I don't normally diary about food, but tonight, I made Desperation Fries.
It's a meal I first made back in the dark days when I was barely holding a job, before my Army service, back when I was trying desperately to keep a relationship alive.
I've refined it over the years, but to this day, it's a food that really satisfies me and brings back memories of never giving up.
(More on the flip)
So, it happened in Wisconsin (Yeah, I lived there for a while) that we had a really nasty blizzard and I happened not to have almost any food in the house.
This was the days when there was always an excuse to go out to dinner, or to grab something at the store at the last minute.
So there I am, looking at a bare cupboard, not counting a few cans, a sack of potatoes, and a bottle of olive oil and some cheese.
I started slicing potatoes. I heated oil. I fried potatoes, covered them with refried beans and cheese.
And they were darned good. Truly no food tastes better than when you're really hungry and wanting just something to EAT.
So I made them tonight. The basic meal hasn't changed much, but the particulars have changed. I used spices now. I use sea salt. I use three varieties of potatoes. The olive oil remains, and so does the pan frying of the potatoes. It's labor intensive, and a long time to make, but damn it tastes good.
To me, they will always be "Desperation Fries" and they always satisfy me more than any other meal.