Fast and Light, Late Night

You’ve just gotten home from a long day at work. My long days at work are usually long nights at work. I get home from a gig, it’s close to midnight or past, I’m hungry, exhausted, a little revved up. This is a situation where taking the time to cook for yourself may seem counterintuitive, but it’s more important than ever--I wind down, nourish myself, and get a really good night’s sleep after.

The key is to be prepared. I have a couple tricks in my bag, and a bag of frozen shrimp in my freezer is one of them.

It’s good to have a couple of easy quick dishes you can make with what you have on hand to turn to when you’re too exhausted to think. This is one of my favorites:

Angel Hair Pasta with Garlic Shrimp and Red Peppers

Angel hair pasta

4 Tbs olive oil

1/2 chopped red pepper (in 1 inch pieces)

Splash of white wine

1 clove garlic, crushed

6 frozen shrimp

Romano cheese

Take the frozen shrimp out of the freezer and sit them in a bowl of water to thaw while you put a pot of water on for the pasta. In the meantime, put the olive oil and a splash of white wine in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red peppers and sauté until the peppers are tender.

Once the water boils, cook the pasta along with a generous pinch of salt. See if the shrimp are thawed. If not, hurry them along by draining and adding some warm water. When they are thawed, strain and toss into the olive oil mixture until they are just heated through.

When the pasta is ready, toss it all together and top with some grated Romano cheese. For bonus points, add a few stalks of the blanched asparagus that’s been lounging in the fridge.

Don’t forget to pour yourself a nice glass of wine.

Welcome to Table for One

I could never understand why someone wouldn’t want to treat themselves as well as they would their guests.

Table for One is about the real glories of living alone. The way you honor your life. What better place to begin than how you nourish yourself every day? When you give some attention to feeding yourself well, you’re laying the foundation for living life to the fullest. You deserve something better than a sandwich over the sink!

I discovered the importance of this unexpectedly. About a year ago, my husband of 19 years died suddenly of a heart attack. We were both creative people who had no children and a very social (and well-fed!) lifestyle. I am a professional singer, actress and playwright who also loves to cook and give dinner parties. When Bob died, I found myself in a new place in my life. Living alone. I decided it was more important than ever to embrace the life that I have, and do the things that I love. I wasn’t about to put away the china and the Cole Porter champagne glasses.

So I’ve made some adjustments. New recipes, new strategies. And I’ve paid attention--to my surroundings, to my friendships, to the little things that make up a day. I believe it’s made a difference, and it’s helped me move forward, with joy. This blog is a place to share those ideas. And I hope it can make a little difference for you too.

Meow,

Spider