Thursday, January 21, 2010

Baby, It's Cold Outside.

After an exhausting day, I require more than sustenance, I need to be nourished, and more often that comes in the form of a home-cooked meal accompanied by a movie.

Walking home on the sludgy January streets, I come across an illuminated sign that reads "Savenor's" in extravagant script. I'm hungry and excited. I stop in to pick up my essential ingredients for what I'm craving. Next to the wine and cheese cask for a cheap malbec and solid ash cheese.

I wander back to my house with groceries in hand. I sit cross-legged, laptop in lap searching for a recipe for tonight. I file the recipe in my mental reference library and start to prep the supplies. I unpeel the paper to reveal a pink mound of flesh. Because the fish is so fresh it doesn't need much time to cook. Hunger pangs grow, dinner ready in twenty minutes. The prospects are good.

Food is cooked, wine is cracked, and now it's time for a movie. A high-tech system is not required for a pleasurable watching experience. The dichotomy of movies I get on Netflix makes my space into a powerful environment. It could be tragedy, violence, romantic, or cartoon. Tonight it's Moon.

There'll be a lot more days like this, but I don't mind it. A good dinner and movie can make you almost glad it is cold outside. I watch the movie and eat comforted by the reassuring flavor.

*The picture above is of Julia Child's autograph in sidewalk at Savenor's, Kirkland St., Cambridge, Mass.