Curried Potato Salad and Trail Running . . . not that they're related or anything . . .

It finally occurred to me, as a(n unwilling) single person, that maybe the secret to cooking/preparing solo meals lies in "prep work." As in, set aside a day to make a variety of stuff ahead of time. That way, I'll have something ready to eat all week, without being reminded over and over again, with each meal, each day, just how much cooking (and by "cooking," I mean "a bowl of cereal") for one sucks the big one . . . I know this concept ain't a Jen Original, that even non-single people do this kind of thing all the time (and is also a great idea to handle cooking in this eternal infernal world we seem to be living in this summer), but preparing and sharing meals was one of the most blessed past-times I spent with Bob, especially out here at Wrenwood, and has been one of the most difficult things for me to engage in, as that act alone is so awash with memories . . . when Bob got sick, as I mentioned in my last blog, cooking and feeding him transcended from an enjoyable activity we did together, to a sacred ritual for me. Even though, deep in my heart, I knew all the good food in the world wouldn't "cure" him, I saw in him other positive effects of good, healthy food—he often couldn't eat much of what I made for him (and believe me, every meal was made with him solely in mind), but he was so appreciative of my efforts and never failed to tell me so . . .


Maybe it's the summer weather and the bounties pouring forth from gardens and farmer's market that has me kind of excited to be cooking again, maybe it's all the therapy that's finally helping clear some of the trauma that's clogged my brain for so long, making way for some good things again, maybe it's that I'm finally, just damn hungry—I dunno . . . but I have been taking more time and effort in preparing meals for myself again, which is still lonely as hell, but kind of enjoyable, in a talking-to-myself and answering-myself kind of way. And beats eating cereal. Again.

When I made the heavenly Brussels Sprouts the other night (I swear I hear angels sing whenever I type that), I also whipped up a big batch of Curried Potato salad, a Mediterranean Quinoa salad and tuna egg salad. Now, I'm wondering what the hell I'm going to do with all this f'n salad. . . maybe I could crash a 3M picnic . . .

The Curried potato salad was something I happened upon while searching online for a good, easy potato salad recipe, because I had some potatoes that weren't just growing eyes, but long, spindly tentacles that kinda scared me every time I opened the pantry door to grab a box of cereal. For dinner. Again. (An aside: there is nothing you can't find an answer to, online, btw, which is a whole 'nuther blog entry for a whole 'nother time). I've made curried chicken salad before, but never curried 'tater salad. What's the difference, you ask? Well, the simple answer is: dump a couple tablespoons of curry powder into anything, and suddenly, you got yourself not just plain ol' 3M picnic potato salad, but exotic 3M picnic potato salad! This recipe, however, also calls for chopped apple, sweet pickle relish and sour cream, for extra exoticness. The pickle relish was an interesting touch, but I'd do raisins next time, for the sweetness to counter the curry seasoning. I also use plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream in pretty much any recipe (in fact, I don't even buy sour cream any more for these reasons), but do what you want, I'm not the boss of you, man.

Unappetizing soups, served with rocks, apparently.
 Courtesy of BH&G Soups  & Stews cookbook, 1978

As you can see, I took a totally unappetizing picture of my totally appetizing potato salad, for your viewing displeasure. It reminds me of the food photos in the 1970's collection of cook books I inherited from my father's estate after he died ("inherited from my father's estate" = "no one else wanted 'em"); those photographers did such an amazing job of making everything—beef stew, chicken cacciatore—even chocolate cake!—look so disgusting, I'm surprised anyone was inspired to cook anything back then. Or, maybe it's just that people really did cook things that looked super-grotesque back then. Who really knows for sure . . . anyhow, my Curried Tater Salad tastes much better than the photo lets on. I tossed a handful of walnuts in just before I served it up with a simple li'l pastrami, avocado, provolone and tomato sandwich, with a smear of wasabi mayo (<---- the only time you'll ever see the word smear without the word pap). A nice variation on the ol' run o' the mill potato salad, especially for summer.

So, I know the title of this post is "Curried Potato Salad and Trail Running, and blah, blah, blah," but I think I'll save the trail running part for my next entry, in an effort to reign in the ADD aspect of my ramblings. I can hear the collective groan from y'all, wanting sooooooooo badly to keep on reading, but don't worry. I'll be back. Until then, watch your back. Whatever that means.