As Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood once said, “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” This quotation perfectly captures the essence of retirement and the start of something new.
Retirement, that time when one leaves a job and ceases to work, is something that most strive to achieve. My husband was blessed to be able to retire in 2020, which made him one happy camper. We still have the paperwork on our bulletin board that states, “I’m done! Forever!” As the door to employment closed, the window to freedom opened. The lesson to be learned is how to spend one’s freedom so it fulfills and adds to the flavor of life.
(Photo courtesy of Trader Joe’s)
Upon retirement, Hubby has found several things to do around the house. However, nothing seems to bring out his creative juices so much as cooking in the kitchen. This is a man who can whip up a Thanksgiving dinner like nobody’s business along with sides and a dessert without so much as breaking a sweat. His food is scrumptious and I think he knows it. My husband is the rock god of our kitchen, to be certain.
Oftentimes when I am involved in another project around the house, my husband will call out, “What do you want as your protein tonight?” I am a pescaovotarian, which means that sometimes I will eat fish or something made with eggs. I had tried to solely become vegan, but the choices for protein are somewhat limited and expensive. Meatless products can also be loaded with fats, sodium and fillers. Sometimes he will slice up some tempeh and bake it in a bath of barbecue sauce. Other times, he will coat a meatless burger with gluten-free breadcrumbs and broil it until it is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The challenge is not the sides but rather the entrée itself. This man rises to the challenge.
Since Christmas, I have taken over some of the cooking again after a brief hiatus. I created an osso buco for my husband and made myself a miso-glazed salmon fillet. I’ve whipped up soups, gravies and all sorts of fun things to eat. However, the protein for myself still gave me a bit of grief.
Tonight, I thought about the multiple tins of tuna from Trader Joe’s in the pantry and came up with an idea that I thought was original. After much research, I found that my idea wasn’t as original as I thought. However, the ingredients came to me like a vision, and I whipped together my first tuna loaf.
Does this sound disgusting? You betcha. Thoughts of tuna melts in my distant past made me cry real tears because the taste of cheese and fish didn’t sit well at all in my mouth or my belly. I had a tuna burger once that literally tasted like it just flopped on the deck of Captain Jack’s trawler. While grilled tuna steak delighted, anything made of chopped tuna made me think of cat food. The fact that I came up with a recipe for tuna loaf is as surprising to me as it was to my husband, who was creating his own meatloaf on the kitchen counter, a look of genuine concern grazing his features.
I threw together some Egg beaters, some gluten-free seasoned breadcrumbs, half a chopped shallot and some parsley and whipped it into a slurry. I added the tuna, carefully flaking it into the mixing bowl so it was softer and less chunky. I gently smoothed it into a greased loaf pan, put it in the oven, prayed to the kitchen gods and waited for dinner to be ready. In the meantime, I worked on something else to keep myself occupied. Our dog Luna, on the other hand, sat like a sentry outside the oven until that loaf was ready. In a past life, she was certainly a cat, because her love for tuna surpasses anything else, including beef.
The kitchen smelled wonderful, mostly because of his glazed meatloaf and the deliciously crispy baked potatoes that were toasted to perfection. I entered the kitchen and braced for the smell of cooked fish ala Friskies. I didn’t smell anything but that meatloaf.
The taste of the tuna loaf was light, flaky and rather delightful. I was sorry I hadn’t made a larger loaf, because I imagined a few slices on a gluten-free everything bagel for lunch tomorrow. The shallot rounded out the texture and supplied the loaf with the needed “bite.” I was pleasantly surprised.
Tomorrow’s dinner is a Brussels sprout soup that I created with a bouquet of roasted fennel, onions, carrots and sprouts. The aroma of roasted vegetables hangs heavily in the air tonight and I look forward to my first taste of something new tomorrow night. Taking a break from the kitchen has enabled me to find my creativity once more, the “beginning of something else,” as Mr. Rogers eloquently stated. The creation of something spectacular from mundane ingredients makes Life and meals exciting. It’s like one’s own version of the Food Network favorite, Chopped. How much fun is that?
Patty Servidio is an Anton Media Group columnist.
