Being ill has absolutely nothing to recommend it. There is so much to be done, once you feel better, that it is not worth the time, or effort, to be ill. I do not want to do that again.
We went out today, paid our utilities, went to Costco, then, in the same parking garage, to Soriana. It was mostly a vegetable run, as we were completely out of all edible produce. It is hard to put together a meal without vegetables. I wanted to go to the Mercado closest to us but I am still a bit leery about the crowd there.
A big concern for me is usually prepping the veg for storage, so that, when it comes time to use them, they are not all moldy, or wilted. From the course I am taking, about cooking what you have to hand, Mike Greenfield, the instructor, (you can find him at ProHomeCooks on YouTube, or, on Instagram at LifebyMikeG), showed us how to prep the veg to keep things fresh for the next week, sometimes two.
So that is what I did when we got home from the store. We ate lunch first, because we were starving, but after that I got to work on all of the produce. Here, you have to disinfect all of the produce before using it so everything has to soak in a disinfectant for fifteen minutes, then you are free to do with it what you will. For all of us, it is a timely process but a necessary one. There are dire consequences if one does not follow these dictates; hand to God.
I was going to explain all of the different things I had to do with each of the veg but, really, no one cares about how long that took me, except me. Let me just say, we bought four small heads of Romaine lettuce, and one head of green leaf; they were soaked, spun, dried, and placed in air tight containers. Next, came the large bunch of cilantro; the dead, or dying stems culled, then, soaked, spun, dried, wrapped in paper toweling, and placed in Ziplock bags. The large container of baby spinach, I simply transferred half to an air tight container, to be used as is; it said on the container that it did not require washing. The other half is to be shared.
The carrot preparation was, however, a revelation, to me anyway. Carrots, here, spoil about four minutes after they enter the apartment. If I put them in the veg drawer, by the third day they are shriveled, and unrecognizable. What is up with that? Anyway, I was taught to peel them, and cut them in quarters lengthwise, and place them in a Mason jar with our filtered water. Duh! Why I could not think of that myself, who knows?!
The eggplants, sweet potatoes, red and green bell peppers, avocados, and cherry tomatoes did not require anything on my part, so they were put, loving, in their respective places; the first four in the veg drawer of the fridge, and the last two, in the veg stand, on the counter. Do you remember the veg stand? I actually saw it, before I bought it a couple of years ago, on the show Elementary, starring Jonny Lee Miller, and, Lucy Liu. It is a really fun take on Sherlock Holmes, and Dr. Joan Watson. Hah!
The garlic heads we have had for a couple of weeks still feel solid, so, for now, I am going to put them in an air tight container, and, those that do not get used in the upcoming weeks, I will dehydrate when they start to dry out. Then, when needed, I will grind them into garlic powder; nothing wasted, right? You can do the same thing with onions; dehydrate them, and grind them into powder. I almost forgot dried chilies; make your own chili powder. Yay.
For the first time, ever, I bought celery sticks, precut, and in small plastic bags. I just do not use enough of it, or often enough to waste an entire bunch. It makes me think of the blurb I saw on FB some time ago; someone lamenting that they almost got out of the grocery store without buying the bag of Spring Blend lettuce that they normally throw away in two weeks, unopened, and spoiled. Unfortunately, that was me, before this class. I hope I will be able to use the beautiful produce we purchased before any of it spoils. Not “I hope”, but “I will.”
Listen to this. (You will not be able to hear it but maybe you can read it instead.) I am thinking about a menu for the next two weeks. I want to make Cream of Poblano soup; Ratatouille; some kind of fresh homemade pasta with sauce; Tortilla Española; tilapia with roasted veg; and a pork Ramen, with fresh veg, and medium cooked egg. I made two and a half quarts of pork bone broth the other day when I had a bit of energy.
For now, though, I am going to go watch another episode of Elementary; again. I have watched the entire seven seasons three, maybe four times. All of the times I “watched” it in Iowa, however, I was also knitting, and not paying much attention. Now, I can pay attention.
Please, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.