I have had A Social Engagement. Not the picnic I had planned for the weekend, with intrepid friends on bikes (cancelled due to weather, though hoping for next weekend), but a sitting-in-the-back-garden at my parents'. With lunch, courtesy of Just Eat and a local tapas place. It was... nice. Weird. Confusing (don't hug anyone! Remember not to share serving spoons! Really, tapas isn't well designed for this at all!). Sad (they are 80, they are ageing, and you don't get such a picture on the doorstep). Sadder (I did go inside, briefly for the loo and to drop my potentially-plaguey crocks into soapy water, and it's just as it should be, only now I go in via the side return and bleach everything - it is of course just as it was in late February, and smells like Home, and is not mine). But also nice. Good food, chat in real time, the Zoom tiredness replaced only by red wine at lunchtime tiredness, which is a much nicer flavour of exhaustion. (Though did mean I didn't join a friendly Zoom this evening. Sorry.)
It did mean that dinner wanted to be small, which was a bit of a pain as it had to be pasta, as there is no way on this earth I'm boiling water on Wednesday to Friday (30 degrees forecast, will let you know what it is inside my flat by the end, ugh). It will be avo toast to the end there, unless the avocados go bad on me, which is always a possibility.
Meanwhile, I'm having end-of-the-week pasta from jars, on a Monday. Still, it wasn't bad, if beige.
Artichoke pasta is a nice cupboardy recipe if you're the kind of householder who keeps emergency artichokes in your cupboards, which I definitely am. These were Waitrose Essentials tinned, rather than fancy jarred ones, but I still think that stretches the definition of essential somewhat.
Anyway. Lots of sliced garlic, fried briefly, then add in a jar/tin of artichokes (roughly chopped) and some chilli, and cook slowly for 5 mins. Add some lemon zest, turn off heat. Try not to let the beige get you down.
Leave to mingle while boiling pasta. Add some extra oil if your artichokes are pallid and tinned, like mine. Season. Eat your last asparagus of the season which you've blanched in the pasta water (optional).
Mix it into the carbs when done, adding some rocket and parmesan (always a promising sentence).
It's messy, but it's yummy. Which is most of what we can ask for.
Weird but nice and needed! I had a dinner at restaurant on Friday evening. First time since 2nd March. It was amazing: come back to normality.
ReplyDeleteIt is really nice to have a bit of normality back. But small steps still!
DeleteThat was great that you were actually able to sit down and have a social visit with your parents even if it was distanced.
ReplyDeleteYes, it felt really good, despite all the limits. I got sunburned, though - I've not sat down outside at all this year, and sort of forgot it's not the same as walking around efficiently!
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