During the week, I hardly ever cook at home. I am on my own, and after coffee and muesli in the morning, I have a cooked lunch at the canteen of whichever customer I happen to work for that day. Two hot meals a day are a bit much, I find, and so at night, I often just have a bowl of salad - and plenty of chocolate afterwards.
My salads usually consist of whatever needs using up. I often put in bits of cheese, a handful of a fruit & nuts mix (or just nuts), a diced apple, fresh pepper (yellow being my favourite) and so on. Here is an example, made some time last month but very typical:
When I am at O.K.'s or he is at my place for the weekend, sometimes we cook together (such as the filled pumpkins we made a while ago), sometimes we eat out. One weekend in November, we went shopping in Stuttgart together. The shop we visited is rather expensive, and for us, the pleasure is as much in just looking at things we know we will never buy as the actual buying of things we like, need (or think we need) or want as gifts for someone.
They also run a restaurant you walk through when entering the shop. With their own bakery attached, they offer really, REALLY nice bread. So far, when we've been there, we have chosen from their bread menue. Here is what we had the other day:
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| Goat cheese, caramelised nuts and honey on a buttered slice of rustic bread |
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| Grana padano, anchovies and rucola; freshly made fruit juice in the glass |
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| Tomato soup |
Other places where we eat more or less regularly are at our respective parents'. In November, my Mum made her traditional roast goose with stuffing for a family dinner. It was as delicious as it looks!
Here's to great food - and to all those who prepare it for us!
OH, dear, I'm feeling a little hungry! This is the time of year when there are several festive family meals in the U.S., Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think we may need this at this dark time. The delicious food and the company sustain us a little, thank heaven. All the food in this post looks good, but your mother's meal looks delectable.
ReplyDeleteYou are right in all points, Kristi - we need good food and company more at this dark time of the year, and the meal at my parents' was especially good!
DeleteIt all looks so good. Cold weather calls out for good food.
ReplyDeleteSo true!
DeleteAlthough my tes was eaten an hour ago your photographs have made me hungry again - everything looks so tasty.
ReplyDeleteIt was as good as it looks, Pat!
DeleteOh yes, I have to agree with you. Food is so much more than just "food". Your mum's roast goose looks really good. I'm impressed by all the salad eating. I eat much more salad in the summer but in the winter seem to choose eggs or soup if I want something lighter.
ReplyDeleteIn reply to your comment on my blog about the impracticality of cooking things for three or four hours during the day - yes, I absolutely understand what you mean and those were weekend meals. But, it could be done in a slow cooker. You switch on the joint of meat or whatever when you leave the house and by the time you get in ten hours later it's ready. I really should use mine more, especially in the winter. x
I like eggs, and love soup, but it all means cooking - whereas for a salad, I don't even need a pot or pan, just toss everything I want in a bowl and make a quick vinaigrette to top it off.
DeleteEven if I owned a slow cooker, I don't think I'd dare leaving it on while I'm out all day; I'd be worried about something going wrong and starting a house fire!
I love the look of your mother's roast goose with stuffing. Wow, that really, really does look yummy!
ReplyDeleteThat last photo, did your mother make the cookies?
They also look wonderful!
The stuffing is nearly the best about the entire roast goose thing, Kay :-D
DeleteA close family friend of ours makes these cookies every year for all of us, he is so generous! He used to be a baker before he changed jobs.
I love the look of that grana padano, anchovies and rucola - appealing strong tastes. Sorry to admit this and I hope your mother won't be offended but I don't like goose. It's one of the few foodstuffs I turn my nose up at. And I only like duck in a Chinese restaurant when its roasted and shredded to eat inside little Chinese pancakes along with plum sauce and fresh shredded lettuce and sliced spring onions... Mmmm... "Food glorious food"!
ReplyDeleteO.K. likes anchovies, and we both love cheese, so this bread was the natural choice for him. He enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed mine.
DeleteAs for you not liking goose, well, we all have our likes and dislikes when it comes to food. I, for instance, really detest liver, kidney, tripe and so on - the smell alone is enough to make me gag.
But yes, indeed: Food, glorious food!
All of the dishes look beautiful and healthful. You will be able to conquer the chill of winter.
ReplyDeleteIf I am not mistaken, this is your first comment on my blog - welcome, and thank you for stopping!
DeleteYes, our bodies and minds need the extra fuel to resist the cold weather.
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a warmful comment. I wish you have a nice weekend.
DeleteIn summer I eat a lot of salad but in winter I feel I need hot food too. For lunch today I made a big pot of soup - which I freeze in portions. :)
ReplyDeleteAs I get to have a hot meal almost every day at work, I really don't need another one in the evenings. And especially in winter, I crave something fresh and crisp, such as raw peppers and salad leaves :-)
DeleteSoup is great, I eat it far too rarely and hardly ever make it at home!