Pleasures of the Home

Every sunny summer Saturday that comes along makes me feel like I should be making the most of the day by spending it outside. With no plans, errands, or specifics in mind, I usually hop on my bike, wander about Brooklyn, and find a spot to read the paper.

However, there's also something to be said for a full day spent enjoying the pleasures available in one's home. With the radio on all day, I cleaned up my place and made a full breakfast of Western scramble, cumin-scented breakfast potatoes, and bacon. Check out the photo of my monsterous CSA egg--it held twins, although I thought it would be quads:

dinosaur egg

twins!

After, I proceeded to read the entire paper on my couch. Then I messed around on the computer, catching up with all of my favorite blogs and even discovering new ones, watching hip new videos, and google-ing whatever peaked my interest. Then, after a brief bout of work-related e-mails, a brief Craigslist money-making venture, and trip to Marlow & Daughters for more provisions, I set foot in my kitchen for 3 hours of cooking.

I had no one to cook for, no future meals to prepare for, no one to taste test my makings other than myself--and it was great! Sometimes I think that's the way I learned to cook at all, by spending a lot of time experimenting on my own and gaining experience with a variety of foods. Because I had all these CSA veggies I wanted to use (carrots, celery, onions, garlic, an array of peppers), I decided to make some contorni type dishes to keep in the fridge for the upcoming week. I made marinated carrots (with olive oil, white wine vinegar, a chili pepper, parsley, and oregano), a broiled hobo-pack of peppers, zucchini, onion, and rosemary, and roasted peppers with garlic.
Plus, I ran out of my stock of homemade tomato sauce, which I make every so often and freeze, so it was time to make a new six pint batch.

I also decided to re-try the delicious red beet pesto recipe I mentioned here the other day. I ate up my last batch within a day of making it, so now I have three masons jars full of it!


All in all, I'm very happy with my stay at home day. I feel rested, indulged, and accomplished. As for the rest of the evening, I have plenty more to do here at home: four magazines to read, 150 pages left of Atlas Shrugged, and I have to finish watching Aladdin, which B & I rented late last night from iTunes. You know where to find me.