Nothing Special

I went a little crazy at the market and spent about $50 restocking.   Basically, I bought anything I thought I might use in the near future that was a decent price.  Only the chicken thighs and broccoli were part of a planned meal.

The reason I'm posting something as basic as this is to show that a "special" meal (in this case, my Shabbat Shuvah dinner) is all about the attitude and presentation.  You can make something fancy, or you can present the ordinary with an air of elegance.  Half of what makes restaurant food so appealing is how it is plated.  (The other half is salt.)

I haven't been cooking much because it has been so hot.  Boiling the veggies and throwing chicken in the oven felt taxing.  I'm mostly doing dips and cheeses.  Or picking up stuff. The last thing I baked was a batch of Oatmeal Everything cookies.  Since it makes over four dozen, I just threw the rest in the freezer for teas over the next few weeks.  Don't be surprised if I don't post for a week.  Unless my cooking mojo comes back, I'm not making anything until next Tuesday, meaning the post would be the day after.  I really hope it's cool enough by then to slow-roast some pork ribs I picked up.