I am home alone for a few days, and as I am always used to cook for a whole brunch of people, it is easy to make it simple when you are alone. This time I decided not to do that. On the contrary, being alone actually give me so much free time, time that can be used on cooking.
Inspired by a book I have just read, The Food of Love
I started with a visit to the harbour after work. I had planned to visit the fish market and get inspiration to a fish meal, but a boat were on the dock announcing fresh shrims. The weather was nice and hot, a perfect weather for shrimps, so I couldn't resist. It is a special summer treat to sit out on the docks eating shrimps right out of the bag and throw the leftovers to the seagulls, but I had other plans.
Coming home, after a busride in baking temperatures, no air-condition in Norwegian town buses, I wanted my dinner to be a late one in the garden, so I just found some bread and cheese to help my hunger, and then started a shopping list. Working on the list I realized that I didn't have to shop for groceries at all. The shrimps were already in the fridge, and so were some mayonnaise, I had a lime that could go for lemon and I had flour and yeast to make white bread - and bread from the shop, no matter how fresh it is, is never better than home made bread accompanied with the smell it perfume the whole house with. For dessert I wanted to make a pie with berries from the garden, strawberries, cherries, black and red currants, and I had egg and milk, polenta and vanilla sugar to make the most yummy vanilla sauce - can't be compared to what you buy of course.
I picked the berries while the bread dough was raising and made the vanilla sauce while the breads were in the oven. The crust for the pie was made and put in the fridge, the berries were cleaned and all I had to do was to wait. It was still a bit early, so I sat out in the garden, listening to Mozart's Don Giovanni, reading Susan Howatch's A Question of Integrity and enjoying the funny clouds in the sky.
Around 9pm I couldn't resist the nice smell from the kitchen any more. I went out in the garden to pick salad and herbs for the butter, made a salad for one, laid the table, and my slow food feast started.
To be alone and be able to treat myself like this is a blessing, but of course the blessing is so rich because I know I have my family still very close, and will be together with them again in a few days. I look forward to keep on making feasts like this, Food of Love, for Terje and the kids, and for friends of course, in the future.
