Dinner for One and Many

Matt is away tonight which is always a little bittersweet. Time alone in your home is nice, but you build the home to share it with people you love. Life intrudes. Work demands. I resigned myself to dinner alone and picked up some stuff to thaw. I don't cook for myself all that often, so it felt fresh and intimidating.

It felt freshly intimidating.

I got the pots out, impressed by their weight and craftsmanship. I was shocked we had purchased such wares when I remembered we hadn't. They were a gift from Lucy, an incredibly generous friend who was downsizing.

I set the table with my mom's china. To the right I put a cloth napkin, a wedding present from Margaret. I poured the last of a bottle of red we bought at the wine shop owned by our friend Ron and let it decant while I was cooking.

I thinly sliced an onion the way my dad taught me. It was sautéed with a little of the olive oil Matt demands we buy from Pete's Market. It sizzled while I started boiling the ravioli and thawing the sauce I bought from my friend Joan. Music, courtesy of Alexa was from a playlist of my parent's favorite songs I'd grown up listening to on Johns Street. I put a little fruit our friend Jim had given us into a bowl made by Matt. When the ravioli floated to the top I made up the plate and sat down to dinner.