Tonight with wine

I credit my love for cooking

With my love for writing

Because both begin

With the tiniest flick

Of inspiration

Be it something I heard

And can’t stand to let go

Be it something I bought

And won’t allow to go bad.

There’s a freedom in cooking

I add this and add that

There’s a freedom in writing

My words turn sentences turn memories turn memoirs

Both are productive

My mother-in-law says,

“Cook! What else are you going to do?”

I say,

“Write.”

Both are movements that feel

Extremely, extremely familiar to me

And both require

A simple kind of meditation

And patience

To keep the ingredients

To keep the words

Appropriately cut

Appropriately formed

Beautiful and meaningful

With leftover couscous & vegetables in the fridge, not to mention Michael’s fresh greens that will wither before your eyes, tonight with wine, I made one of my staple salads.

All you need is your favorite fruit. For tonight, mine was strawberries.

Red onion. A staple salad ingredient. Staple.

Some sort of cheese. This is Trader Joe’s Shaved Cheese Blend (“Made with Toscano, Unexpected Cheddar and Premium Aged Parmesan Cheese”). I dig it.

Some sort of nut. I prefer almonds; Michael prefers cashews. Michael’s not home tonight, so I threw in almonds.

Extraneous vegetable like this here pepper. But chopped real small. Personally, I find it important to keep all ingredients around the same size. The nuts are small, the strawberries are cut, the cheese is grated, the onions are thinly sliced. Keep with the pattern.

A good squeeze.

Easy on the drizzle.

Been drinking this entire time.

One of my favorite things in life: “Beautiful mess”

One last look.

Before I marry my couscous.