Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The 5 Es

Oh, the humdrum midweek meal of varying goals: economy, efficiency, expediency, entertainment, and, occasionally, enjoyment. In that balance of power, I tend toward the first few while Baleen never ever forgets the last one. To even have half a sense of what that's like I'd have to permanent marker, "Optimal food taste," on the back of both my hands to think of it every seven seconds as I type. It's not that I wouldn't rather have a great bite than a good one, it's just too many steps on a midweek night to make that great bite.

But when I come home from work to a meal that Baleen's had time to prepare, I see the difference between her cooking and mine. It's not just that the food looks a whole lot prettier from beginning to end...


...it's that she's thought of what the final product will become before it's a final product, and thinks about what would make it better. That's one chess move too many for me.

On Monday night I returned from a barbell day (calls to London in the morning, Sydney at night) to a dinner of salmon, asparagus and wild rice. Which could of come straight from Runner's World or Eating Right with that I know it's good for me because it's good but not great taste, except for those few little twists that made it great. First, a little lemon over the asparagus. Then, displaying an impressive penchant for economy with ingredients that creep from one dish to the next, a Paula Deen lemon cream sauce with 2x as much chicken broth as cream. Just another humdrum midweek meal.


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