Love and Cooking

I didn't do much cooking this past week. I had a burst of activity last weekend and was also a bit less energetic when I got home because my car was out of commission due to flat and shop work so I was walking to/from BART. I also had the worst of my period last week, which contributed to the low energy.

I did get a chicken at Andronico's on the way home because I wanted to try the sesame chicken noodle dish in the latest Cook's Illustrated. I had thought of getting a rotisserie chicken, but my native thrift kicked in. I still haven't done the sesame chicken, though, as I ate the delectable breast meat shortly after the chicken came out of the oven (*grin*). I have another bird (I went to the Bowl on Friday, when I had my car back) so might try again.

I did make minestrone with chard ribs (chard was on sale at Andronico's when I got the chicken), green, and wax beans last night, and a blueberry buckle. I cooked the chard greens seperately. More on the minestrone when I have a chance; I have more cooking and a whack load of cleaning ahead of me today.

The Society for Getting Dinner on the Table notes with approval the wide selection of pre-prepared vegetables at Trader Joe's. Actually I think the one thing I haven't particularly noted there is the shredded cabbage you can find in most supers these days, but they have various root veggies cut in chunks, julienned carrots, petite green beans in a microwavable bag, sugar snap peas (which are low-care in their natural form), two kinds of stir-fry mix, and as I noted this am, "chard of many colors" de-ribbed and cut up. I might be availing myself of this, because I love chard, and my experience this week reminds me that if I am low-energy or very pressed for time (as I often am in the am) I may pass on it because of the prep. Also, in my effort to reduce my number of shopping trips, it's nice to know that I can find chard at TJ's.