Saturday night wishes

Friends, I would be psyched if a leprechaun laid a fire in my fireplace, lit it, gave me a foot massage and bolted out the door with nary a word. Sounds good, yes? If only leprechauns were real. Earlier, I had a somewhat lengthy meeting and then exercised before T handed the kids off to me in the gym lobby. We saw him briefly once he returned home but he's been at the office for the past five hours and is still MIA. During this serious amount of weekend quality time, the boys and I made Valentines, killed each other with Sith evil and sabers, took a walk to exchange Jack's roll of quarters for a $10 to find that bank was closed so now I have a heavy roll in my purse and Jack has my "crisp" and then, post-bath (theirs) settled into my bed to have Part 1 of The Talk which tonight was a lovely discussion about how girl and boy body parts differ. Bath-time to Sex Ed-time was actually a terrifically smooth segue being that J donned his scuba goggles in the bath to better study Ol's private area.

Jesus.

Finally, the night was mine, and despite the fact that I could have hit the sack then, I could not bear to let the beautiful filet of Chilean Sea Bass (Patagonian Toothfish, folks. Those marketers can't fool me!) that I bought yesterday go to waste. As such, I summoned the will to poach it in fresh whey and cinnamon, steam up some Carolina gold rice (also in whey) and roast some asparagus because surely T would be home soon. Alas no, and now this beautiful meal is growing cold on the table (though natch I ate while it was hot). Sad. We have been tag-teaming ships in the night lately; I haven't spent an evening with him since Wednesday and do miss him. Perhaps tomorrow night.

At the least Valentine's Day which is A) Friday, B) one of my three favorite holidays, and C) extra-amazing this year because my in-laws INVITED THE CHILDREN TO SPEND THE NIGHT THAT NIGHT!!!!!!!!! That's better than a damn leprechaun, people. So anyway, maybe I'll see T then.

Dinner was very good as, by the way, was breakfast this morning, aka 4 trillion hours ago: fresh ricotta (hence the whey on hand) plus the pear-ginger-black pepper preserves. That is a great recipe I tell you. They were a hit last night (served with Brie and toasted baguette) and I made more today.

Dinner, figs, ricotta, Happy FD

My ricotta looks pillowy and perfect. The poached figs and plump and sensual as they swim in their syrupy, spiced bath. Together, these will make a hell of a breakfast for moi tomorrow morning. I also made a lovely dinner, each element of which was the definition of simple and further underscored the dictum: buy the best-quality food you can and then simply let it shine with little or no adornment. Height-of-the-season corn on the cob? A three minute cook in was-boiling water, and voila, magnificent. Just caught King salmon? Seasoned with salt, pepper and a few tablespoons of fresh whey (another good fat would also suffice), wrapped in a foil pack and roasted in a hot oven...perfection. A simple couscous dish for a hearty side? Wonderful. Tonight, I made Amanda Hesser's couscous with celery, parsley and a minimalist red wine vinaigrette, a recipe I discovered the summer T and I lived in Amsterdam and which has been a favorite ever since.

Everything was so basic, so elementally good, and I feel infinitely satisfied. And now to bed because tomorrow is Father's Day. I feel a slight grr towards this only because I count on the weekends so very much as times of shared parenting. But c'est la vie. The boys treated me so well on Mother's Day and I can reciprocate.

Off.to.bed. Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!

Last night's meal

Y'all, Carolina gold rice is so, so good. It also has such an interesting history. You can read more about it here, but in essence, it was brought to Charles Towne (now Charleston) in 1685 by a merchant from Madagascar who used it as currency to pay for repairs to his ship. The rice hails from Africa and Indonesia but became beloved and important after its arrival on South Carolina's shores. After the Depression, however, it very nearly went extinct, and if not for a Texas eye surgeon who discovered some stored grains in a USDA seed bank in the 1980s, it might have disappeared completely.

I love it because when cooked, it's got the most marvelously creamy texture and distinct flavor. Distinct's not actually the right word; it's hard to articulate but is something along the lines of each bite being followed with a "wow, that is good rice!"

It was lovely alongside last night's dinner. As I'd planned, I poached the halibut in whey to which I'd added some star anise and cloves; it turned out really nicely in a soft, muted way which well honored the tender steakiness of the halibut, if I say so myself. I'd stirred some scallions into the rice, sauteed some red chard and topped everything with those gorgeous, glowing candied kumquats.