I've been doing more and more cooking this summer. It has a lot to do with the Girls leaving for their first apartment in a few weeks and really not knowing a whole lot about how a kitchen works. Trust me, they're not slow, but I've never placed a real emphasis on cooking in our home. When we bought the home, we bought it based upon charm and the price. It has gorgeous hardwood floors and moldings and the best tree in the world in front of it (seriously, it is the best . . . you won't sway me on that). Plus, it reminded me of my childhood home . . . and the price was right. But with that mindset, we gave up a lot. We don't have air conditioning (but we've lived without it for so long that I really don't bat an eye when people tell us they don't have air cough, cough . . . my sister) or a dishwasher or more than five square feet of counter space or more than 2.5 closets. Cooking, and the cleanup that goes with it, is kind of challenging. So, we ate out quite a bit partially because the Girls were busy all through school but more because of the lack of anything in the kitchen.
Even so, I enjoy cooking a lot. The way that the flavors meld together and work their scents throughout the house . . . priceless. And for me, there is nothing in the world like the smell of cilantro. It simply smells green. Seriously. Go break off a few leaves in the grocery store and crush them between your fingers. It smells like green. If Crayola could figure out a way to make crayons smell of anything other than wax, which I happen to think is pretty divine, leaf green would smell of cilantro.
In the past, I would use whatever I needed in a recipe and then the rest of the cilantro - or any type of herb - would languish in the fridge and then go all squiffy and slimy and gross. For some reason, even though I saw the little cubes of frozen herbs in the freezer section at Wegmans, I never even thought of doing it on my own. Until now.
Maybe it's the fact that the Girls are leaving for their first apartment and will be cooking their own meals. Maybe it's the realization that I am getting slightly more frugal in my old age. Maybe it's trying to save money for a new lens and bag . . . whatever. The process was so simple that I really should have done it a long time ago. Rinse, chop in mini-food processor, spoon in to ice cube trays, fill with a little bit of water, freeze, pop out and put in freezer bags. In mid-January, when I need a little something to remind me of warmth of summer, "fresh" cilantro on some pasta will more than fit the bill.
Enjoy the weekend! And if you can think of any simple, easy to cook recipes for two Girls, leave me a link in the comments.
Jill
I hear your giblets-a-la-screwdriver turkey is to die for
ReplyDeletesuch good color in this post.
ReplyDeleteand I think you are on to something, I need to start doing this so I am not so sad when I open the fridge to find mushy ick where there used to be cilantro/parsley/basil....