Busy Weeknights

Those of you follow me on Twitter, gchat, facebook, or actually (it still happens sometimes) just know me in real life may be aware that this week has been BEYOND ABSURD in terms of stress level, and that the weeks ahead only promise to get worse.  Given the amount of actual work there is to be done, sometimes it seems a little silly to be putting in any time at all on cooking a meal -- much less photographing it and then, most ridiculous of all, writing about it.  The wonderful narcissism of blogging is sort of the ULTIMATE PURPOSELESS TIME DRAIN.  

That being said, it's a time drain I look forward to.  If I have to come home at the end of the day drained, I guess I'd rather spend my free time thinking about (and eating!) delicious food than, say, compulsively watching The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love.  Which I totally don't do. 

And for no better reason than that, the cooking and blogging continues.

So, I set a goal this week of doing more legit, photographable cooking for my lone self.  Truth be told, I still drank a lot of smoothies...

... My go-to breakfast of choice.  I usually toss in a half cup of frozen organic wild blueberries, a half cup of frozen organic raspberries, a half cup of plain low-fat yogurt (this Wallaby brand is Australian-style, very soupy and preservative free), and a cup of O.J.

They're pretty tart, which I find refreshing first thing in the morning, and I like the sugar kick of energy all those carbs provide.  

And lunch on more than one occasion was, confessedly, apples, bread, and cheese.  I did it right at dinner time, though, taking a half hour out of every day to comfort-cook.  A couple days ago it was a grilled burger with a side of steamed artichoke with curry dip:

The curry dip is a simple mix of the plain yogurt, Spectrum brand mayo (expeller pressed canola oil, whole eggs, filtered water, honey, distilled white vinegar, sea salt, mustard, lemon juice concentrate), a squirt of lemon juice, salt, and plenty of curry powder to taste.  Zing.

Yesterday it was a lemony Greek-style pasta:

Racconio brand shells (just durum wheat semolina and water) tossed with a "sauce" of the C&D farms ground beef, chopped onion and garlic sauteed in olive oil with thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and crumbled feta cheese. 

And when weeknights do their worst, my favorite way to fight back is with an unprocessed version of an old standard: cookies and milk.

Crunchy, almondy biscotti from Treasure Island's "Rustic Bakery", flaked with cocoa nibs and dipped in a cool glass of decadently creamy whole milk

Sometimes people ask about this eating regime as if it's a difficult diet I've set myself to lose thirty pounds.  But frankly, looking at that photo, I think the opposite may be true.  Food doesn't get richer, or sweeter, or more emotionally satisfying than that. 

And I think there may be no going back.