So I didn't stop cooking (or eating) during my absence the last few weeks. In fact I was taking a few photographs here and there of my FOOD throughout... I just didn't have time to write about it. I also took a week off during the holiday season in order to purge myself of newsroom stress, and then took another long weekend around the New Year in order to cozie up in a condo outside Traverse City. Both were fantastic. Between those awesome getaways I continued to watch my lunchtime meals and did not purchase any so-so sandwiches or greasy takeout. On the contrary, I made things like tangy and sweet salads, chickpea curry, Costa Rica turkey chili, herbed zucchini soup, rice cake sandwiches, Nicoise salad, roasted beet and edamame salad, panko-crusted fish sticks with homemade tartar, etc., etc. The salad in the photo was one of my own creations (and photographs). It was really simple and consisted of nothing more than arugula with feta, dried cranberries, and almonds. The dressing was red wine vinegar and oil. I ate it with Carr's rosemary crackers topped with a fig spread and Brie. The chickpea curry photo is from Everyday Food, which is where the recipe I used comes from. I serve mine over white rice, just like I do with my chili. The herbed zucchini soup was an Eating Well recipe (and photo), but I spruced it up quite a bit. I tend to like a lot of seasoning, so I was generous with the dill, salt, pepper and cheese. Obviously the biggest difficulty so far has been planning ahead. My work schedule is a little weird because reporters don't work 9-5 on Mondays through Fridays, plus I don't work the same hours every week. Wednesdays (today!) are my "day off," which is more or less code for "I'll do a bunch of social media and web work today from home in my PJs." I tend to do my grocery shopping on Sundays, so tomorrow's meal plan is to either make another Nicoise salad or make kitchen sink soup. Or I could have a saving grace in leftovers from tonight's tilapia and roasted vegetables--but not likely. Before I close I do need to confess to an edible mistake from yesterday. After eating my rice cake PB&J with carrots, I realized I was still hungry and my snack foods didn't sound appealing. My coworker offered me a package of chicken flavored ramen noodles, which I'm aware are disgusting nutritionally but taste pretty damn awesome. I reluctantly agreed and she served up a steaming cup of ramen. The thing you have to understand about me and ramen is that I ate a LOT of it in college, like more other teenagers in my vicinity. I ate healthy meals too, but there was something about ramen that I craved during those late-night study sessions. Well, into about my junior year, my body decided it would stop digesting ramen noodles. The smell, sight and thought of them was too much to bear. So yesterday when my friend asked me if I wanted to eat one of her packets, I figured enough time had passed. I was wrong.The experience went something like this:Stephane: Here are your noodles! They smell delicious!Me: Why, thank you Stephane. I don't know what could possibly go wrong, because these noodles look and smell like a delicacy! I begin eating...Me: Oh, dearest Stephane, they taste even better than they look.The rate of eating increases at a rate directly proportional to number of years I've been waiting to scarf them down. I finish the noodles and sit there staring at the broth. Not five minutes has passed before I notice something has gone terribly wrong. Me: Oh god.Stephane: What? What is it?Me: Oh. God.Stephane: What's wrong?Me: OH GOD. THE RAMEN.For the rest of the day I was writhing in pain and agony. Passerby could hear traces of my sorrow and defeat as the ramen continued to refuse to digest. Stephane: It must have been your PB&J rice cakes.Me: Have you ever seen rice cakes do this to a person? It's not the freaking rice cakes. It's those fat-filled noodles.The moral of the story is that I am still incapable of properly processing fatty foods, particularly ramen, without feeling disgusting. It is both a blessing and a curse. Needless to say, my dedication to this healthy brown bag project has been WHOLEHEARTEDLY renewed.
Oh brown bag lunches... how you remind me of my childhood. 