Yesterday was the very first day of my new status as one of the employed, and I have to say, it feels oh-so-nice. I moved myself about twenty feet to my new desk, and well, I parked myself there for pretty much the entire day. There is much information to be absorbed, and I will always be an overachieving perfectionist who wants to know it all, and now. [Patience, Leslie. Patience.]
Arriving home after a full day of soaking up a great many written words, I was happy to give my brain a little break over dinner. Ah, simplicity:
back to basics: a baked sweet potato, an avocado, wilted kale, steamed broccoli, a glass of water. pure and simple.
While assembling vegetables, I chatted with my mom over the phone, and she asked what was on my menu for dinner. This is a usual conversation between we two: cooking is a passion in which we both delight. [One of my favorite meals that I've made since starting this blog was courtesy of my mom's good recipe-spotting eye.] So last night, I told her, “Oh, I’m just having something simple. I baked a sweet potato. I have an avocado; I have some kale.”
And Mom says, “……..Oh.”
Not quite her usual reaction to a description of my meal-making plans, as the typical response goes something like: “Oh, yummy yummy yummy. Oh, when are you going to cook for me? Oh, I wish I could get Dad to eat that.” But the lone sweet potato, the unseasoned kale, the avocado flesh scooped out of the skin – the basics didn’t garner quite the same enthusiasm and awe.
baked for an hour while i showered and primped in the morning. i swear a plain, whole sweet potato is one of life’s great pleasures.
With my unwavering need for creativity, I find cooking to be a happy art. But sometimes, it’s nice to remember where every one of my dishes begins: with real food, whole foods, plant foods. Sure, I could name five concoctions this very minute that could be cooked up from last night’s plate, but I will always stand by the truth that real food tastes delicious all on its own.
On this occasion, instead of seeing the vegetables as ingredients, I let them shine individually. I contentedly served myself the steaming, melt-in-your-mouth, natural sweetness of a baked sweet potato next to the chew and bitter tinge of just barely steamed kale. I enjoyed the texture of perfectly cooked broccoli: not too soft, not too firm, alongside the cool, creamy, filling flavor of plain avocado.
I’m bringing the leftovers of a cooking creation for lunch today, because life is about both sides of the coin: the most basic state and the most complex. Or, perhaps I just like getting to have it all.
Are you more inclined to go for a simple or a more intricate meal?
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I too love simple meals. Sometimes its refreshing to just eat food in its most natural form..thats why I think raw food is so interesting. But other times I feel the need to make complicated meals..I truly feel how I cook shows how I’m really feeling that day..or whats on my mind.
Beautiful meal, and yes sweet potatoes seem to be one of lifes treasures.
Maggie
i love simple meals, the basics can be the most comforting.
quick question, so you baked the sweet potato ahead of time? oven temp? how did you heat it up this evening? i love a baked sweet potato but i never get it quite right :)
happy thursday, glad to hear the new position is going well!
xoxo
Emily,
I baked it at 400 for an hour, wrapped in foil, then put it in the refrigerator for the day. At night, I just reheated it for 30 seconds in the microwave!
Most people say my salads are pretty intense but I find them to be fairly simple. I do enjoy simple dishes over complex.
Your plate looks amazing, btw!
I was thinking about you yesterday- glad it went well :)
I go through phases…sometimes I want really simple meals and other times I want flavour explosions. Right now, am in a simple phase. I am practicing mindfulness/meditation when I eat so the simpler the better. It’s not just the food that creates the experience but the thoughts around it :D
your post made me smile because my mom always says the exact same thing to me about my dinners too. gotta love moms :)
I love the way you tell stories, Leslie. Dang. The way you wrap words around, loop themes together. Thanks for the reminder that foods – at their core – are still good tasting and should be appreciated.
I love that you wrote this, because I talked about the same thing in a post last week (http://brunettewalksintoabar.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/the-naked-brunette/)! Sometimes, “naked” food is just what we crave, and I think people (myself included) sometimes forget that.
I love your bare veggie plate. All of the characters here are among my top picks for superfoods. While it’s lovely to add a little butter to a sweet potato, or a little melted cheese to broocoli…you’re right, those veggies are inherently delicious. Also, you got your minimum daily requirement of fruit/veggies in one meal!
I love your descriptions of the food! Sweet potatoes rock… they truly are the best vegetable, in my opinion. When cooked perfectly, they are out this world :)
I’ve learned to appreciate food in such a different way in the past few years, that sometimes eating a bite of pure, simple baked sweet potato is the best thing in the world for me. I adore simplicity. Every once in a while it is fun to spice things up and try new combinations too.
Man, you should have SEEN some of the non-meal meals I ate in Nairobi! I once ate 2 mangos, 1 zucchini, and a bowl of cereal for dinner. I kid you not.
There are times when I just go for basic, pared-down, non-fussy meals like yours and other times when I pull out every kitchen gadget and get choppin’. It just depends on my mood I guess, and how much time I have on my hands!
I’m definitely more simple. I make my meals around sweet potatoes often…add some black beans, and I’m good to go!
http://www.firednfabulous.blogspot.com/
Mmmm – I just love simple baked sweet potatoes. All throughout college when I planned a visit home, my mom would ask what I’d want with dinner. I would always reply, “a sweet potato.”