For most of 2007, I spent every day and much of every night in the office. The economy was piping hot, and legal practice for a corporate lawyer in New York was an unending stream of deals and transactions. In those circumstances, even the quickest home meals were impossible. The best I could do was order hummous, or taboule, or the like, from some of the middle eastern restaurants here in New York, and lose myself for a moment or two in nostalgia for home.
But the economy has slowed down, and my life is much better. I don't mean to downplay the wretched effects of economic stress on many people, but I have enjoyed very much coming home before midnight, the opportunity to see my girlfriend for more than snatched meals outside my office, the chance to breath some fresh, non-air conditioned air. And, of course, to cook during the week.
Weekday dinners need not be complicated, or time consuming. The last thing many people want to do after coming come from work is to wait for a stew to thicken. With spring finally here, furthermore, the vegetables are improving every day. With that in mind, dinner last night was this grilled goat cheese (from Vermont's Coach farms), atop a salad of tangy, spicy, dandelion leaves and thinly sliced apple, just to soften the sometimes astringent dandelions the tiniest bit. No, it's not fancy, but it'll do.
PS - I often get into arguments with other people who have long running issues with weight over whether one can plausibly eat, say, a 4 oz. chunk of goat's cheese healthily. All I have to say is that a 4 oz. goat's cheese like the above has about 250 calories, has great "mouth feel" (to use one of the worst food industry phrases) and "umami" up the wazoo. I'll take that over a frozen diet dinner any day of the week.
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