Renovated Antipasto

The original "girl dinner"

What’s Been On My Plate

Greetings from Seattle! A robot made my coffee the other morning and I’ve already taken a hike! Adjusting nicely (aside from the time I hopped on the wrong bus after work and ended up en route to the mountains! $80 Uber home and a big whoops). I’m not totally sure what I think of city life as a whole yet, but I have been enjoying all the newness and excitement. Not to mention how lovely it is to see Mt. Rainier from my neighborhood— such a tease since I don’t have a car to get to the mountains, though!

Pics from dt Seattle, robotic coffee, Mt. Rainier in the distance, and scenes from markets!

In a pursuit for creature comforts, I have been strolling through any and all farmers markets I find. Yes, the Pike Place Market has been one of them. I went there on one of my first evenings in the city after work and it was a rejuvenating experience; eating a Char Siu pork bun and people-watching by the water.

HGTV shenanigans

But yes, about work! I’m enjoying it! The office is beautiful and everyone has been really kind. My bio is live on the site if you want to check it out! I’m so corporate fr. I was, however, surprised to find out all the other interns I’ve met here are doing smartypants work with computers, engineering, and coding. I have yet to stumble upon another writer/creative! Baffled. I gotta represent!

Some Thoughts, Feelings, & Opinions

I have been in Seattle for less than two weeks though the time I’ve spent here is longer than I’ve ever spent in any one city. Sure, it’s not New York City, I think we all got that, but Seattle involves concrete, tall buildings, and a lot of things going on at once. It sure smells like a city to me. So to me, Seattle is indeed a city.

In my brief time here, I’ve arrived at a few conclusions:
1) everything is money.
2) everything requires walking (and then, eventually, money).
3) I am always seemingly hungry.
4) I am terribly stubborn.

And the thing is, all these conclusions play into and prolong the other conclusion. Even if I want to take a pretty hike or walk in nature, I have to walk to get there. And if I don’t want to walk to get there, it’s money. And so, I am always hungry because I am always walking. But, because I’m stubborn and everything is money; I don’t want to purchase a little snack or buy more groceries every time I get a craving. Especially because that involves more walking only to spend more money. I am playing the “we have food at home” game with myself at all times.

The studio apartment I am living in (which is clean, safe, and actually has a lot going for it) is ovenless, bathroom-sinkless, curtainless, and wifiless. The girl I’ve inherited it from is a student at the nearby University. Her kitchen is decked-out with a rice cooker, one (!) pan, a mini-fridge, chopsticks, a microwave, one stove, two forks, a small thing of dish soap, soup spoons, and bowls. Remember, though; I am stubborn.

Terribly stubborn. So I’m not buying a spatula, plate, whisk, or a toaster oven for the 10 measly weeks I’ll be here. I’m considering my somewhat-lacking kitchen a personal challenge. Mission accepted.

This, however, means a lot of things. The biggest things being:

1. I now cook with chopsticks as if they were tongs, a whisk, or a spatula. That has been exciting and relatively successful (unless I’m trying to make a fried egg).

2. My curtainless reality has resulted in my circadian rhythm and I being stronger than ever (6am wakeups with no alarm; I’m looking at you).

chicken chopstick party & an egg I didn't bother to flip. Not photographed... it's clumsy removal from the pan

Looking back, June has always been a month of transition. Whether I was headed off to camp for the summer in the Rockies, starting a new summer job, or embarking on a long vacation, June’s brought change into my usual routine. This venture to Seattle is nothing but the same. Change and uncertainty are the only certainty we get in this long life. Humans, resilient, keep finding ways to adjust.

Even though I still don’t know where I am 87% of the time, change is not bad. It may feel overwhelming or unknown at times, but it is not bad. June— with its sweet-smelling mornings, long evenings which glow of thick sunshine, and people outside— is still June. There always seems to be a plan to look forward to, even if some days, that plan is the walk home from wherever we go all day.

Walking through these foreign Seattle streets —hungry and hoping to save money— I’ve roosted on “girl dinner” and its meaning. For those who aren’t in the loop, “girl dinner” is a trend from social media which began as a humorous way to pick fun at the eclectic nibbles women eat for dinner when they’re alone i.e. unbothered. Some people argue it’s feminist— women are being independent and not cooking— while others argue it may be normalizing disordered eating.

