Back Again

I’ve been in a food rut for a month or more. I’ve had some good meals and cooked some decent ones, but I haven’t really been inspired recently. Part of it is the drab weather and gray days. In another life, I must have frolicked on a tropical island year round.

The other part of it is that I’ve become a serious knit-a-holic. I’m on my second sweater (third, really, if you count the one I knit and ripped out because I didn’t like it) and have two more in the queue. Plus, I’ve been knitting lots of miscellaneous objects like hand towels, four hats, scarves, and more. So, dear food lovers, pardon my detours. For me, really, it’s all related—I love to create, to produce something with my hands that is at once artistic and practical (you can wear it or eat it). I notice that many of the knit bloggers out there are also serious food people as well! So, ahem, without further ado, here’s a little knit pic:

It’s the Center Square hat from the current issue of Knitty, made in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, slightly more than 2 skeins, on size 10 ½ circular needles (for those who know and care about the details).

Moving on.

Last night, I was roaming around—or rather, battling my way through—Whole Foods after work and felt inspired again. Pierre and I have resolved to get even more fruits and vegetables in our diet, so I was there completing the mission. I stopped by the seafood counter, and the woman in front of me ordered skate. I’ve never made skate, but I think about it a lot. It’s cheap, too. I nixed the cod I was going to buy and got three-quarters of a pound, figuring I’d determine what to do with it when I got home. Luckily, I discovered in my yellow Gourmet Cookbook that the classic preparation makes for fast eats—a simple French dish of skate in sautéed in brown butter and parsley. I added to that my favorite preparation for zucchini--in which I throw zucchini on the George Foreman grill with avocado oil, salt, and pepper—as well as a spinach and arugula salad. The skate was delicious, sort of like a super moist and more flavorful white fish, but without any fishiness in texture or taste. The rich brown butter and fresh parsley were a perfect accompaniment. Sorry, but for some reason, this fish is not so photogenic. I swear it was yummy, though.

Oh, but wait! My friend Aaron sent me this article from The Boston Globe about Anheuser- Busch’s efforts to make gluten-free beer. We had never tried a GF beer, since we were under the impression that they were not very tasty. Plus, we’re not big beer drinkers. But it was such a lovely piece, and I was so happy that a major company was making this gluten-free effort, that I wanted to try it. So Redbridge was my impulse buy at Whole Foods and a little surprise for Pierre. He was *thrilled.* And do you know what? It was really quite good. I’m no beer expert, but it tasted like a slightly darker brew, rich with lots of character. More importantly, it tasted like beer, not like a beer impostor. Three cheers!