I should know better

[adrian_turtle]

I had a surprising amount of energy this afternoon, so I went out to the farmers' market. The Arlington farmers' market has excellent fish. (Not just from fish farms. I don't get it either, though of course I'm not complaining.) There are probably no cherries to be had anywhere, and I didn't waste carrying capacity on peaches. But I got various vegetables with the intent of making something (very) vaguely chowder-like I have made with great success in the past.

Unfortunately, getting the fish home used up my ability to cope. I don't have any left for cooking. And I just spent a significant amount on a piece of fish that I suspect will be noticeably less good tomorrow than it is tonight. And I need to be out of here by 9:30am, which makes it less appealing to cook the fish in the morning.

It's not a complicated fish recipe. It just requires cutting up fish and vegetables and putting them in a pot. And getting the pot out of the cabinet. And opening the can of coconut milk. And maybe opening the jar of curry paste, though I can skip that bit. There's no way to skip cutting things up or getting the pot out of the cabinet. And it's all just daunting.

Comments

[jjhunter]

In the category of 'feel free to ignore' - is there some music you could put on or radio, etc. that might allow for brain not have to think and muscles to just do?

[adrian_turtle]

That's a really good suggestion for some kinds of crash, but my usual out-of-Adrian error is physical.the joints give out, so it's not practical to keep the muscles going.

It's almost convenient when my girlfriend is around. When she runs out of spoons, her executive function gets wobbly. But she has no trouble with "chop this," or "peel that," so we can both feel like we're doing the easy part. Unfortunately, she's on the wrong coast for me to see her much this year.

[jjhunter]

Danke for the extra context - my version of crashing is very much along the lines of executive function wobbliness (love that phrasing!). Hope you've got more juice in your muscle batteries to work with today.

Advice I didn't think of yesterday, but offer up for future reference - freezing is generally a great fallback option even for fish when it's the choice between delicious today, not so delicious tomorrow.

[sovay]

This suggestion may or may not still be relevant, because I can't tell when you put up this post vs. Livejournal Dreamwidth's idea of a timestamp, but if it is the kind of fish that can be simply broiled or sautéed, I would cook it that way and leave the chowderlike for another day. The vegetables will last longer and can be repurposed. The fish is of greater importance, and if it can go in a glass or foil pan with a little olive oil and pepper or whatever suitable spices on top, I'd stick it there and enjoy it tonight, because you retrieved it from Arlington.

(I got your text message, but only after we'd gotten off the island this evening. It was a nice thought!)

[adrian_turtle]

I did not stay up very much after posting, at least not in the useful sense of "up." I was able to cook the fish this morning, though I apologize for making the kitchen smell of curried fish before 8am. Help yourself, if you are so inclined. The pot contains flounder, onion, yellow squash, coconut milk, carrot, potato, garlic, red curry paste, olive oil, and singapore seasoning. It needs salt and somewhat more pepper.

I got your text message, but only after we'd gotten off the island this evening. It was a nice thought!

They had ground goat and goat stew meat. I've never seen them at Davis, but the #80 bus is very useful.

[amaebi]

It sounds as if you found peace in your path, and I'm glad. :)

[adrian_turtle]

Thanks!