Looking ahead

Hello, friends. This summer, our 50?-year-old kitchen finally, completely, unequivocally broke beyond any reasonable repair. We decided to renovate it and hey let’s divide a bedroom in two so the kids can have their own rooms and while we’re at it we should really rectify the plumbing in the bathroom and you know, we may as well turn the stairs around and bring them up to code while we’re at it. Yes, it’s a very old house. The four of us are presently in our sixth week of camping out in the living room with a fridge, a microwave, and a hotplate.

NOT COINCIDENTALLY, I’ve been reading a lot of food writing recently. I have the Fall 2016 issue of Lucky Peach, which looks at the politics of fine dining. I’ve been obsessively bookmarking recipes on the internet. This past weekend, our lovely neighbours, M and A, invited us over for rack of lamb, chèvre mashed potatoes, asparagus, broccoli, salad with candied almonds, and homemade ciabatta. I wanted to weep with joy and gratitude. I ate a lot.

And then M turned to me and asked, “What’s the first thing you’re going to cook in your new kitchen?” At the time, I came up blank. We’re doing okay for main meals: I cooked and froze a lot of soups and stews earlier this autumn. We have a rice cooker. And a toaster. What Nick and I are really missing is vegetables.

Right now, even washing salad greens is tricky (pedestal sink in the bathroom! Water everywhere!) and everything gets peeled, chopped and cooked at the dining table. In practice, this means we eat crudités. Like, every night. So when this reno’s finished, I’m going to make the biggest salad ever documented, with a dressing that requires 47 ingredients. I’m going to roast a diversity of vegetables in our new oven. And I’m going to braise some others, just for fun. So. Many. Vegetables. And once that’s out of my system, I’ll cook a balanced meal for M and A.

In the meantime, what are your favourite ways to eat vegetables? Best recipes? Inspire me!