Fridge-Clearing Brunch

Before going shopping every weekend, we make sure the fridge is empty. I know it's hard to believe, but most weeks we succeed.

For our main course, if you will, I took two bunches of watercress and cooked it in the chicken/wintermelon/mushroom/gojiberry soup we had last two nights ago. I added mee sua (Taiwanese noodles) in the last five minutes.

Our side dish was a red lettuce salad with cherry tomatoes and a the herb mustard vinaigrette we've been enjoying so much. I know Americans have a love affair with balsamic vinegar, but it's definitely been moving lower and lower on my list of favorite acids to use in a salad dressing. I'd rather use sherry, champagne, red wine, or apple cider vinegar, or citrus juices. Not only is the flavor good, you don't end up with a dark brown dressing.

Dessert was fresh peaches. $1.50/lb at the Civic Center farmers market. They aren't quite as good as the $2.50 one at the Crocker Galleria market, but the difference is minute. I poured myself a glass of Chandon sparkling wine in the afternoon, sat down with a bowl of these peaches, and called it deconstructed bellinis.

Weekend project: dried herbs! My sister had let the garden back in LA run completely wild (I mean that in a good way), so I hacked off a grocery bag of rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano. I've used some this week, but there's no way I'm getting through them. So I'm doing what generations past have done: strung them up and stuck them in a dark closet to dry. It's not rocket science. You make sure the bundles are small so the herbs don't crowd each other, them you stick them in a cool dark place where they'll dry out without losing their color. When the herbs are completely dry, strip them off the stems, crumble, and put in airtight containers.