Twenty days. Yeah, I got bored writing. Or I lacked motivation.  Or I felt like our cooking was sort of uncreative.  Delicious, for sure, but not super-interesting. Some highlights? Grouper with asparagus and fish generally -- I have gained confidence in my ability to cook all kinds of fish (olive oil, S&P, any other seasonings, bake to 145 degrees, viola!). Spaghetti and meatballs with freshly ground meat for the meatballs. Carbonara. Scallops in a shit-ton of butter. A lot of cucumber/tomato/chickpea salads. A honey dijon yogurt dressing. Some really good fucking steak (thank you, Dellapietras). More perfect roast chicken and potatoes. And then . .  .

I CAME HOME.

After 6 weeks living with my dear, generous, patient, hospitable, and amazing friends, we drove back into the city, and they dropped me off at my apartment. Of course, the first thing I had to consider was food. Mind you, I had done some stocking up on non-perishables before I knew I'd be in CT for that long, so I started with some frozen steaks and scallops from Butcher Box, some frozen veggies, a bag of rice, extra pasta, a few cans of beans and chickpeas, some canned tomatoes, a container of black bean soup, extra olive oil, and shelf-stable milk. But of course, I ignored/forgot about all that when I went online to place a Fresh Direct order. I had heard nightmares about not being able to get a delivery spot, things being unavailable, etc., so jumped on an open slot when it came up. I packed up the cart with all kinds of things, which would arrive the day after I got home. 

Before they went back to CT, R&N stopped of to drop me off a care package from Dellapietra's -- they apparently make fried chicken. So I had a 4pm delectable fried chicken "snack" and took stock of my kitchen. Fresh Direct was coming mid-day the following day, so I was pretty set until it arrived, with the exception of my morning coffee -- I didn't think it was necessary to bust into the shelf-stable milk for one cup of coffee when I had a half-gallon coming a few hours later. As the evening wore on, I was trying to figure out if I really wanted dinner. Turned out I did -- I ordered a pizza from Joe's to welcome me home. I ate two slices, kept two slices in the fridge, and froze the rest.

Saturday morning I went to Lena, a small coffee place around the corner and got a cortado, and had it with a slice of sourdough bread (from the freezer) for breakfast. Then the food arrived -- I had to figure out how to shove it all in my already typically full pantry (answer -- overflow on the kitchen counter), but I was well-set. Several of my meals that week consisted of salads, fried chicken, and/or pizza, but on Saturday night, I made an enormous pot of Adult Spaghetti-o's, a recipe I was eyeing for a while. I froze a bunch for later, but that was in heavy rotation the first week as well. 

Oh -- I forgot to mention -- I was so concerned that the Fresh Direct order would fail that I got one of my Dinnerly boxes delivered for the following Tuesday (I subscribe to that and Blue Apron, but basically cancel them every week; PS, let me know if you want me to send you a free box), so I cooked through those as well. I placed a much smaller Fresh Direct order for this past weekend, mostly produce and protein, and now I am taking a huge breath before figuring out how to recalibrate my food purchasing going forward. More on that tomorrow.