So little time, such a big mess...

I had this vision of a little place to call my own. I'm a Cancer, so I love my shell, my safe zone, where I can retreat to when I'm cranky. "I just need my space for God's sake!" Now, I have the cutest little pad, with a big kitchen, a backyard and a washer and dryer. This is a dream in NY (even in Queens).

It took some getting used to to be on my own after so many years. There are really great things about it, like I can leave my things all around and clean when I'm good and ready and I like to stretch out like a giant X in bed in the morning. Some things suck, though, like eating alone. I hate eating alone!

At first, when I would get home from work I would sit at the table after a meal and realize I was by myself and think, "now what the hell and I going to do?" It wasn't loneliness, just that strange feeling of being alone with yourself. Crickets. I like the solace now. And I just blog!

So when my great friend Miguel stayed with me for a short while, it was such a nice treat. When I came home and all of my tupperware was organized I was like, "stay forever!" but his general neatness after a couple of days made me feel like a crazy ten headed slobbish beast. It reminded me of how quickly I can take a clean kitchen and like a tornado fill the sink with dishes and grease up the stove top to an alarming degree. He was rather perplexed. Its a unique skill to create such giant disasters in such a small amount of time.

We had a great time. It was nice to wake up and eat breakfast together. We cooked a lot and watched movies together and even went to work together! One memorable meal we paired with some great wine Miguel brought back from Chile. We seared some local scallops and served them over roasted garlic and truffle oil whipped potatoes with sides of swiss chard and sauteed mushrooms. Such a good meal and such wonderful company.

It was sad to see my roomie go. He left my apartment in greater shape than he found it. So I did some messing up of things here and there. It my pad and I can mess it up if I want to.

Roasted Garlic and Truffle Oil Whipped Potatoes

3-4 cloves of garlic, roasted in their in the oven until buttery

couple of potatoes, peeled and boiled

Warm milk (I used soy)

Truffle Oil

Using a hand mixer or egg beaters, whip the potatoes with the garlic, some warm milk and truffle oil, until creamy and the right smooth consistency. Season with salt and pepper.