How to Begin Again, Gently: Day 2- The Table Is Already Set: Using What You Already Have For a Good Year, Meal, and Life

Simple lentil dish on a rustic table

The table is already set. For a good year. A good moment. A good meal.

If you use what you have on hand.

This is why you are already prepared. Not in aspiration. Not in the fantasy of some kind of better life. But right here. At the table of your actual life. The one set with your particular set of circumstances. The table strewn with the things that you didn’t plan for. Sometimes, the things that you don’t even want.

And this invitation sounds simple, but is not easy: Try making peace with what is available instead of lamenting what is not.

Whether you apply this perspective to the pantry or your professional life, working within the frame of your actual circumstances is the freedom. Not the absence of limits- but an exploration of the fluidity inside them.

So what does this mean practically?

It means solving for challenges with the resources available to you instead of clawing against them. It means not beating your head against the walls of what you don’t want for your life and accepting what is- assessing possibility from there. It means more grounded considerations: Where can I go from here? What can I make with what I have on hand? What is possible if I stop resisting?

This way of thinking isn’t new. Philosophers and cooks alike have long understood that freedom comes from working with what is, not against it. In The Everlasting Meal, Tamar Adler begins where most of us end- with what is left behind. Scraps. Bits. The forgotten half of something. From these, she builds meals generous, elegant, complete. In The Art of Simple Food, Alice Waters reminds us that a well-tended pantry- humble, thoughtful, practical- is the foundation of nourishment.

And this way of working applies far beyond the kitchen. A pantry meal made on the fly can present as a masterpiece. A constrained season can still be meaningful. A year that doesn’t look the way you planned can still feed you.

Italians looks to lentils this time of year. A symbol of good luck and prosperity, they’re not flashy but they show up steady, strong and fortifying.

Here is a simple preparation for your new year:

Sautee a soffrito of onion, garlic and celery in olive oil.

Drop in your dry lentils and stir until beautifully coated.

Pour in a homemade vegetable stock until the lentils are just covered and cook until they are just tender.

Strain the lentils and dress them with olive oil, salt and red wine vinegar.

Add what you have.

Finish with good olive oil.

Taste. Adjust. Enjoy.

This is not a recipe as much as a posture.

The table is already set- not with everything you want, but with everything you need to begin.

For a good year. For a good day. A good moment. A good meal.

You sit down. You look honestly. And you begin.