Whatever the deal is, I don’t know about you, but dinner is what gets me through the day. I’m not trying to go home and eat a pickle, six crackers, a thin slice of cheese, and a few apple slices. I want Real Dinner. Capital R capital D.

I get it; I think a lot of people settle for girl dinner for sake of ease. At the end of the day, sometimes all we can do is reach into the fridge and nosh on whatever few things we find first. It takes little time, effort, and mental energy. But I’d argue a Real Dinner can require little time, effort, and mental energy, too.

Enter Antipasto for 1. It’s like Girl Dinner, but you’ll be satisfied this time. Not to mention, it’s June and everyone is sharing photos of their sexy European vacations; antipasto, grilled branzino, and an Aperol spritz on the coast of Italy. But fret-not, you don’t have to go to Capri to humor your tastebuds. Just go to your kitchen. Walk, don’t run.

What Will Be On Your Plate

customizable, healthy, and simple! It’s Renovated Antipasto

Celebrate early-summer produce with this dish! Warm bread, marinated tomatoes, vegetables, paper-thin prosciutto, olive oil, lemon zest, and basil all congregate on your plate to create an exciting dinner full of mediterranean flavor. This recipe is divine, customizable, and comes together in the time it takes your bread to turn into toast.

A side note, but… Respect for Italian food!!!!! So many people say they like Italian food when what they really mean is that they like America’s Italian-inspired pizza and pasta: greasy and garlic-y. People don’t speak about many other Italian dishes, and this is a bummer. Especially because they typically celebrate delicious ingredients, in their most simple forms. Think stuffed squash blossoms, ribollita, caponata, and antipasto. Everyone is missing out.

Antipasto, roughly translated, means “before the meal". A traditional antipasto typically involves raw and marinated vegetables like artichokes, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and capers. Then there is a meat; think mortadella, prosciutto, or a salami. Herbs and cheese are typically involved, too. Sometimes it’s placed over a bed of arugula or lettuce, sometimes it’s not. The main appeal is how customizable it is! Antipasto has always been the original girl dinner.

The antipasto I am sharing with you today is by no means “traditional.” In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Italians scream at the sight of this (sorry Italians— you know who you are:) ).

However, I am a single girl, busy, hungry, and well-walked— trying to make a feasible meal “fun” and quick after a long day. I take several liberties in this recipe because I wanted to make this more filling than a typical antipasto. To use some HGTV keywords, I’ve “renovated” the typical antipasto. This isn’t “before the meal” this is *the* meal!

This is dinner; not an appetizer, and certainly not “girl dinner.” With this in mind, I added scored and roasted zucchini, some sliced avocado, and whipped cottage cheese to help stretch this meal into the dinnertime realm. Or the anytime realm, really.

So enjoy. Exchange this for that, use ricotta if you aren’t into cottage cheese, plop cornichons in if that’s your kinda thing, use salami if you already have that in your fridge; whatever! Just dust the thing with lemon zest and drizzle it with some of your finest olive oil. You’re going to love it.

Method

• 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

• Cured meat like prosciutto, mortadella, coppa, salami, soppressata, etc

• 1/3 cup cottage cheese or buffalo mozzarella or ricotta

• A roasted vegetable (I use zucchini but eggplant or peppers would be yum, too)

• your favorite bread, toasted and sliced

• add-ons: sliced avocado, capers, olives, artichoke hearts, giardiniera, arugula, or any other marinated vegetable

• Ingredients to be measured with your heart: basil, olive oil, flakey sea salt, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil

1. Add sliced cherry tomatoes and basil to a small bowl, drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil, a dash of salt, 1/4 tsp lemon zest, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Gently combine and set aside.

2. Place your bread into the toaster.

3. While the bread toasts, spread your cheese onto the bottom of the plate, making a well. Fold the prosciutto or meats, drain any marinated vegetables, and slice anything that seems too large. Your bread has probably graduated to toast by now.

4. Time to assemble! Place the marinated cherry tomatoes into the well, and build your plate from there! I like to add the meats next, then the vegetables. Slice your toast into pieces.

5. Grate lemon zest and sprinkle basil over the dish. Drizzle with more olive oil and flakey sea salt if desired. Enjoy!

   From my plate to yours,

   JuJu