Late Afternoon Sun

I rarely have any idea what I am going to make for dinner until the very second I start pulling out pots and lighting fires. I grocery shop the same way...I buy basic ingredients that can make almost anything and then when the time comes to cook dinner I just take inventory of what I have and create something from it. My "grocery list" literally says: Veggies...Beans...Rice...Fish...it's hilarious if you think about it, why even make a list?

I like working like that, I have a hard time planning out a menu beforehand. Once you've made a million different concoctions with every ingredient known to modern man, you get a feel for what works and what doesn't. The hard part is making sure you mix it up and learn new things, and I force that creativeness by varying what I buy at the store.

Heather's breastfeeding added another series of constraints that forced me further out of my box and into a whole new set of ingredients, because she couldn't eat any kind of beans or legumes and those are the bedrock of our diet. No milk or spicy hot foods either. Now we are back to "normal", but I still have an almost overwhelming drive to never make the same exact thing twice.

Here is my latest composition. I had Tilapia, black-eyed peas, fenugreek leaves, and luscious green Lebanese olives to work with. This came out great, topped off with a little olive oil and lemon juice.

Very Mediterranean, and very good, perfect for a sunny day. I also made a tossed salad with white balsamic vinaigrette and we opened a Spanish sparkling wine and toasted to the coming spring.