Whew

Life is starting to feel a little more normal now. Just got back from a much needed vacation. Tomorrow is the first day back to work. However, what I noticed that I missed the most lately, (besides Brooklyn in general) was my kitchen. Sure, I cooked while I was in Florida....but it wasn't MY kitchen, with ingredients that I picked, and no ingredient restrictions. And it's been years since I cooked on a regular stove. Literally, about 6 years. How does one cook properly on a non gas stove? Egads.

I also realized how spoiled I am with food. I had to give up and not think about where my food was coming from, or what it was cooked in, and how it was going to ravage my body. I hated it. After living in Miami for 26 years, and thinking I was so healthy and eating so fresh, then coming to New York and discovering what it was like to really eat, and what was really fresh, and what really mattered, it was jarring. Not to say, that you can't find fresh food in Miami. You can, of course. But you have to dig like all bloody hell. It's not like there's a farmer's market in every neighborhood. Going to Publix, an event that I used to look forward to so much, made me so sad. Sure, they have an "organic" section, but, ew, really? That's what you call asparagus? That's what you call fennel? That's an heirloom tomato?

Needless to say, I cooked a lot today. I made dinner, and then a vat of wheatberries w cinammon and cranberries for breakfasts throughout the week, and I also made a spicy lentil soup for lunch and dinner. I have some Satur Farms bok choy that could use a little flash saute and would be fab on top of the soup. I'm thinking of a zucchini torte, a fingerling gratin, key lime creme brulee....the mind reels. Oh, to have real food again, what bliss.