The Ingredients of the Holiday

We are safely home.  We have not slept, hoisted luggage, opened mail, unpacked, done laundry.  The usual.  Changed credit cards and money in wallets.  Yawned.

I have spent the day dragging, with John, the Christmas tree out of the living room and down two flights of stairs, a feat I compared, to my friend Alyssa, to dragging a pile of Pringles out of a tiny space without crunching them.  Agony.  And the ornaments.  Why so numerous?

We all took naps.  Then I opened the empty, pristine refrigerator and felt hungry.

“Gee,” I said to myself, “Self, your jeans are tight.  Why would that be?”

The two choices seemed to be that they have smallened, or I had largened.  And it was but the work of a moment from that observation to my own memory of the sheer LIST of ingredients that marked our holiday, for me to come to the obvious conclusions: food is GOOD.

I thought, just for fun, I’d list what I remember buying and cooking.  This will help me in my quest to fit into my jeans, as well as providing a VERY happy gastronomic memory of my holiday.  And onward to a bit more restraint!

THE LIST (as I would shop it if I were at Stop ‘N Shop in my town in Connecticut)

shrimp to stir fry

haddock to fry

oysters for stew

duck legs for cassoulet

pork belly for cassoulet

pork tenderloin for roast

lamb shoulder for cassoulet

pork sausage for Christmas morning, and for cassoulet

beef tenderloin to grill

buffalo mince for chilli

whole chicken to roast

chicken parts to bake

countless eggs to scramble for breakfast or a midnight snack

beets to roast

cauliflower to roast

butternut squash to roast

fennel to roast

carrots to roast

asparagus to saute

celery and onions, sage and mushrooms for stuffing

parsley, cilantro, basil, tarragon for garnish

broccoli to steam

spinach to cream

red peppers to make into soup

mushrooms to make into duxelles

tomatoes, avocado, red onion, basil for salad

garlic to roast

green beans to saute

potatoes to mash, to grate with cheese, to steam for hash

strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, rasperries

melon

pears

apples and bananas for cake

mozzarella, goat cheese, cheddar, feta, Parmesan, ricotta

homemade chicken stocks, turkey stocks for soup

the olive oil, lemons, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, Fox Point, celery salt, Italian seasoning, paprika, cumin, cayenne, chilli seasoning

chickpeas, black beans, red kidney beans, cannellini beans, Beluga lentils

pastas, tomatoes, pine nuts, Vodka for the occasional emergency pasta

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and Nonna’s Christmas cappuccino, lime and savoury cheesy cookies as a garnish!

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I am quite sure I could set this all to music if I weren’t so… jetlagged. Soon, I promise!  In the meantime, a tiny bit of austerity shall prevail.  Plus tennis… I hear rumors from John that indoor tennis is in our future.  More to come.  But in the meantime, I’m tearing up that grocery list.  It only encourages me.

I am CERTAIN that somewhere, it’s bedtime.  So good night.