores and they’re not charming like the little meat market or bakery or fruit stand the way it is in Europe.
I drove into town and treated myself to breakfast at the Chocolate Maven, a wonderful bakery and restaurant in an industrial park. Usually you can look in and watch the bakers at work, but they are remoldeling so I didn’t get to watch the croissants being made. Bummer. I selected the build your own omelet and I had them put in creamy spinach. It was great. I exhibited inhuman self-control and didn’t buy a chocolate/almond croissant. Then it was off to three markets to find what I wanted. I like to squeeze my own orange juice, but only Wild Oats has Valencia oranges. Then I needed currants for scones, and I can only find those at Whole Foods. I needed walnuts for the Black Forest pork chops I was planning to cook, but they only had packages of organic walnuts at Whole Foods and they were almost _eight dollars_!
So then I hit the local market for walnuts and inexpensive sour cream for the Hungarian chicken I’m planning to cook tomorrow night. I stuffed the groceries in the fridge in the lounge at the barn, and rode Pi. He broke me again, but by the end we were starting to get a balanced canter and he wasn’t slamming into my right leg. Considering I was riding him in the snaffle and not the double bridle that wasn’t too bad. I was a good girl and cleaned and oiled all my tack. (My saddle only gets cleaned about one a month.) The bridles every day, but god saddles are a pain.
I ended up trying to cook without concentrating on what I was doing, and it didn’t turn out as well as other meals. I realized tonight that cooking requires your constant presence in the kitchen and total attention to the preparation. I just didn’t want to give my mind over to toasting walnuts and thickening a sauce of dark cherries, spices and lemon jest. It felt like my ability to create was draining away with every stir of the whisk. Now I’m exhausted, my dinner wasn’t as good as I’d hoped, and I haven’t written a word today. Grump.
Melinda
May 17th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Tack cleaning must be in the air. I did mine on Monday, expecting to use my practically virgin dressage saddle for a lesson on Wednesday, but that got postponed. It has been so dry for so long, and my tack closet in Chatsworth was subject to a lot of blowing dirt for the past four months, that the saddle kept soaking up the leather balm. I swear I used half a can of the stuff and it all just soaked on in. Things are nice and pliable now.