We touched down in Newark at 6:00 Saturday morning and were in our double-wide matchbox of an apartment in Brooklyn by 7:30. After a breakfast of turkey sandwiches we settled in for a long winter’s nap. . . . that lasted two hours.
I went through the rest of the day feeling like I had a hangover without having had any of the fun that usually leads to one (unless a red-eye flight from L.A. to New York is your idea of a good time). Both Amir and I agreed that we were in need of a detox.
I had bookmarked this recipe before we went away because it seemed like a perfect post-thanksgiving meal, and it was. It was worth dragging myself to the market to get kale and a big bottle of chestnuts. It was worth soaking the beans. It was worth chopping the onions that always make me cry. It is surprisingly creamy, tangy, rich, nutty and sweet. It will cure what ails you, even if it’s just too much turkey and too many tacos.
This is what I cook for myself when Amir is out. It is one of the rare recipes that is designed to serve just one person and that’s exactly how it should be eaten. Sure, you could double it to share with another person, but why? This is the kind of dish that is best enjoyed completamente da solo.
There is a place at the farmers market that has the best pumpkin bread. It’s very soft and spicy and the perfect accompaniment to hot apple cider. I’ve wanted to recreate it and after I made pumpkin pancakes a few weeks ago and decided to use the leftover puree to try my old pumpkin bread recipe again.
You know what? It’s pretty good. It’s really good with plum jam. It was good enough to send a mini loaf to a friend for her birthday.
Still, it’s not my ideal bread, so I’m going to keep searching.
Yesterday morning we were leafing through the last issue of Gourmet (sigh) wondering what to make for dinner when these beautiful dishes jumped out at us. Healthy, quick, and tasty, it’s the perfect dinner to make at the end of a long day (and after the tedium of my Bilingual Exceptional Child class.)
