Where is my mind? - A vegetable stew to face the rain that May was not supposed to have


Oh, merry month of May, that you're not merry at all today! Rain is expected for weeks, now, and I don't know if I am ready for that. I already feel depressed just at the thought of grey, dull days stretching ahead of me, days that sap my energy and my will to do anything at all. I love the cold and the rain and the dark, when it's Autumn or Winter. This is Spring. We, like plants and nature and all living beings, need the sun and the light after the dark and dreary days of Winter. I almost feel like I'm in Game of Thrones, repeating "Winter is coming" to exhaustion. I'd rather say Tyrion is coming... and that did not come out too well, now did it?


So, as I was saying before I got distracted by thoughts of Peter Dinklage - don't ask, but he's about the only good thing on that show! - I need sunshine and warm days. Only it looks like it's not to be had. We had a brief respite from dreadful weather, leaving us wishing for more. We partook of salads and cold drinks, we chilled our wines and ate quiche straight out of the freezer, we wore short sleeves and let our legs go bare for a while there, forsook our boots for nude shoes or flower printed ones, we left our jackets in our closets and walked along under the sunshine revelling in the warmth. We were enjoying it, along with handfuls of juicy strawberries and sweet medlars. Now, it feels like Fall again.


And even though I'm bothered about the weather, even though I wish I could have the sun back and there'd be an end to the rain, my mind is not on it, my mind is elsewhere, and I find myself humming along to The Pixies and continually asking "Where is my mind?". If I tell you that they were probably one of the best five gigs I ever watched live, would you believe it? Now I wanna listen to "Surfer Rosa" all day long, and dance away untill I'm out of breath. But I'm way too distracted with other issues to bother myself with getting out of this chair to dance. If only I could attach some sort of a keyboard directly to my brain, how much time I would gain!


And because my mind seems to have absented itself from all of the mundane and all that my daily life comprises - except for googling shirtless pictures of Ville Valo, what fiendish obsession is this? and Zach McGowan - I am at a loss about what to cook everyday. The Spring weather had me all in asparagus and fresh tomatoes mood, I was on a roll with fish and light fare, but now the body seems to ask for comfort, even if the mind has gone awol. And food needs to be put down for us to eat, and someone's job is to do the cooking, and that someone happens to be me, at least on weekdays, as husband is doing other things and kid is well, a bit too young to play with knives, I reckon.


Back to the oven it is, roasted sweet potatoes and carrots, a chicken, some lamb, a tender pork loin. Back to the oven and feeling like the same old, same old is what gets put on the table, because quite frankly, I feel like I cannot be bothered to step outside the world of witches and enchanters and sexy vampires I decided to immerse myself into. So it's roasts for the lack of other options, and it's stews to keep my soul warm and my body going. After all, even if this body is getting slammed by spending so many hours sitting down at a desk writing spells of one kind or the other, it needs fuel.


And just because I love pumpkin and I love cabbage, here is a stew using the two, that can serve as a proper meal or as a side dish for meat or fish.

  • two large wedges of pumpkin, cut into chunks and peeled
  • one portuguese cabbage, only the leaves, cut into strips
  • one red onion
  • one small leek
  • two cloves of garlic, smashed or finely chopped
  • two very ripe tomatoes
  • salt and pepper and nutmeg to taste
  • one glass of white wine
  • olive oil
Heat up a glug of olive oil and gently stir fry the onion, the leek and the garlic, until they're tender. Add the chopped tomatoes and freshen up with the white. Now place your pumpkin into the pan and let them cook for about five minutes, then add the cabbage. If it feels to dry, add one small glass of water, the cabbage will wilt and loose liquid, so don't drench it. Season to taste and allow the veggies to cook through. Serve as a vegetarian meal or use it as a side dish for pork chops, or chicken tighs, it goes down a treat!



Comments

  1. As estações do ano que já não são o que eram e os climas de determinados países que nos dão completamente nos nervos..., lol!!
    Adoro esta combinação de legumes e adorei o aspecto. Enquanto o Verão nunca chega à Escócia, finjo que estou em Winterfall a admirar o meu lindo John Snow, lol.
    Beijinhos e bom fim de semana,
    Lia

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    Replies
    1. Et tu, Lia???? Não consigo compreender, não vejo piada nenhuma no Kit Harrington loooool!! Nem no GoT, admito

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  2. super apetitoso e mesmo a calhar para estes dias que mais parecem de inverno!

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  3. Se fores ao meu Instagram ha um video de nos a voltarmos a malmo de carro, deves gostar. Viste os pixies em 91 no coliseu? 2004 no super bock?

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    1. 2004 no SB nope, já n frequentava gigs nem festivais nessa altura muahahah, mas 91, Coliseu, pah, eu fui uma das que quase caíu no buraco que abriram no chão!!! Estava lá e em total delirio, foi dos melhores concertos de TODA a minha vida, e olha q vi bandas das quais gosto mais, mas aquele concerto... Peter Murphy Coliseu, mesmo ano? estavas? O Julian Cope, Mission, Sisters? Iggy Pop? Acho q andamos pelos mm sitios...

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