In these tough economic times I have forced myself to become a more frugal shopper. Where once as a caterer I prepared food for hundreds, now it’s just for two semi-retirees.
Keep in mind this is not easy for a “foodie with visions of gourmet grandeur.”

My trips to the grocery store have taken on a whole new life. And with my current working status now I can spend extra time reading all the ingredients on the package label looking for key buzzwords like carbs, grams of sugar, sodium and gluten free whose significance can send one rushing for a fish oil pill or prescribed medication.

Some people play golf or tennis in their retirement years, but I spend the time reading those labels and looking for the weekly specials and truthfully that is great sport.

I have always viewed cooking as a creative outlet. Also I don’t have to feed a family on a day-to-day basis except my grandchildren on occasion. But when I do it is a real
wake-up call because all three are at different stages of their eating habits, which means I might have to prepare three different dishes at one meal.

As example, mac and cheese for Molly, chicken fingers for Mary and for now tofu scramble for Caitie who announced recently she is a vegetarian but does relax the rules and have the occasional hamburger with her girlfriends. Going out on the other hand is simple pleasure because they all agree on pizza or Mexican fare.

So budgets and health as the issue-of-the-day and creativity my mantra, I have discovered that I can combine both and get compliments from my companion of 43 years who sets a beautiful table, gives a lot of attention to detail, and knows how to discreetly push aside anything on her plate she cannot identify.

Recently on a trip to one of the three or four stores I visit each week, (part of the rules of engagement for retirees) I found these cool “teeny tiny potatoes” - really that is what they are called - and went home to hunt through the crispers in my fridge to see what I could combine them with, which is known in certain circles as putting the teeny taters before the rest of the stuff!

I read the profile of famous chefs and, when asked what they always have on hand in their refrigerator, they report the most gruesome unhealthy items. As for myself, I found half of a fresh cucumbers, a quarter of a red pepper, same with a red onion and a beautiful bunch of fresh parsley having used only a small amount for a tabouli salad a couple of days prior.

When I diced and combined these items along with a few marinated artichoke hearts, a generous spoonful of Greek olives and the teeny tiny potatoes, then dressed it with some extra virgin olive oil and a good splash of raspberry vinegar plus a healthy teaspoon of chopped garlic, I felt as Pollack must have when he finished one of his undecipherable
paintings. (Then again he may have been drunk at the time.)

I plated the salad over fresh spinach leaves, gave it a good grind of sea salt and cracked black pepper and presented it as a first course at dinner. It also makes a great light lunch or supper as well combined with a glass of Malbec, my favorite Argentinean red wine-of-the-moment. Add a thick slice of 7-grain bread plus a small round of Goat’s cheese,
one of those luscious seasonal apples and your set

Who needs youth? Bon Appetite!

(Charles Siskin is a former Chattanoogan now living on the Florida coast with his wife, Cookie. He can be reached at cater1@embarqmail.com)