Lonna Workman..
is a freelance journalist whose work is published in national, regional, and local newspapers. This is her third column. She is currently penning her first novel.
Archives - 2005
Kiss Convenience Good-Bye!
Confessional Palates
Victorian Vapors
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Kitchen Tales
by Lonna Workman |
Confessional Palates!!
It wasn't three days into the New Year before I succumbed to the pressures of polite society and broke my New Year's Resolutions.
I know… I know… there's no excuse for that sort of thing…and yes… I know I really ought not to blame society for personal failings, but there you have it. I did and I do. It's true.
On New Years Eve, I partook of the gourmet delights proffered at a nearby Italian restaurant.
On New Years Day, I partook of something. I just cannot recall what it was, but I was well aware that I was not supposed to be dining on it.
And on Monday at noon, I went down to the office cafeteria and
paid nearly $8 for a chicken breast and a trip to the salad bar. To add insult to injury, later that night, I ordered a pepperoni pizza with a side of antipasto salad. Complete with a liter of Coke to go with it.
So much for good intentions.
To be perfectly fair, there were compelling reasons for my behavior.
Polite society requires that I ring in the New Year with a celebration, does it not?
And Mondays are notoriously bad days where all bets are off,
are they not?
I thought so!
What's important here…is that I have rectified the situation. I have driven myself to the market and purchased a cartload of food. It cost me $238.42, but I have everything I need to turn my kitchen from a lonely place (where one goes to get a cup of coffee in the morning), into a fully functional, working kitchen where invited humans can eat, chat, and bond over meals.
It appeals to me in theory, so I picked up all the staples.
All the pantry items (flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, nuts, chocolate chips, vanilla…I bet you can guess what I'm making!).
All the produce available (avocados, potatoes, celery, lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, radishes, cucumber, zucchinis, yams, onions, broccoli, 2 bunches of carrots, a watermelon, bananas, apples, pears, grapes, and fresh ginger). I cannot believe that I forgot the garlic cloves! So when the occasion arrives, everyone knows that I'm going to have to send hubby to the store for that.
Some needed spices to tie me over until I buy myself an herb mill (that was two jars of sweet basil and one jar of paprika). Also, a tube of ginger paste (available in the produce department, which was necessary for my ginger tea experiment).
The usual dairy (Irish Cream Coffee Creamer - I'm sure you can figure out what brand I use - some soft butter in a tub, 4 unsalted sticks of butter, and a huge tub of sour cream for a potato leek recipe that I'm going to make at the end of the week).
There's a ton more, including a trip to Costco to buy all my meat, but why relive it? You get the picture - I stocked up!
And I confess that the time and money spent was well worth it! Last night, my family sat down for a nice, home cooked Swordfish dinner (baked and coated with Chef Paul Prudhommes' Seafood Magic), with steamed green beans (cleaned, snapped, and thrown in the veggie steamer), and buttered yams.
So now, if I may… I'd like to offer a tip. Find out when your grocery market stocks up on fresh produce. Mine puts out fresh produce every Thursday, which also happens to be first day of any produce sales. Whichever day your store happens to put out its fresh produce, that's the day to do your grocery shopping, because you'll get your choice of the best pickings at the best price!
And now a final word to my readers: Let your palate confess!! I know…and you know…and your friends know…that I am not the only one to have broken my New Year's Resolutions so early in the war. So stick in your stomach, square your shoulders, and Rectify! Rectify! Rectify!
See 'ya on Tuesday! Ciao.
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Items of Interest....
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Roasting turkey | Roasting temperature should be at least 325 F. This temperature keeps poultry or meat out of the "danger zone," where bacteria can multiply.
Use a thermometer to judge if turkey has cooked completely. Never partially cook a turkey; don't start roasting unless you have time to finish.
Whole poultry should reach180 degrees fahrenheit in the thigh; 170 degrees fahrenheit in the breast area. |
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