Preserve the herbs

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I must share with you a wonderful tip from my friend Cynthia who seems to have finally, maybe, hopefully, rid my fridge (and yours!) of unwanted, wasteful, herbs-gone-to-slime. How many bunches of parsley have you lost? How many times have your fingers encountered the vile, unwelcome surprise that is past-its-prime cilantro? No more! Per Cynthia, ready a Mason jar or juice glass by filling it 3/4 full with cold, fresh water. Rinse your bunch of whatever herb you've got, trim the ends (I skipped this because I'm lazy and haven't noticed any bad result), and stick the bunch in the jar like a bouquet. Place it on your countertop snipping off what you need when you need it. Cynthia encourages giving the herbs fresh water each day but I've yet to do that (see aforementioned laziness). I do refill the water to make sure it stays at a nice, full level, and so far my parsley, cilantro and basil are doing better than ever. I swear I tried every trick in the book, but I didn't try taking them out of the fridge. Genius!

Cynthia also makes her own bagels, for the love! If you want to know how to do that, visit www.thesolitarycook.wordpress.com

 

A follow-up, ricotta gnocchi, Nutella pudding

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Yes, you read that correctly: Nutella pudding. Doesn't that sound aMAZing?! I think I might make that for our dessert on Valentine's Day. Ooh, la la. And for our app or entree, I might have to cook the ricotta gnocchi that I read about yesterday. Judy Rodgers (of Zuni Cafe) was talking about how fabulous they are and what a constant hit they are at Zuni. Good gnocchi are transportive; really, they are one of the things on my list that when done well render me speechless and savoring every bite. Palena, a restaurant here in DC, makes crazy good gnocchi of all stripes. You absolutely cannot go wrong in ordering any version they're offering. It will be the collective taste memory of every little gem of gnocchi I've had there that I bring with me into the cooking process on Tuesday. I wanted to follow up briefly about the breaking up with my doctor that occurred recently. He called me immediately upon reading my letter, and we had one of the most mature, good conversations I've had about a rather unpleasant topic (fortunately, it is not a frequent occurrence that I have such conversations). Truly, I was so appreciative of his response, he was thankful for my having addressed the issues, and we both left with clarity and closure. What a model of solid communication!