Sunday at home, with potato salad, green bean salad, and fried green tomatoes.

This past Sunday, I cooked.

It was the kind of cooking I haven't done in what feels like a long time, on the kind of Sunday-at-home that I've been missing during weekends away. I slept in. I woke up and puttered around for an hour or two. I washed dishes, I dirtied dishes, I washed them again and dirtied them again. I made simple foods, the kinds that are mixed directly in Tupperware containers and left to meld in their own flavors for a few hours, during which I would wander to the fridge several times from my spot on the couch to pick and taste. I left a fork out on the table for this very purpose.



It's this kind of cooking that I like the best. No complicated recipes or long lists of ingredients. No rush, no schedules or time frames, no real purpose, really.

I made potato salad, not because I needed a dish to bring to a picnic, but simply because I hadn't had any yet this summer and I had this recipe and it was about time.



I made green bean salad because of this photo and this olive oil and because the farmers market was selling green and yellow beans for $1.50 a pound and oh my do I love green beans.




I made fried green tomatoes, just to try something new. I ate a few slices with scrambled eggs for breakfast, then left the rest on the table to pick at while I messed around with the salads.

I wanted to make up for all the weekends away. Summer is funny like that. I spend all winter and spring planning to get out and away, to festivals and lake houses and graduation parties, and once I'm knee-deep in warm weather and road trips, I start to miss the lazy weekends at home.

So on Sunday, I took full of advantage of my free schedule. I cooked -- slowly, simply, happily.

Fried Green Tomatoes
2 medium green tomatoes
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Slice the tomatoes into about 1/2-inch rounds. Set up a small station with the beaten egg in a bowl and the dry bread crumbs on a plate. Dip each slice in the egg to coat, then dredge both sides in the bread crumbs until completely covered. Add more bread crumbs as needed.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. (I kind of guessed on the above measurement -- be sure there is more than just a light coating and enough to really get those tomatoes good and fried.) When the oil is hot (drop some bread crumbs in to test -- if they sizzle, the oil is probably ready), place the coated tomato slices in the pan and fry each side until golden brown. Set on a paper towel to drain.