Meals on My Mind

Don't insult me by calling me a 'foodie'. I'm not. I just love food. Perhaps that is an understatement, I don't just love food, I structure my life around food.

Don't look at me that way! You do it, too! Everyone does! Does this sound familiar: "Where are we going to meet for dinner?" "What's for lunch?" "I'm stopping at Trader Joe's on the way home - do you need anything?" "Have you tried that new restaurant by those guys who do the thing with the gelled balsamic reduction over pickled game hen that's been stewed in the salt of the sea of its homeland?" "No? Wow. Just wow. You've gotta go!"

I wake up in the morning & think about breakfast during my shower. I eat virtually the same thing every morning (fiber cereal that tastes like twigs, berries, unsweetened almond milk). I don't care. I look forward to my morning meal...boring as it may seem.

Once I'm halfway through breakfast I start planning for my mid-morning snack. This makes some semblance of logical sense as I tend to pack my snacks & lunch after breakfast. While I'm packing my lunch is around them time I go off the logic rails. A mere 50 minutes into my waking day & i begin to daydream about dinner. What will we have? Is it leftovers? Is it already in the fridge? Maybe I'll grab a taste while I'm packing lunch...you know...to make sure that it's fine to eat tonight. I'm putting myself on the line to make sure that dinner is going to be good! I'm practically a hero!

I arrive at work. Finally! A reprieve from thinking about food! Except for that plum that's sitting on my desk. I didn't finish it as my afternoon snack yesterday. I begin to eyeball it & make plans. It's filled with fiber! Vitamins! It's practically negative calories!

On to work. I begin doing my thing. Working for the man. Rolling on the river.
I decide to log into my reader feed....45 updates from the 23 food blogs I follow! I'll read them during lunch.

Food. Food. More food.

To make matters worse, I cook well. I love cooking. I love planning meals, buying ingredients, pulling everything together while I chop to whatever soundtrack I feel is appropriate.

I also bake. I weight flour carefully & cream room temperature butter in with sugar. I feel very scientific as I use my thermometers, scale & measures to ensure that whatever comes out of my oven will be a superior product.

I relish reading about food. The chemistry of it. The sugars & proteins & minerals. I love it all.
Restaurant meals! Joy! Someone else to combine ingredients for me! A stranger to cook me something I'd never think of! Braised octopus! Cornmeal cakes filled with shredded oxtail! Roasted bone marrow & bacon chocolate bars!

It's a distraction.

I wonder what life would be like if I was one of those startling people who didn't love food. The ones who 'forget to eat'. These baffling creatures are amazing. Perhaps one day I'll be allowed to study one up close. I'll wear a lab coat & ask "Are you sure you don't want some of my lunch? It's leftovers! It's delicious! I know it is....I tasted it this morning to make sure!"