Saturday, May 16, 2009

Personal Limitations

Addendum to Wednesday's post: Okay, maybe I was overly optimistic when I specified three ingredients. Upon further consideration, nothing I might make with three ingredients is ever very impressive. We're talking spaghetti noodles, sauce, and bread. Or a ham and swiss croissant. See? Nothing great. But five ingredients, definitely, especially if I don't count seasonings. Then again, some recipes have a bevy of herbs and spices and that just gets crazy. So, I apologize if anyone was hoping for some delicious three-ingredient recipes. I can't really deliver.

I drove down to Galveston with a friend yesterday and toured around a little bit to check the status of things five months after Ike hit. Slowly but surely, things are coming back, shops are openings, and the island is readying itself for summer. We drove down for lunch at the Sunflower Cafe & Bakery (I'd never been), and it was simply scrumptious. We decided to eat outside, and if it hadn't been for the uber-determined flies that kept buzzing back and forth from my friend's plate to my own, it would have been lovely.

Afterward we had no choice but to hit the bakery, and I came home with two perfectly round, perfectly powdered creme puffs. Now if this were indeed a foodie blog, there'd be a photo of said creme puff sitting on a plate from Anthropologie, the light slanting in from my lush, colorful garden, and a cozy cup of tea just waiting to be enjoyed.

Clearly, this is not a foodie blog--I devoured that creme puff straight out of the styrofoam container I brought it home in, and my husband did the same. I am not ashamed. I admit it--I eat standing up as often as not and try to minimize my dirty dishes as much as possible. (I can regularly be found carving out a piece of pie with a fork or eating my ice cream with the serving spoon I scooped it out with). Sure, I love the idea of a charming little tableau of tastiness, but things just never seem to pan out. The practical side of me squelches the dreamy, creative side on a daily basis.

I consider it a plus that I splurged on the creme puff at all.

5 comments:

The Big Burbs said...

5 ingredients must be the magic number for recipes. Have you listened to the chef/host on NPR that will come up with a recipe on the spot when listeners call in and name any five ingredients they have in their fridge? Today, it was an open-faced biscuit topped with barbequed egg salad ;)

Those creme puffs sound divine! And if chocolates are eaten straight of the box, then I say the same goes for creme puffs.

Kate Diamond said...

I am laughing about your foodie blog description. I, too, have delusions of grandeur when it comes to meal presentation and enjoyment (hence my ownership of a tea set that has never been used).

Stacy said...

Maybe its best not to be a foodie blogger. You can't anything without considering the state of your china.

Runny Babbit said...

i haven't been down to the island in a while. they have really good restaurants off the seawall though.

Elyse said...

Foodie blog or not, devouring that cream puff was the appropriate response, for sure. The puffs sound delicious, too delicious to bide their time upon an overly expensive, decorative plate. My only wish: that I, too, could have partaken in the cream puff extravaganza. Sorry that I've been an absent commenter; I just finished up my law school exams and am finally getting around to my google reader.