by Malia Kirby L.Ac.
I am a notorious people-watcher, particularly with assorted social medias and blogs. Nine times out of ten, I find myself scrolling, scrolling, scrolling…and then BLAMMO! Revelation hits like a sledgehammer, where I need to sit down and make myself a cup of tea and stare up at the clouds for a while as I marinate on what I’ve discovered, which as you know is the hyper-responsible thing to do. And what did I discover this week? Adults in general are actually twelve at heart, and especially me.
We all mean well. We start off being RESPONSIBLE (!) and getting things done…
…but in the end, we’re all going to giggle over a well-timed dirty joke and get distracted by Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Cute Overload, HuffPo, FARK news, Boing Boing, Cracked.com, (and in the case of today’s post) Hyperbole and a Half, or whatever the internet site du jour happens to be. Something eventually slips through the cracks. Sometimes, it’s due to procrastination. Sometimes, it’s due to rebellion. Or, in my case this week, I didn’t manage to get the grocery shopping done like a RESPONSIBLE (!) adult because of distraction…
Cake, promptly followed by marathon knitting. We may not have had groceries in the house, but I just couldn’t keep myself from rolling around in yarn like a cat on catnip. Vices, I have them.
So, Wednesday evening rolls around and the refrigerator is empty except for the condiment staples and basic building blocks we always have around—garlic confit, Dijon mustard, a large enough assortment of oils and vinegars that one could drown a horde of irresponsible adults if one so desired, assorted pastes (anchovy, tomatoes, etc), flour, eggs, and some greens. What did I do? I thought about…
And then I was all…
I pulled the remaining ingredients we had together and managed to pull off a decent meal. A relatively healthy vegetarian meal, no less, which took me less than 20 minutes to prepare from start *cough*staring at the refrigerator*cough* to finish, allowing for even more marathon knitting. Victory! I am once again a somewhat- responsible adult.
I may not be the RESPONSIBLE (!) adult that we’ve all been taught we should be, but you know what? I don’t really care. It’s normal. Yeah, we would all like to project the totally 100% professional adult, but that ideal doesn’t really exist. Not really. And that’s ok. As one of my favorite people once said in conversation, it doesn’t really matter what anyone thinks about your life and how you live it, as long as it works for you. Or, as I realized this week, being an adult isn’t living up to some BS standard that no one manages to reach. It’s about the simple victories, like today’s recipe.
Gnocchi with Cannellini Beans and Swiss Chard
Serves 4-6
1 lb fresh gnocchi
1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic confit, pureed
1 ½ c cannellini beans, cooked
1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped
1 c diced tomatoes
½ c tomato juice
2 t balsamic vinegar
1 T red pepper flakes
2 T fresh basil, chiffonade
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering but not yet smoking. Add the fresh gnocchi to the heated oil, stirring occasionally, until the gnocchi are lightly browned on all sides.
Add the garlic and the chard to the gnocchi, stirring to combine. Once the chard has wilted and reduced to roughly a quarter of its original size, add the beans, tomatoes, tomato juice, balsamic, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until the chard has reached your desired texture. Transfer into serving bowls and garnish with the basil chiffonade. Serve immediately.
Click here to download a pdf copy
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For more awesomeness, check out
Hyperbole and a Half
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/10/god-of-cake.html
