The Catskill Chronicle

By Jude Waterston

Whatever you do, don’t become a middle-aged woman. This is what happens if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in this condition:

You tightly wrap a chunk of brie in plastic wrap. Then you open the fridge and slide the box of plastic wrap in next to the milk. The cheese remains on the counter for six hours before you discover it.

You are halving a recipe for coconut ambrosia cookies. You forget that at some point, and while you’re adding ingredients, you use the full amount of both salt and sugar called for in the original recipe. The cookies don’t taste right.

From your workplace, you decide to call your answering machine to leave yourself a reminder message that, when you get home, you need to take out the butter to soften for a pasta dish you are going to prepare later that night. After dialing your number and listening to your voice mail message, you forget why you’ve called yourself.

You go down to the basement to retrieve something and have no clue as to what you had intended to get. You recall, when you awaken to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, that it was a new roll of toilet paper.

You neglect to turn off the broiler after removing, serving, and polishing off one of your sister’s favorite dishes: French onion soup, covered in extra gruyere cheese.

You are in the middle of a conversation with a friend and lose your entire train of thought. She, too, has no idea what the two of you were discussing.

You write an extensive grocery list on a piece of paper. You remember to bring (and use) a canvas bag to the supermarket, so you will save the earth by not using plastic, but you have left the shopping list on the kitchen table.

You turn on the computer to e-mail a friend to confirm that you are meeting her for dinner that evening. You discover seven e-mails in your inbox demanding your attention. After responding to all of them, you shut off the computer without having e-mailed your dining companion. Nonetheless, you go to the restaurant at which you’d planned to meet, but she has forgotten you’d made plans for that night and is a no-show.

You shower, dry off, slather your body and face with moisturizing cream, clean your ears with Q-tips, dress and head to work. You realize when you get there that you forgot to use deodorant earlier that morning. Or did you?

You have slept at your sister’s apartment for the night and on your way out she asks you to throw something down the incinerator shoot. When you get to the subway you realize you are still carrying the bag of her cat’s poop. Thankfully, the bag is not see-through and there is a garbage can to the left of the entrance to the train station.

You leave the stereo on all night.

When you run into someone you know on the street, the name escapes you. How telling is it to greet a person by saying, “Hey, you!”

The phone is ringing and you try to answer it by gaily calling “hello” into the television remote.

You get home dog-tired from an exhausting day at work, looking forward to eating the leftover Mexican rotisserie chicken, refried beans and sweet plantains you had delivered a couple of days ago. When you open the fridge you realize you ate all that last night.

At the close of the day, before getting into bed, you diligently set the alarm for 8:00 a.m. The following morning, when you oversleep, you realize a.m. would’ve been better than p.m.

So that’s the bad news. For the life of me I can’t think of the good news. Still, you trudge onward and forward, (though with much less energy than you used to have), and life goes on. And even if it takes a little longer to get going, you have to strive to do the things that you love and that give you joy. And I totally remember what those things are in my own life. Laughing, listening to music, reading, writing, visiting with my 92 year old dad, losing myself to movies, sharing a house in the country with my sister, getting together with my dearest friends, and, finally, cooking my heart out.

When I am in the kitchen, my middle-age infirmities fall away for the most-part. I’m confident, strong and proud of what I produce. Nothing makes me feel better than serving up food that comes from my own hands.

And, oddly enough, without a moment’s hesitation, I can instantly recall many of the dishes I’ve prepared over the years that bring me (and those I love) great satisfaction. They are stuck in my memory forever. French onion soup; Moroccan chicken tagine with apricots, prunes, and almonds; salmon steaks with ginger-chile glaze; ultra-crispy fried chicken; wild mushroom risotto with truffle oil; cheesy creamed spinach over wide egg noodles; spicy chicken enchiladas; flank steak fajitas; chicken soup; popovers; baked shrimp with herbed butter and toasted bread crumbs; chicken cacciatore; Italian macaroni and cheese with pancetta;  pan-sautéed duck breast with mango chutney sauce; broiled swordfish kebobs; and on and on. And for tonight, an old favorite, Chinese stir-fried hanger steak with broccoli over soba noodles.

Now, where did I put that wok …?

Stir-Fried Beef with Broccoli

Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds flank steak, trimmed

4 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

2 ½ tablespoons Chinese rice wine, sake or sherry

1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

2 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

½ cup chicken stock, store-bought low-sodium broth, or water

1 teaspoon sugar

4 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 ½ tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 small red onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced lengthwise

1 small head broccoli, broken into small florets

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Drop in broccoli florets and cook for about 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Do not overcook, as they will be stir-fried briefly later. Drain and run under cold water. Dry well and set aside. Cut beef lengthwise into 2- to 3-inch wide strips, and then cut strips across the grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Toss beef with 2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce, 1 ½ tablespoons rice wine, sesame oil, and 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch in a bowl. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. To make sauce, stir remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch into stock in a small bowl until dissolved. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 1 tablespoon rice wine, and sugar. Heat a wok or deep 12-inch skillet over high heat until hot. Add 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and heat until just smoking. Add beef (discard marinade) and stir-fry until it is no longer pink and slices separate, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large sieve set over a bowl and drain (discard liquid). Wipe out wok with paper towels. Heat wok over high heat until hot, then add remaining 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil and heat until just smoking. Add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add onions and cooked broccoli and stir-fry until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir sauce, then add to vegetables and stir-fry until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Add beef and stir-fry until heated through. Stir in salt and pepper to taste and cilantro. Serve immediately.