My dear, spring chicken husband turned 39 yesterday. 39 sounds different my side of 40, but I'm cool with it. Other than the presence of the Vulgar Talking Yam, I have loved every bit of turning and being 40.

But anyway, Tom.

Because we went away and celebrated for the long weekend, I admit to y'all that when I realized, Monday night, that the next day was his actual birthday, I was a bit shocked. Like, it occurred to me that I always cook T a birthday meal and wanted to do so again this year, but I don't usually wing it so dramatically.

Which is why it is crucial to have high-quality, tasty ingredients in your freezer, fridge, and pantry. Staples, if you will. I didn't have to buy a single thing for this evening, and voila!

Entree: The Silver Palate's Chicken Marbella

Have y'all ever had this dish? My aunt Wendy used to make it regularly (or what seemed like regularly to me), and I always adored it. The chicken and prunes, wine and olives, bay leaves and garlic, capers and brown sugar all meld together in such a savory, pleasurable way. Mamma mia!

Prunes, bay leaves, garlic, brown sugar, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano: pantry
Olives, capers: fridge
Chicken: freezer

Sides: A festive winter salad and some cinnamon and bay pearled couscous all the better to sop Marbella sauce with.

Can you even? Blood oranges, Sumo mandarins, satsumas, lettuces, olive oil, aged Balsamic, salt and pepper

pearled couscous with shallots, cinnamon, a bay leaf, salt, lemon zest

Lettuce, butter: fridge
Balsamic, olive oil, couscous, shallots, herbs: pantry
Oranges: counter top

Dessert: Blackberry Pie because T is trying to be healthful

The boys chose tool candles because "Daddy can fix anything!"

Blackberries: freezer
Flour, oil, salt, sugar, corn starch: pantry
Milk: fridge

In late 2012, I taught a Canning 101 class on Pickling (we made pickled ginger carrots). In attendance was a woman, S, with whom I've become friends, not least because she totally grooved on the Type-A way that I rearranged the julienned ginger so they were more evenly distributed throughout the carrot sticks. S is the one who introduced me to Blue Duck Tavern and also to the highbrow Canadian mustard outfit, Kozlik's. We email regularly and often run into each other at Whole Foods and this past week, S emailed me ask if I could come over and taste some of her jams and chutneys and catch up. Yesterday worked swimmingly for us both, and I enjoyed a couple hours in her beautiful home. She sent me home with an incredible goody bag of stuff she recently schlepped back from Ontario- a Canadian cheddar and a bottle of local Riesling, a jar of Kozlik's horseradish mustard, tomato jam, pickled strawberry jam, peach chutney and zucchini salsa. I know! Right?!

The boys ate about half the jar of salsa with their picnic dinner, I immediately tasted the mustard as I am an enormous fan of horseradish (this has some serious punch!) and I opened the peach chutney to serve with the meal I made for T and me. Zucchini-feta fritters, seared chicken slathered with Penzey's barbecue rub and cooked in bacon drippings in my trusty Lodge, and Israeli couscous with lemon, parsley and skillet drippings. One bite of chicken with chutney and couscous made me awfully glad I had more of everything. Sublime!