Wow! I can't believe it's been almost three weeks since the great flood. In some ways the house is significantly improved since the first week. It's quieter without all the industrial fans and dehumidifiers running nonstop. The kitchen is functional with a brand new stove and dishwasher. Our bedrooms seem completely normal. Apart from the kitchen/family room area, if you don't look too closely at floors, walls and ceilings you might not even realize anything happened here. We have been given the word from the water abatement company that all is dry everywhere, however, still no repairs to drywall, paint, floors, and cabinets.
As a result, my attention has been on many projects other than cooking and testing recipes. I have completely dropped off the face of the earth as far as the cooking school assisting at Culinaerie is concerned. I've limited my cooking to old reliables such as chili, pesto, salmon and pasta. I hesitate to stock the pantry and fridge too full as I don't know what my access to the kitchen will actually be once drywalling of the ceiling begins on Monday (it was supposed to begin today but has been pushed back a bit).
During the 8 days we had no lights and no appliances in the back of the house, we ate out a bit and carried out a lot. Many thanks to sub*urban trading for their prepared dinners! One night Maddy and I shared a roasted New York strip unlike any I've had before, as it was truly a roast and not cut like the usual strip. That came with roasted fennel and heads of garlic, from which we popped individual cloves to spread on the bread they provided. Another night my family, unbeknownst to them, feasted on sub*urban's stinging nettle lasagna. I merely said it was veggie lasagna, and let everyone decide for themselves what they thought. It seemed to be made with phyllo dough rather than noodles and was delicious, albeit rather rich and buttery.
We will probably have limited use of the kitchen on and off for the next several weeks during paint and drywall, and again in late June when we will have to move out for a week or so to have the floors refinished. My posts during this time might not be consistent and might be less recipe based than usual, but I hope to keep up with my food and nutrition reading and share some of that with you.
On that note, the James Beard Foundation awards were Monday night in NY, and one of the books that won is worth checking out if you're looking for healthier recipes. Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave won in the Healthy Focus category. I have made many recipes from this book and find them to be delicious and satisfying. We really love her Portobello Lasagna Rollups and Maple Mustard Chicken Thighs. I found my copy at Costco some time ago at a great discount, but I haven't seen it there lately.
Oh, and props to my sisters-in-law for experimenting with quinoa!!
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