Photo of the Week – 10/27/10 – For Mom
Mom, I ordered this Mai Tai cocktail recently, and enjoyed it just for you.
Not Last Night’s Dinner
Last night’s dinner was pretty good, but definitely not pretty. I made a small pork roast, and that’s where the problem originated. Sometimes I forget that my family has grown larger and we need MORE MEAT. So when I was at the butcher counter ordering the pork roast I desired for dinner, I didn’t want the 2 pound piece the butcher showed me, I asked him to cut it a little bit smaller. The best he could do was to make it 1 pound, not 1.5 pounds, so I gave him the go ahead.
At dinner time I slathered that promising roast with a mixture of minced garlic, sea salt, Greek herbs and olive oil. I lovingly roasted in at high heat, and when it was cooked to the perfect temperature of 160 degrees, I pulled it out of the oven, only to realize there was barely enough for two slices apiece. I tried my best to make thin slices, but carving a roast is another skill in the list of those I lack. The shredded slices would barely go around, and I had to squirrel away enough for when Joe got home for his late dinner. Once I plated my shriveled up slices, added the collard greens, and half of a yam to the plate, I realized how pathetic the dish looked.
Which is why the picture you see here is Friday night’s homemade pizza and arugula salad with lemon dressing.
Quality Calories
I’ve reached that stage in life where I will turn down food, even if I’m hungry, if I don’t think it’s that good. For example, we usually go to a few music or seasonal festivals every year. These are the types of events where there will be free music, craft vendors, car shows, whatever. They’re a fun way to get a little free entertainment. But the food at these festivals is often very bad “festival food” as I now identify it. It’s the same old greasy fried stuff, and I’ve lost my taste for it – they don’t serve up “quality calories”. I’ve found myself using that expression around the kids, and I’ve noticed Louisa using it, usually to explain why she might turn down a perfectly good side dish which in her mind doesn’t represent quality calories.
On the other hand, I will eat what my conscience tells me is higher calorie food if I decide there are quality, nutritious calories therein. Those peanut butter noodles I cooked last week carried a calorie load that I’d rather not know. And yesterday’s dinner was similarly laden with calories, but I’m not turning down calories of this caliber. These half moon ravioli were brought to us by my parents, and they were worth every cheese bite. The meatballs were left over from Louisa’s birthday party last weekend, and they were frozen, not tossed out after the party. How could I bear to throw away quality calories that I made myself? At least I know that if my jeans feel tight, the calories that got me there were worth every inch.