Project minimize and simplify has begun around here. Physical clutter, emotional clutter–it just collects. I mean, am I really ever going to re-read old handwritten love notes over a cup of english breakfast and blissfully reminisce about how someone used to have feelings for me? I’m more likely to read the stack of manuals from my vacuum and DVD player. Either way, they’re both in my drawers to apparently serve two purposes–to remind me that I maybe, maybe, might someday need them again and then to remind me I definitely will never, ever need them again.
As I’ve been going through my apartment, section by section (I am finding this to be quite manageable and realistic) and throwing everything into garbage bags that I haven’t missed, noticed, or used in the past 365 days, I have come to a happy realization that a meal, can never be clutter. It’s my art that doesn’t stack up or collect dust. I can create and create, cook and bake, and then it’ll just be consumed in preparation of the next idea. Sure, leftovers can technically create clutter, if uneaten in a timely manner but they have to be thrown out due to direct, impending consequence of nasty. I wish my magazine, books, and clothes started to smell bad if I wasn’t using them often enough. Now, if only the dishes did themselves–yesterday, I strongly considered hiring someone just to come wash them.
This homemade potato gnocchi (dumpling) recipe takes a little intuition and a dose of patience but it’s worth every minute and is absolutely delicious. Yukon Gold potatoes provide more flavor than your usual Russet. Baking the spuds (on a bed of kosher salt) instead of boiling them, prevents any water logging and leaves them fluffy and moist. A touch of olive oil, instead of just potatoes and flour, makes a silky dough. Drying the dumplings for a couple hours before quickly boiling them in salted water, ensures the finished texture isn’t gummy but rather are just right. Since simple is the theme, the flavors on the finished gnocchi are right in keeping–a little butter, chives, parmesan cheese, and a sprinkle of salt. Click through below, to read and see more.