Living Again

Today I went to the special organic/whole foods store in town to buy groceries (right after I locked myself out of the house and had to pay a locksmith to let me back in) for new recipes. It's only special because it is such a different store from the ones I grew up with--it smells different, most of the packaged food is different, there are bulk bins, etc. It's like traveling to a new place without ever leaving home! I go there sometimes as a treat for myself, just to walk up and down the aisles and see all the things I've never tried. People who grew up in a city probably don't act like tourists in grocery stores. But I wouldn't change it for the world--and I can't wait until I live in a real city so I have even more chances to walk around in wonder at what they will have thought of next!

Ha.

Anywho, I made a delicious dinner tonight. Roasted potatoes, asparagus, and salmon with an orange-bell pepper salsa. It was wonderful, and as I washed and chopped the different ingredients it felt like part of me was waking up again. I felt less bored by myself than I have felt in a very long time. Cooking is so enjoyable to me, and recently I've just been throwing whatever together and eating quickly. I don't love salmon (unlike potatoes and asparagus, yum!), so it's not that the food is a million times better than my favorite quick pasta dish--but a lot of it was the preparation that gave me pleasure: chopping the potatoes and pepper up, whisking the vinaigrette for the salsa. It took a tiny bit more time than a quick pasta dish--probably 40 minutes from prep to table--but nothing that I can't do most days. Apparently, I need to make this a bigger part of my life because I was just irrationally pleased with making dinner tonight. I have a new recipe for every night this week--which is a huge no-no for goal achievement, but something I will never accept naturally--so maybe I will be able to extend that pleasure this week.