I saw An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Graceby Tamar Adler mentioned online and it sounded intriguing. Economy AND Grace in food. It’s not only a lovely book to read, but is full of great ideas about home cooking. The first idea I took from it was about roasting vegetables ahead of time and then using them throughout the week in a variety of ways, from soups to salads to main dishes. Sunday I roasted a cauliflower and a butternut squash that I had around, as well as some nuts.
Last night I took some of each, along with some roasted walnuts and onions, and made a salad along the lines of one of her suggestions.
Earlier I had made an olive bread with a mix of green olives and kalamata olives. It is delicious! I was nervous because it was way wetter than normal in the bread machine. I just added a bit more flour a spoonful at a time while it was kneading until it looked right. It came out beautifully!
I also had some hardboiled eggs (from my hens) and some artichokes from my own garden. Oh, the butternut squash was one I’d grown and harvested last fall. It was my last.
So dinner was a lovely mishmash of:
- cauliflower and butternut squash salad
- olive bread
- sliced cheese
- sliced hardboiled egg
- artichokes
It’s different than my normal meals and I loved it.
The book does have recipes in it but far more valuable are the ideas. Using up what you’ve got, repurposing ingredients so you’re not eating “leftovers,” and trying new things. It’s an inspiring and lovely book to read. Her writing is joyful. I don’t know how else to describe it.
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