Saturday, August 7, 2010

the friday zone

I feel sorry for people who live on take-out and don’t use their cutting board and don’t plan meals and don’t buy groceries. I have to say, food preparation is something I enjoy to an almost obsessive degree.

On Fridays, some people get off work and get in front of a game (er, are there sports games on Fridays?) with a beer. That is how they unwind.

I get off work and prep my food for my 8-6:30 Saturday workday. I find it to be a serene task. I get in the zone. A typical tableau:

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We begin, of course, with breakfast.

Overnight oats made with 1/2 cup oats; half a yogurt, half a banana, 1 T chia seeds, and a splash of water. Topped with chopped roasted almonds. With a beauteous plum on the side just for good measure.

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Then, an adorable sandwich. The last of the homemade focaccia; avocado; and mashed kidney beans. This is an experiment. I love the hummus and avocado combo, but it seemed silly to make hummus when we had an open container of red beans. (Reports, though unconfirmed, have surfaced that some other people actually get sick of beans. I find this mystifying, but whatever). Anyway, I’m hopeful. I like the colors.

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I thought this sandwich looked so cute and rotund when put together.

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And the rest of it:

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The toasted almonds, in addition to topping my oats, topped another bowl of oats for my mama, and became my afternoon snack, along with 2/3 of an apple (the other third of which I used for my mama’s oats).  

I used some of the kidney beans to top my sandwich, and the rest I combined with my sister’s abandoned baked beans (she likes to leave things in the refrigerator for weeks at a time til I worry they’ll go bad- it’s a challenge to me, like Iron Chef except with nasty processed foods).

Lunch was rounded out with a yogurt.

Those last few toasted almonds on the cutting board mysteriously disappeared.

And there you have it.

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I really do love to cook more than almost anything, though I also very much love to write. To that end, I wrote an essay on cooking well and entered it in the Medium Raw Challenge, where I could win publication of my essay in Anthony Bourdain’s newest book. You can still vote for me! Check out my essay entitled Sticking it to the Man!

10 comments:

Rhea said...

"I feel sorry for people who live on take-out and don’t use their cutting board and don’t plan meals and don’t buy groceries."
THIS!

Sometimes I get stressed about food shopping and logistics (I don't have a car, I share a fridge with three other roommates, and blah, and blah, and blah), but the actual preparation is pleasurable and feasting on something you've made with your own two hands is truly and deeply satisfying.

P.S. I am going to a pig roast tomorrow and my very Greek dad kept asking if they are doing it "the real way, on a spit". Methinks you can understand where I'm coming from on this one.

Unknown said...

i LOVE cooking! actually, i love chopping up vegetables and looking them all beautifully arranged on the cutting board... that's not weird, right? haha

have a great night!
becca
http://fromheretothereinpurple.blogspot.com

Michal said...

mmm i love the hummus avocado combo in your sandwich it looks great :)

Megan D said...

BEAUTIFUL sandwich! And I don't think I enjoy food preparation quite as much as I enjoy eating food that I know I've made. Does that make sense?! Haha either way, I don't understand the takeout craze either!

Kelsey Ann said...

it looks like an avocado focaccia sammie!! this is insanely delicious !! <3

AllThingsYummy said...

Just finished reading your article. Really impressive. I also posted it on my facebook so hopefully you get a few more votes and hopefully it will inspire a few of my friends to actually cook. LOL

Mary @ Bites and Bliss said...

That lunch looks awesome!! Very fresh and well rounded :)

Jess said...

Although I enjoy food prep, I definitely enjoy the EATING part better! :D

MelindaRD said...

I enjoy the cooking part, not the clean up part. My kitchen is entirely too small. I can barley fit some of my things in my sink, which is just one tiny sink. We wash by hand and do not use a dishwasher, but even if we did, the one here does not even fit our dinner plates standing up, just like 1/2' too small. Sadly, because of the humidity here, everything, inlcuding my caphalon pots and pans, grow mold, so before I cook I have to wash the pans and utensils to get off the mold, and then I can cook, then I have to wash again. Heaven forbid I had a wooden cutting board. I had a bamboo bath towel rack that grew so much mold, we did not know how to remove it. I actually think it is still in my back yard. My excuse mostly now to eat out is that I am creating a new blog that for people living at the base that is a review of places to eat and activities to do on this island. I had no idea there were so many places to eat on an island that is 18x12 miles. But my husband and I do our from scratch weekends, which includes everything from scratch.

Anne @ Food Loving Polar Bear said...

I love the preparation part, it's so much fun :)