What’s For Dinner? The Second Week of the Second Year of the New Abnormal

I was preparing dinner as I do many nights. Last night was pesto glazed salmon and garlic-marinaded skirt steak with sauteed spinach, garlic bread, and a spicy salad. Thanks to Marion Zinn, my mother-in-law, I have the best marinade for the steak. She was a wonderful hostess and served many delicious dishes. Conversely, my mother would get anxious when hosting guests. Nonetheless she deserves a shout out as an excellent baker. All three of my siblings and I have fond memories of annual birthday cakes baked from scratch, stored on a glass cake plate with an aluminum cake dome. I used to cook and bake regularly, but as life’s responsibilities expanded, my domestic duties dwindled.

Sometimes, though, I want to have a home cooked meal. I shopped at the farmer’s market gathering some ingredients for dinner, and foraged the refrigerator for the rest. Even as I began the prep work, I remained hopeful for a nice dinner. Inevitably, by early evening, I was forgetting one thing or another, and my hope slipped to a tepid aspiration for a good enough meal. Perhaps it’s this feeling along with my full schedule that diminishes my fondness for cooking these days.