BOILED

It's summer, so you might think that a vast kettle of boiling water in the kitchen is something we would avoid. But no. For the last few days the main method of dinner making has been to fill my birthday present (no, not a ring that turns the wearer invisible: a 12 quart stainless steel stockpot) with Brita water, and turn on the gas fire underneath. Then when the water is roiling, boiling, shimmering and steaming, we dump in Something From The Freezer-- Jiaozi (Chinese dumplings), Ravioli, Tortellini, Pierogi and so forth (not all at once, mind you) and poof: Dinner. This means we don't have to stand in a hot kitchen over a hot stove for ages dripping sweat into the cooking food, generally considered a god thing. (The not dripping of sweat into food, I mean.)
We still have August to get through, but then September will come, and with it, a return to more time-consuming, less instant food. For now, though, it's what will be we boiling tonight?