While cooking, listen to this: Keepin it Real - Mack Wilds

One of the perks of living in a massive city is that it is CONVENIENT. Unless you work in an office, it is now totally plausible to never have to leave your apartment: you can freelance from your couch, order everything from coffee to toilet paper (in under an hour!) to pet food straight to your door, and access movies and TV shows at lightening speed. Skype your parents every once in a while and your fortress of solitude is complete.

I really try to not rely on these services. Even when it's pouring rain and the last thing I want to do is run errands, I make myself get off my ass and into the pharmacy. There are times, though, when the prospect of bagfuls of groceries magically appearing on my doorstep is too appealing - since we started the blog, we've needed a lot more flour and sugar than I will ever be able to carry, so sometimes I cave.

Ordering groceries online isn't a bad thing! It's a really cool idea, and has freed up so much time for so many busy people. Time is money, as they say here - I have neither, but ordering groceries online makes me think I do!

The downside (one of them, at least) of ordering groceries is that I don't get to ultimately pick what shows up in my apartment. Yes, I click on sweet potatoes and avocados and that particular brand of peanut butter, but the shopper assigned to my order has control in the end. If that shopper decides to get different sweet potatoes or can't find that particular brand of peanut butter, oh well. That's what comes with convenience, I guess.

I ordered groceries for blog cooking, choosing some small-ish/medium-ish potatoes for a recipe. What arrived were the smallest potatoes I have ever seen in my life. Adorable, but it would have been soul crushing to peel or shred every single one.

So, what to do?

Smash them and drown them in garlic butter, obviously.

Violent? Maybe. Delicious? Fuck yes.

When your online grocery shopper gives you potatoes for ants, make garlic butter smashed potatoes. They go faster than the poor delivery people scrambling to get you your toilet paper in under 60 minutes. They're crispy, salty and will repel all the Edwards and Vampire Bills of the world. Those men are more trouble than they're worth and you know it.

So hop to it! Close that food delivery app and whip these up - much more satisfying than take out for the third day in a row, and you don't even have to pay a service fee.

Love and meows, Rina

GARLIC BUTTER SMASHED POTATOES

Yield: 4-5 servings

Active Cook Time: 5m | Inactive Cook Time: 40m

Category: Sides

Source: method from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

potatoes:

2 pounds small, multicolored potatoes

Sea salt

4 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter

4 cloves garlic, minced, plus more for personal preference

Freshly ground black pepper

for serving:

Greek yogurt or sour cream

Minced chives

Instructions

Prep: preheat the oven to 425F.

Boil the potatoes: place the potatoes in a large pot of water and add a hefty dash of sea salt. Bring to a boil, then boil for 8-10 minutes, until they can be pierced easily with a fork. Drain and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the melted butter, minced garlic and a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Smash the potatoes: once slightly cooled, place the potatoes on a large baking sheet or two and drizzle with half of the garlic butter. Take a drinking glass or wooden spoon and press down on each potato until they're about ½-inch thick, taking care not to break them into pieces. Drizzle with the remaining garlic butter and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden and beautiful. Sprinkle with sea salt right when they're out of the oven.

Note: watch the garlic for burning - you may need to stir the potatoes around a bit to keep the garlic from sticking or getting to dark.

To serve: serve right out of the oven with dollops of sour cream or Greek yogurt and a hefty sprinkling of chives.

To keep: these are best right out of the oven, but can be refrigerated for a few days and reheated before serving. Or eat them cold! Whatever floats your boat.