"What are you thinking about?" Christina asked me, as I stood stirring a pot of melted chocolate.
We had a bar of bitter dark chocolate in our cupboard that was given to us as a gift and is so bitter that it is practically inedible. It was the sort of chocolate my grandmother would have eaten, but then, she was the type of person who would eat black licorice flavored jelly beans, and didn't seem to care whether candy actually tasted sweet. After coming home from our walk today I decided to do something about the chocolate, so I heated it over a double boiler with some sugar and cream. Nothing completes a cool sunny walk like sweet, velvety chocolate.
"You have a funny look on your face, seriously, what are you thinking about?" Christina asked again. Her cheeks were pink from the wind, and wisps of hair framed her face. Looking at her made me forget myself for a moment. I walked through my memory, tracing my steps back up the hill to Grand Avenue, where we sat outside on the park bench with our latte and croissant. We were watching the people go by and admiring their mannerisms and oddities as though they were Alexander McQueen models on a runway. After a few minutes of hard remembering, I finally located the thought which had prompted the funny look.
"I was thinking about how you leaned over and kissed me on the park bench, in front of everyone. I was thinking about all of the people who came before us, who walked through fears and lived lives full of meaning. I was thinking about the positive impact that they had, and how many people never live to see how their courage strengthens the world, or how they are celebrated when they are gone. I was thinking about how happy I am to be living with you."
Maybe it was the chocolate, but I was feeling absolutely saturated with love.
"oh..thanks.." Christina said smiling from ear to ear.
This meal has been floating around in my imagination for years. Each time I have attempted to pull it into existence, some piece of it eludes me. I keep grasping for it, quinoa, orange, asparagus, zucchini, onion, garlic, olive oil, pepper, I have tried dozens of combinations and never quite hit the mark. I once added orange juice to the quinoa, but the orange flavor was too dilute, and the texture of the quinoa was all wrong. I have added too little garlic, used the asparagus that was too thin, over cooked it, under cooked it, added too little salt. With all of these failings peppering my memory, I nearly gave up on the dish, but tonight I felt a renewed sense of courage. I am happy to report, that the dish of my subconscious finally came to life. I feel so happy that I never gave up on it. Should you decide to make it, I hope that you enjoy it as much as we did!
Warm Quinoa and Zucchini Salad
In a small sauce pan add about 1 cup rinsed quinoa and 2 cups of water.
(Quinoa has a bitter taste to it if it is not thoroughly rinsed before cooking, many companies pre-rinse their quinoa, but I still wash mine anyway until the washing water runs clear.) Bring the water to a boil with a lid on the quinoa. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until the quinoa is soft, has sprouted little tails, and the water is gone. In a separate saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add
1 very small yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large zucchini, diced
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp Florida pepper (penzys spices.. or just use lemon pepper, or pepper and dried lemon and orange peel)
Add the quinoa
1/2 Tbsp brown rice vinegar
Remove from the heat and spoon onto a butter lettuce leaf. Serve with-
Asparagus and Carrots in Toasted Orange Butter
Heat a frying pan and add
2 Tbsp water
1/2 bunch trimmed asparagus
2 carrots, sliced diagonally
add about 2 Tbsp butter
a sprinkle of salt,
3 cloves garlic, minced
Zest 1/2 orange onto the mixture and cook until the water is gone and the butter has started to brown. Turn off the heat and serve warm.
Christina's vote: "This meal made me feel like I could tame lions."
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