A Meal for Wanderlust

Without following up too much on the progress of our wanderlust, I'll just say that he's still here. He's hanging out in our living room with his feet up, sipping tea and reading the newspaper. The headlines are making him feel itchy. The black tea is causing him to consider farmhouses in the Italian countryside, small villas on the coast of Brazil, tiny cabins on the Olympic Peninsula, acreage on Vashon, eclectic dwellings tucked in the woods of Maine. From my desk I can see his arm bent and touching his forehead. I can tell he's considering when he will slouch off the couch and begin surreptitiously cajoling me with his stories of far-off places and sunny landscapes. He might chew a bit of tobacco before beginning with his stories; maybe I have a little more time before he manipulates my mind yet again.

Perhaps I can stave off Wanderlust's advances by offering him a tasty meal. Last night after a long day for both of us, B was putting Cora to bed early (yes, our little bug is sick AGAIN) and I had about 5 minutes to rustle something up for dinner or else we'd probably have found ourselves munching cereal or slapping together an unfortunate sandwich. While surveying our refrigerator and wanting to make something nutritious, but not having enough energy to stir something on the stove, I remembered visiting a friend last year in Boulder who made amazing roasted vegetables (along with gorgeous dinners every night - you know who you are), and all of us basked in the hospitality and deliciousness. Hers were filled with a variety of colorful summer squashes and other seasonal July vegetables, of which I had none, but I did have cauliflower, something that I remember gave the meal a hearty, satisfying quality.

ROASTED VEGETABLES
Preheat oven to 425
Serves 2-4 (B and I polished it off last night, but we served ourselves huge helpings)

1 small or medium cauliflower
1 large carrot
2 stalks celery
1 small handful parsley
1/2 bunch Lacinato kale (about 7 leaves; a whole bunch would be fine, too, this is just all we had)
Broccoli stems (I used about 5)
Olive oil
Generous pinch sea salt
Pepper (we use a mix of black and red peppers)

Chop vegetables into manageable, chunky pieces. Lightly chop parsley. Put everything but the kale in a glass roasting dish and sprinkle liberally with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper and stir to combine flavors. Place on a middle rack in the oven and stir occasionally to ensure vegetables are roasted evenly. When vegetables are soft and browned, add kale. Stir to incorporate and bake in the oven for about 5 more minutes, or until the greens are wilted but not overdone. Add more salt and pepper, to taste, if necessary.

We served this with a combination of white and long-grain brown rice cooked in chicken broth (1 cup brown rice, 1 cup white rice, 3 cups chicken broth). I swear, I felt like it was one of the most delicious meals we've had in awhile and I heartily recommend it for its simplicity and nutritional value. I'm not sure if it was the food or the setting or the rare opportunity to share a meal, just the two of us, but we launched into a wonderful conversation about creativity and harnessing its elusive qualities at work or in short periods as a FT mom.

Both Cora and Wanderlust are stirring. I'm signing off to see if I can help the first one slip back to sleep. Wanderlust, however, is looking a bit edgy. I'm not sure what to do with him.